A Little Life vs Faces: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Child Abuse, Dysfunctional families, Families, Fiction
A Little Life
“The eleventh apartment had only one closet, but it did have a sliding glass door that opened onto a small balcony, from which he could see a man sitting across the way, outdoors in only a T-shirt and shorts even though it was October, smoking.”
A Little Life is a 2015 novel by American novelist Hanya Yanagihara. The novel was written over the course of eighteen months. Despite the length and difficult subject matter, it became a bestseller.
vs
Faces
"Just before Danny Cadogan's fourteenth birthday, his father leaves. Alone, his wife and children face the wrath of the men sent to collect his gambling debt. Now, Danny is determined to protect his mother, brother and…
The verdict
- Readers rate A Little Life highest: A Little Life 4.3 · Faces 3.9.
- Faces is the quickest read — about 10 hours vs 13 for A Little Life.
- A Little Life has the widest readership — 1002118 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| A Little Life | Faces | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.3 (1002118) | — |
| Hardcover | 4.1 (1002) | 5.0 (1) |
| Google Books | 4.0 (1) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (3366) | — |
Reception
| A Little Life | Faces | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 1002118 | 1 |
| Editions | 38 | 12 |
| Citations | 10 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | — |
| Want to read | 1815985 | — |
| Reading it now | 182766 | — |
| Written reviews | 163347 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 64017 | 6204 |
| Pages | 730 | 585 |