After
The Lives of Others
Neel Mukherjee2014
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
I'll Go to Bed at Noon
Gerard Woodward2004
The Jones family spends a decade succumbing to alcoholism. The book tracks their physical and social disintegration in 1970s Britain.
Same bleak register, still family saga
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
A Little Life
Hanya Yanagihara2015
Four friends in New York over thirty years. One of them is being destroyed, and the book does not look away.
Same bleak register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
Shuggie Bain
Douglas Stuart2020
A young boy grows up in 1980s Glasgow public housing. He tries to support his mother as she struggles with severe alcoholism and poverty.
Same bleak register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose0bleak0
The Bluest Eye
Toni Morrison1970
A young Black girl in 1940s Ohio prays for blue eyes as a way to escape her reality. The narrative follows her family's collapse and trauma.
Same bleak register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
Andersonville
MacKinlay Kantor1955
An ensemble cast experiences the conditions of a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp. It follows prisoners, guards, and local civilians.
Same bleak register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
Denser prose
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
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.
bleak → clinical, still historical
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
As I Lay Dying
William Faulkner1915
The Bundren family travels by wagon to bury their matriarch. Fifteen different narrators describe the journey as the corpse decomposes.
bleak → sardonic
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
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.
bleak → sardonic
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace+1prose+1bleak0
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.
bleak → propulsive
pace+1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
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.
bleak → playful
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
To recover
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
When I'm Gone
Abbi Glines2015
A Texas rancher visits Rosemary Beach and becomes involved with a local woman while navigating his family's rock star legacy.
bleak → tender
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
Her Russian Billionaire: 50 Loving States, Texas
Theodora Taylor
A woman reunites with a wealthy Russian man she once knew, leading to the revelation of a child he did not know existed.
bleak → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
An Offer From a Gentleman
Julia Quinn2001
The illegitimate daughter of an earl works as a servant for her stepmother. She sneaks into a masquerade ball and meets Benedict Bridgerton.
bleak → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
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.
bleak → playful
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace0prose-2bleak-3
Royal Dad
Leanne Banks2001
An American tutor travels to a foreign kingdom to teach a young prince and enters a romantic relationship with his widowed father.
bleak → warm
pace0·prose-2·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
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.
bleak → playful
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-1bleak-1
Child 44
Tom Rob Smith2008
A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.
bleak → tense
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-1bleak-2
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.
bleak → sardonic
pace+2·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
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.
bleak → propulsive
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
bleak → wry
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
Slower
- pace-1prose+1bleak-1
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.
bleak → clinical, still historical
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak-2
History of the Rain
Niall Williams2014
A bedridden girl in Ireland tells the story of her family and her father's obsession with finding a specific book. It is a history of a lineage.
bleak → elegiac, still family saga
pace-1·prose0·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose+1bleak-2
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.
bleak → playful
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
bleak → elegiac
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak0
Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
Same bleak register
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
