After
The Prophets
Robert Jones Jr.2021
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier
More like it
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Atonement
Ian McEwan2001
A young girl misinterprets an event in 1935, leading to a false accusation. The story follows the consequences across WWII and into the present.
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The Narrow Road to the Deep North
Richard Flanagan2014
A surgeon in a Japanese POW camp during the construction of the Death Railway is haunted by a past affair. It covers fifty years of his life.
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- pace0prose0bleak0
The Deposition of Father McGreevy
Brian O'Doherty2000
A priest recounts the physical and moral decline of an isolated Irish village during a harsh winter in the 1940s.
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- pace0prose0bleak-1
The God of Small Things
Arundhati Roy1997
In 1969 Kerala, twins Rahel and Estha navigate a family tragedy. The story jumps across decades to show how a single event broke their lives.
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1 more ↓ ↑
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Swimming in the Dark
Tomasz Jedrowski2020
Two men fall in love at an agricultural camp in 1980s Poland. They struggle to maintain their bond under a repressive communist regime.
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Denser prose
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Beloved
Toni Morrison1987
A mother in post-Civil War Ohio is haunted by the ghost of the daughter she killed to spare from slavery. The prose is dense and non-linear.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
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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.
elegiac → propulsive, still historical fiction
pace+1·prose+1·bleak0
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.
elegiac → playful, still literary fiction
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Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak0
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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.
elegiac → sardonic, still historical fiction
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To recover
elegiac → playful
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The Duke and I
Julia Quinn2000
A duke and a debutante enter a fake courtship to avoid social pressure. They navigate Regency London's marriage market while hiding their deal.
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+1prose-2bleak-3
Terms and Conditions
Lauren Asher2022
To secure his inheritance, a businessman enters a marriage of convenience with his assistant.
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3 more ↓ ↑
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Love Bites
Lynsay Sands2004
A vampire turns a coroner into an immortal to save her life after an accident. They navigate their new bond while being pursued by others.
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-3
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This Girl
Colleen Hoover2013
A husband retells the story of his early relationship to his wife. It uses dual timelines to revisit events from the first book in the series.
elegiac → earnest
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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.
elegiac → earnest
pace+1·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.
elegiac → playful
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
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Child 44
Tom Rob Smith2008
A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.
elegiac → tense
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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.
elegiac → sardonic
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- 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.
elegiac → propulsive
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The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
elegiac → wry
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Slower
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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.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
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Lila
Marilynne Robinson2014
A woman with a traumatic, nomadic past settles in a small Iowa town and marries a minister. She struggles to reconcile her history with his faith.
elegiac → tender, still historical fiction
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3 more ↓ ↑
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Rhine Journey
Ann Schlee1981
A middle-aged woman travels by steamer down the Rhine in 1851. She observes her family and internalizes a chance encounter with a man from her past.
elegiac → meditative, still historical fiction
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Gathering the Water
Robert Edric2006
In 1840s Yorkshire, a man oversees the flooding of a valley for a reservoir. He records the final days of a village and its remaining residents.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- 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.
elegiac → playful, still literary fiction
pace-1·prose+1·bleak-2