A coat of many colours vs Shooting an Elephant and other essays: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: English essays, Essays
A coat of many colours
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This book, first published in 1947, is collection of critical essays by Herbert Read that had not been previously published in book form. The essays cover several different subject areas, including literature, art,…
Shooting an Elephant and other essays
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'Shooting an Elephant' is Orwell's searing and painfully honest account of his experience as a police officer in imperial Burma; killing an escaped elephant in front of a crowd 'solely to avoid looking a fool'. The…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Shooting an Elephant and other essays is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 6 for A coat of many colours.
- Shooting an Elephant and other essays has the widest readership — 12697 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| A coat of many colours | Shooting an Elephant and other essays | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.6 (5) | 4.0 (12697) |
| Hardcover | — | 4.2 (19) |
Reception
| A coat of many colours | Shooting an Elephant and other essays | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 5 | 12697 |
| Editions | 15 | 10 |
| Want to read | 16 | 16529 |
| Reading it now | — | 358 |
| Written reviews | — | 843 |
| Pages | 352 | 206 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: A coat of many colours or Shooting an Elephant and other essays?
Shooting an Elephant and other essays has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Shooting an Elephant and other essays 4.0/5, A coat of many colours 3.9/5).
Which is shorter to read: A coat of many colours or Shooting an Elephant and other essays?
Shooting an Elephant and other essays is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Shooting an Elephant and other essays (206 pages, ≈ 3 h 49 m); A coat of many colours (352 pages, ≈ 6 h 31 m).
Which is harder to read: A coat of many colours or Shooting an Elephant and other essays?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — A coat of many colours: Challenging; Shooting an Elephant and other essays: Moderate.