After
The Pale King
David Foster Wallace2011
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing denser, nothing slower
More like it
- pace0prose0bleak0
Suttree
Cormac McCarthy1979
A man lives on a houseboat among the outcasts and criminals of 1950s Knoxville. The book tracks his daily survival and interactions in the slums.
Same sardonic register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak0
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.
Same sardonic register, still satire
pace+1·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
Purity
Jonathan Franzen2015
A young woman burdened by student debt searches for her father and joins an international whistleblowing organization. Multiple perspectives follow.
Same sardonic register, still satire
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
Dorian
Will Self2002
A modern retelling of Oscar Wilde's novel set in the London drug and art scenes of the 1980s. A video installation ages while the subject does not.
Same sardonic register, still satire
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
The Siege of Krishnapur
J. G. Farrell1973
British residents in a 19th-century Indian outpost face a violent uprising. The story tracks the physical and social decay of the community.
Same sardonic register, still satire
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
To recover
- pace+3prose-3bleak-2
The Lost Symbol
Dan Brown2009
Symbologist Robert Langdon follows a trail of Masonic puzzles through Washington D.C. monuments to save his kidnapped mentor.
sardonic → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-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.
sardonic → playful, still satire
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
Walking Disaster
Jamie McGuire2013
This novel retells the events of 'Beautiful Disaster' from the perspective of Travis Maddox. It follows his college years and obsession with Abby.
sardonic → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
sardonic → playful, still satire
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
This Man
Jodi Ellen Malpas2013
An interior designer begins an affair with a wealthy client who demands total control over her life and schedule.
sardonic → tense
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+3prose-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.
Same sardonic register, still satire
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-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.
sardonic → playful
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-3bleak-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.
Same sardonic register, still satire
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+3prose-2bleak0
Child 44
Tom Rob Smith2008
A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.
sardonic → tense
pace+3·prose-2·bleak0
- pace+3prose-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.
sardonic → propulsive
pace+3·prose-3·bleak-2
Heavier
Same sardonic register, still satire
- pace+2prose-2bleak+1
Slaughterhouse-Five
Kurt Vonnegut1969
Billy Pilgrim becomes unstuck in time, experiencing his life out of order, from his chaplaincy in WWII to his abduction by aliens.
pace+2·prose-2·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
Dorian
Will Self2002
A modern retelling of Oscar Wilde's novel set in the London drug and art scenes of the 1980s. A video installation ages while the subject does not.
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
Steps
Jerzy Kosiński1968
A series of disconnected, clinical vignettes describe acts of sexual dominance, cruelty, and voyeurism.
sardonic → clinical, still experimental
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose0bleak+1
The Road
Cormac McCarthy2006
A father and son walk through a landscape of ash and scavengers toward the coast. They carry only what fits in a shopping cart.
sardonic → bleak
pace+1·prose0·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-1bleak+1
The Underground Railroad
Colson Whitehead2016
Two slaves escape a Georgia plantation via a literal underground train system while being pursued by a slave catcher.
sardonic → bleak
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
