After
Vilnius Poker
Ričardas Gavelis2014
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
4 of 6 directions open — nothing heavier, nothing denser
More like it
Same bleak register, still unreliable narrator
- pace0prose0bleak0
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.
pace0·prose0·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
The Mars Room
Rachel Kushner2018
A mother begins two life sentences in a California women's prison. The book depicts the daily violence and institutional absurdity of incarceration.
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
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.
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
The Lighthouse
Alison Moore2012
A recently separated man takes a walking tour of Germany while reflecting on his childhood abandonment and his failing marriage.
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose0bleak0
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.
Same bleak register
pace0·prose0·bleak0
To recover
- pace+1prose-3bleak-3
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.
bleak → playful
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
bleak → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-3bleak-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.
bleak → earnest
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-3bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
bleak → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-3bleak-3
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.
bleak → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3
Faster
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
bleak → playful
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-2bleak-1
Child 44
Tom Rob Smith2008
A Soviet security officer investigates a serial killer in a state that officially claims murder does not exist.
bleak → tense
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-2bleak-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.
bleak → sardonic
pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-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.
bleak → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3
- pace+2prose-3bleak-3
The Martian
Andy Weir2011
A man does arithmetic to stay alive on Mars. Problem, attempt, result, repeat.
bleak → wry
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-3
Slower
bleak → elegiac
- pace-1prose-1bleak-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·prose-1·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-1
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous
Ocean Vuong2019
A son writes a letter to his illiterate mother, recounting his family's history in Vietnam and his own experiences growing up in America.
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
Moby Dick
Herman Melville1851
A sailor joins a whaling voyage led by a captain seeking revenge on a specific whale. Large sections digress into the mechanics of 1850s whaling.
bleak → meditative
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose-1bleak-3
Walden
Henry David Thoreau1854
A man lives in a small cabin by a pond for two years. He records his daily expenses, the local wildlife, and his thoughts on solitude.
bleak → meditative
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-3
- pace-1prose-1bleak-2
Gilead
Marilynne Robinson2004
An elderly preacher in 1950s Iowa writes a letter to his young son about their family history. He reflects on his father and grandfather.
bleak → meditative
pace-1·prose-1·bleak-2
