After
The Queen of the Night
Alexander Chee2016
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
6 of 6 directions open
More like it
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
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TransAtlantic
Colum McCann2013
The novel connects the lives of historical figures and four generations of women across Ireland and North America over 150 years.
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- pace0prose0bleak0
People of the book
Geraldine Brooks1991
A rare book expert traces the history of a Jewish manuscript. The story moves between the 1990s and the various eras of the book's creation.
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- pace0prose0bleak0
The Summer Before the War
Helen Simonson2016
In a small English coastal town in 1914, a female Latin teacher arrives just as the country prepares for the First World War.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
The Paris Daughter
Kristin Harmel2023
Two mothers in occupied Paris are separated by war and a tragic choice. Decades later, one searches for the truth about their daughters.
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
1 more ↓ ↑
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The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
David Mitchell2010
A Dutch clerk arrives at a restricted Japanese trading outpost in 1799. He navigates corporate corruption and a forbidden romance.
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Denser prose
- pace+1prose+1bleak+2
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·bleak+2
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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·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
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This Other Eden
Paul Harding2023
A multiracial community on a small island off the coast of Maine faces forced displacement by state officials in the early 20th century.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
- pace0prose+1bleak+2
The Wake
Paul Kingsnorth2014
A landowner in 1066 leads a guerrilla resistance against Norman invaders. The story is written in a modified version of Old English.
elegiac → bleak, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak+2
- 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.
elegiac → sardonic, still historical fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak+1
To recover
elegiac → playful
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
Fix Her Up
Tessa Bailey2019
A professional clown enters a fake relationship with her brother's best friend, a retired athlete. They stage the romance to change their images.
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
The Overdue Life of Amy Byler
Kelly Harms2019
An overworked single mother takes a summer break in New York City for a makeover and a dating life. She rediscovers her identity apart from her kids.
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
Vampires Are Forever
Lynsay Sands2008
A woman suspects her business partner is a vampire after he attempts to bite her. He tries to convince her they are fated mates.
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
The Mane Event
Shelly Laurenston2007
A female cop reunites with a childhood friend who is now a lion-shifter. They navigate a romantic attraction while he pursues her in New York.
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+1prose-2bleak-1
Mile High
Liz Tomforde2023
A professional hockey player and a flight attendant clash on the team's private plane during a season-long road trip.
pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1
Faster
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
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-1
- 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.
elegiac → tense
pace+2·prose-1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
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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
pace+2·prose-1·bleak0
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
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
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
elegiac → wry
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
Slower
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
- pace-1prose-1bleak0
A Month in the Country
J. L. Carr1980
A WWI veteran spends a summer in a quiet village restoring a medieval mural in a church. He reflects on his trauma while observing local life.
pace-1·prose-1·bleak0
- pace-1prose+1bleak+2
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+1·bleak+2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
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·prose0·bleak+1
- pace-1prose0bleak0
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
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
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
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
Heavier
elegiac → bleak, still historical fiction
- pace0prose-1bleak+2
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·prose-1·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+2
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.
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3 more ↓ ↑
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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.
elegiac → meditative, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+2
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.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
- pace0prose0bleak+2
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.
Same elegiac register, still historical fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak+2
