After
The Conservationist
Nadine Gordimer1974
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing denser
More like it
- pace0prose-1bleak0
The Good Doctor
Damon Galgut2003
A cynical doctor at a decaying South African hospital watches a naive new recruit try to implement reforms. Their friendship is tested by apathy.
Same cold register, still psychological fiction
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Study for Obedience
Sarah Bernstein2023
A woman moves to a remote northern country to care for her brother. The local community grows hostile as she observes them.
Same cold register, still psychological fiction
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Milkman
Anna Burns2018
An unnamed 18-year-old girl is stalked by an older paramilitary figure in 1970s Northern Ireland. The prose uses long, circuitous sentences.
cold → tense, still psychological fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Vivisector
Patrick White1970
A painter uses the people in his life as raw material for his art. He observes their flaws and suffering to translate them onto canvas.
Same cold register, still psychological fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Shroud
John Banville2002
An aging scholar with a stolen identity meets a woman who knows his secret. They travel to Turin to confront his past.
Same cold register, still psychological fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak0
To recover
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
Thoughtful
S.C. Stephens2015
Kellan Kyle falls for his best friend's girlfriend, Anna. The story retells the events of Thoughtless from Kellan's perspective.
cold → earnest
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-3bleak-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.
cold → playful
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
cold → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
Fifty Shades of Grey
E.L. James2000
A college student enters a sexual contract with a wealthy businessman. The story focuses on their power dynamics and BDSM encounters.
cold → earnest
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
cold → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
cold → playful
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-2bleak0
Child 44
Tom Rob Smith2008
A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.
cold → tense
pace+2·prose-2·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak-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.
cold → sardonic
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
cold → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
cold → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
Slower
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
Tinkers
Paul Harding2009
An elderly clock repairman lies dying while his thoughts drift through his father's life as a peddler. The prose focuses on nature and mechanics.
cold → meditative, still psychological fiction
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak0
February
Lisa Moore2009
A widow in Newfoundland moves between her quiet daily routines and the memory of her husband's death on a sunken oil rig decades earlier.
cold → elegiac, still psychological fiction
pace-1·prose-1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose-1bleak0
The Wilderness
Samantha Harvey2009
An architect with Alzheimer's attempts to reconstruct his life story. The narrative fragments as his memory and sense of time dissolve.
cold → elegiac, still psychological fiction
pace-1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace-1prose-1bleak0
The Next Big Thing
Anita Brookner2002
A seventy-three-year-old man in London contemplates his few remaining options for the future. He considers travel, marriage, and his isolation.
cold → meditative, still psychological fiction
pace-1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Study for Obedience
Sarah Bernstein2023
A woman moves to a remote northern country to care for her brother. The local community grows hostile as she observes them.
Same cold register, still psychological fiction
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
Heavier
- pace0prose-1bleak+1
The Gathering
Anne Enright2007
A woman gathers with her siblings in Dublin for her brother's wake. She reconstructs a childhood trauma to understand his suicide.
cold → elegiac, still psychological fiction
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace0prose-1bleak+1
No Longer Human
太宰 治2024
A man describes his life through three notebooks, detailing his inability to connect with others and his social alienation.
cold → bleak, still psychological fiction
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak+1
The Lighthouse
Alison Moore2012
A recently separated man takes a walking tour of Germany while reflecting on his childhood abandonment and his failing marriage.
cold → bleak, still psychological fiction
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace0prose-1bleak+1
The White Hotel
D. M. Thomas1981
A woman's life is told through poems, a Freudian case study, and a narrative. It moves from her sexual fantasies to her death in the Holocaust.
cold → dreamlike, still psychological fiction
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
My Dark Vanessa
Kate Elizabeth Russell2020
Vanessa reflects on her teenage relationship with a teacher after he is accused of abuse. The narrative shifts between 2000 and 2017.
cold → bleak, still psychological fiction
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
