LitQueuelitqueue

After

War and Remembrance

Herman Wouk1978

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl

    Harriet Ann Jacobs1861

    A woman recounts her life in slavery, her years hiding in a crawlspace, and her eventual escape to the North. It is a firsthand historical memoir.

    Same earnest register

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

3 more ↓

  • The Argonauts

    Maggie Nelson2015

    A memoir of the author's relationship with her partner and her pregnancy. It mixes personal narrative with academic theory on gender and family.

    earnest → meditative

    pace0·prose+1·bleak-2

  • Doktor Faustus

    Thomas Mann1948

    A composer trades his soul for musical genius as his life and the rise of Nazi Germany are chronicled by a concerned friend.

    earnest → elegiac, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • The Salt Grows Heavy

    Cassandra Khaw2023

    A mermaid and a plague doctor flee a ruined kingdom and discover a village of ageless children. It is a dark reimagining of a fairy tale.

    earnest → dreamlike

    pace0·prose+1·bleak0

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Body Movers

    Stephanie Bond2006

    A department store employee joins a body-transport service for a trip to Florida that involves a missing socialite and a loan shark.

    earnest → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • The Sheik & the Princess in Waiting

    Susan Mallery2007

    A woman discovers her college romance was a legal marriage and travels to a desert kingdom to secure a divorce from a prince.

    earnest → playful

    pace+1·prose-2·bleak-2

  • A Veiled Deception

    Annette Blair2009

    A vintage shop owner investigates a murder during her sister's wedding preparations to clear her family's name.

    earnest → playful

    pace0·prose-2·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • Astrophysics for People in a Hurry

    Neil deGrasse Tyson2017

    A summary of the origin of the universe, the laws of physics, and the nature of space and time.

    earnest → playful

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Steal Like an Artist

    Austin Kleon2012

    A series of short, illustrated principles for creative work. It focuses on remixing existing ideas and establishing productive daily habits.

    earnest → playful

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

  • Poke the Box

    Seth Godin2011

    A short manifesto encouraging readers to start projects and take initiative. It argues that the greatest risk is staying in place.

    Same earnest register

    pace+2·prose-2·bleak-2

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Fugitive Pieces

    Anne Michaels1996

    A Jewish boy rescued from Nazi-occupied Poland is raised in Greece and Canada. The prose follows his life and the lives of those he touches.

    earnest → elegiac, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose0·bleak0

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    earnest → meditative

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak-1

  • Doktor Faustus

    Thomas Mann1948

    A composer trades his soul for musical genius as his life and the rise of Nazi Germany are chronicled by a concerned friend.

    earnest → elegiac, still historical fiction

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • Sophie’s Choice

    William Styron1979

    A young writer moves into a Brooklyn boarding house and befriends a Holocaust survivor and her volatile lover. He slowly learns of her past.

    earnest → elegiac, still historical fiction

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1

  • The Painted Bird

    Jerzy Kosiński1965

    A young boy wanders through Eastern Europe during World War II, encountering extreme cruelty and superstition in rural villages.

    earnest → bleak, still historical fiction

    pace+1·prose0·bleak+1

  • This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen

    Tadeusz Borowski1967

    Short stories based on the author's time in Auschwitz. The narrator describes the daily logistics of the Holocaust with detached indifference.

    earnest → cold, still historical fiction

    pace0·prose0·bleak+1