After
The story of a brief marriage
Anuk Arudpragasam2016
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier, nothing slower
More like it
Same meditative register, still literary fiction
- pace0prose0bleak-2
Orbital
Samantha Harvey2024
Six astronauts orbit Earth over twenty-four hours. The narrative focuses on their routine tasks and observations of the planet below.
pace0·prose0·bleak-2
- pace+1prose0bleak-1
Fasting, Feasting
Anita Desai1999
The novel contrasts the life of Uma in India with her brother Arun in Massachusetts. Both struggle under the expectations of their parents.
pace+1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace+1prose0bleak-1
Scar Tissue
Michael Ignatieff1993
A philosopher documents his mother's decline from Alzheimer's disease. The narrative focuses on the failure of memory and the limits of medicine.
pace+1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace+1prose0bleak-1
Oxygen
Andrew Miller2001
Two brothers return to England to care for their dying mother while a playwright in Paris reflects on his past. The story focuses on end-of-life care.
pace+1·prose0·bleak-1
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak-1
Blackouts
Justin Torres2023
A young man cares for a dying elder in a medical facility. They use a 1930s study on homosexuality to reconstruct their personal histories.
meditative → elegiac, still literary fiction
pace0·prose0·bleak-1
Denser prose
- pace+1prose+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.
meditative → sardonic, still literary fiction
pace+1·prose+1·bleak-1
- pace0prose+1bleak0
Translated Accounts
James Kelman2001
Anonymous witnesses describe life under a military regime. The prose uses broken, bureaucratic syntax to mimic a literal translation.
meditative → bleak
pace0·prose+1·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose+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.
meditative → playful, still literary fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak-2
- pace+1prose+1bleak0
Don Quixote
Kathy Acker1986
A woman undergoes an abortion and adopts the persona of Don Quixote to pursue a quest in a fragmented, postmodern landscape.
meditative → sardonic
pace+1·prose+1·bleak0
- pace0prose+1bleak-1
The Sea
John Banville2005
A widower returns to a coastal resort to reflect on a childhood summer and his wife's death. The narrator's memory is fluid and dense.
meditative → elegiac, still literary fiction
pace0·prose+1·bleak-1
To recover
- pace+3prose-2bleak-3
The Kaiju Preservation Society
John Scalzi2022
A food delivery driver joins a secret organization that travels to an alternate Earth to care for massive, dinosaur-like creatures.
meditative → playful
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
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.
meditative → earnest
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
Smokin' Seventeen
Janet Evanovich2011
A bounty hunter investigates bodies found in her boss's lot while choosing between three suitors. The story follows her daily mishaps in New Jersey.
meditative → playful
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+3prose-2bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
meditative → wry
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-2bleak-3
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.
meditative → playful
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+3prose-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.
meditative → playful
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+3prose-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.
meditative → tense
pace+3·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+3prose-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.
meditative → sardonic
pace+3·prose-1·bleak-2
- pace+3prose-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.
meditative → propulsive
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-3
- pace+3prose-2bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
meditative → wry
pace+3·prose-2·bleak-3