After
The Battle of Pollocks Crossing
J. L. Carr1985
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Troubles
J. G. Farrell1970
A British Major moves into a decaying Irish hotel in 1919. As the building falls apart, the Irish War of Independence escalates nearby.
Same wry register, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Last Runaway
Tracy Chevalier2013
A Quaker woman moves from England to 1850s Ohio. She faces a crisis of conscience when she begins assisting the Underground Railroad.
wry → earnest, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose0bleak-1
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Mark Twain1960
A boy and an escaped slave travel down the Mississippi River on a raft. The boy narrates their encounters with various frauds and locals.
Same wry register, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
- pace0prose+1bleak-2
The muses are heard
Truman Capote1956
A journalist follows an American theater troupe as they travel to the Soviet Union to perform Porgy and Bess during the Cold War.
Same wry register, still satire
pace0·prose+1·bleak-2
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose0bleak-2
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
Marina Lewycka2005
Two sisters unite to prevent their elderly father from marrying a much younger gold digger. The story includes a history of farm machinery.
Same wry register, still historical fiction
pace+1·prose0·bleak-2
Denser prose
- pace0prose+2bleak0
Gravity's Rainbow
Thomas Pynchon1973
During the end of WWII, an American lieutenant's sexual encounters seem to predict where German V-2 rockets will fall. The narrative is fragmented.
wry → sardonic, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+2·bleak0
- pace+1prose+2bleak+1
A Brief History of Seven Killings
Marlon James2014
A large cast of characters recounts the 1976 attempt on Bob Marley's life. The narrative spans decades and moves from Jamaica to New York.
wry → propulsive, still historical fiction
pace+1·prose+2·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
wry → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
Ulysses
James Joyce1914
Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.
wry → playful
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace0prose+2bleak0
Briefing for a Descent into Hell
Doris Lessing1971
A man is found wandering London and placed in a psychiatric ward. The narrative shifts between the hospital and his internal cosmic hallucinations.
wry → dreamlike
pace0·prose+2·bleak0
To recover
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Dragon on a Pedestal
Piers Anthony1983
A three-year-old princess with the power of enhancement wanders away and befriends a giant dragon. They travel a land defined by puns.
wry → playful
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Redshirts
John Scalzi2012
Low-ranking crew members on a starship realize they are disposable characters in a sci-fi television show. They attempt to escape their fate.
wry → playful, still satire
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Year zero
Reid, Robert2012
Aliens discover that Earth's music is the best in the galaxy and they owe humanity trillions in copyright fines.
wry → playful, still satire
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-1bleak-2
Rich People Problems
Kevin Kwan2017
An extended family gathers in Singapore as their matriarch lies dying. They scheme against one another to inherit a massive estate.
wry → playful, still satire
pace+1·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose0bleak-2
A Short History of Tractors in Ukrainian
Marina Lewycka2005
Two sisters unite to prevent their elderly father from marrying a much younger gold digger. The story includes a history of farm machinery.
Same wry register, still historical fiction
pace+1·prose0·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+2prose0bleak-1
Candide
Voltaire
A naive young man travels the world while his tutor insists that everything is for the best. He encounters a series of global catastrophes.
wry → sardonic, still satire
pace+2·prose0·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-1bleak-2
Dial A for Aunties
Jesse Q. Sutanto2021
A photographer accidentally kills her blind date. Her mother and aunties help hide the body during a massive luxury wedding.
wry → playful
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
Get Jiro!
Anthony Bourdain2012
In a future Los Angeles, master chefs rule as warlords. A sushi chef who kills rude customers is caught between two warring food factions.
wry → sardonic, still satire
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace+2prose0bleak0
Child 44
Tom Rob Smith2008
A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.
wry → tense
pace+2·prose0·bleak0
- pace+2prose-1bleak-2
The Da Vinci Code
Dan Brown2003
A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.
wry → propulsive
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-2
Slower
wry → elegiac, still historical fiction
- pace-1prose+2bleak+1
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
The English Patient
Michael Ondaatje1992
Four people shelter in a ruined Italian villa at the end of WWII. They care for a burned, anonymous man who recounts his past in the desert.
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+2bleak-1
Ulysses
James Joyce1914
Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.
wry → playful
pace-1·prose+2·bleak-1
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
The Pale King
David Foster Wallace2011
An unfinished, experimental novel about the mundane daily operations of an IRS processing center in 1985 Illinois.
wry → sardonic, still satire
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
- pace-1prose+2bleak0
Umbrella
Will Self2013
A psychiatrist in 1971 treats a woman who has been catatonic for decades. The prose shifts between eras and consciousnesses without paragraph breaks.
wry → clinical
pace-1·prose+2·bleak0
Heavier
wry → bleak, still historical fiction
- pace0prose0bleak+1
A Fine Balance
Rohinton Mistry1995
Four people from different castes share a small apartment during the 1975 Indian Emergency. Their lives are upended by state-sanctioned violence.
pace0·prose0·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
The Confessions of Nat Turner
William Styron1967
A fictionalized confession of the leader of an 1831 slave revolt while he awaits execution in a Virginia jail cell.
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
The Known World
Edward P. Jones2003
A black man who was once a slave becomes a slave owner in antebellum Virginia. The story follows the fallout on the plantation after his death.
wry → meditative, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
A Long Long Way
Sebastian Barry2005
A young Irishman joins the British Army to fight in the trenches of World War I while his home country moves toward rebellion.
wry → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+1
Brotherless Night
V. V. Ganeshananthan2023
A young woman in Sri Lanka tries to study medicine while her brothers join militant groups during the civil war. It covers a decade of conflict.
wry → elegiac, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
