Trust

The Testament of Mary

Colm Tóibín2012

Mary lives in exile years after her son's crucifixion. She recounts the events leading to his death while refusing to validate the Gospel accounts.

clinical → elegiac, still historical fiction

pace0·prose0·bleak+1

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.

clinical → elegiac, still historical fiction

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

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.

clinical → elegiac, still historical fiction

pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

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.

clinical → propulsive, still historical fiction

pace+1·prose+1·bleak+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.

clinical → tense

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-1

Ready Player One

Ernest Cline2008

A teenager in a dystopian future hunts for a digital easter egg inside a massive simulation. The quest relies on 1980s pop culture trivia.

pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

Real Murders

Charlaine Harris1990

A librarian in a small Georgia town belongs to a club that studies famous crimes. A real murder occurs that mimics a historical case.

clinical → wry

pace+1·prose-2·bleak-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.

clinical → sardonic

pace+2·prose-1·bleak0

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.

clinical → propulsive

pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

The Martian

Andy Weir2011

A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.

clinical → wry

pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1

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.

clinical → tender, still historical fiction

pace-1·prose0·bleak0

A Fable

William Faulkner1954

During WWI, a French corporal leads a mutiny that halts the fighting. The narrative mirrors the events of the Passion of Christ.

clinical → meditative, still historical fiction

pace-1·prose+1·bleak+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.

clinical → meditative, still historical fiction

pace-1·prose0·bleak+1

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.

clinical → meditative, still historical fiction

pace0·prose0·bleak+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.

clinical → elegiac, still historical fiction

pace0·prose0·bleak+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.

clinical → elegiac, still historical fiction

pace0·prose0·bleak+2