A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man vs On The Road: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Autobiographical fiction, Classics, Classic Literature, Fiction
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
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Stephen Dedalus grows up in Dublin, feeling different from the other boys. His childhood and adolescence are shaped by bullying, his father's weaknesses and the growing realization that in order to make his way in the…
On The Road
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Described as everything from a "last gasp" of romantic fiction to a founding text of the Beat Generation movement, this story amounts to a nonfiction novel (as critics were later to describe some works). Unpublished…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man has the widest readership — 167858 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | On The Road | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.6 (167858) | 3.6 (24482) |
| Hardcover | 3.6 (300) | 3.0 (1) |
| Google Books | 3.5 (3) | 3.5 (19) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (31) | 4.0 (621) |
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Reception
| A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | On The Road | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 167858 | 24482 |
| Editions | 765 | 152 |
| Citations | 256 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 178390 | 369710 |
| Reading it now | — | 2451 |
| Written reviews | 9911 | 24482 |
| Wikipedia attention | 17085 | 24106 |
| Pages | 216 | 255 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man or On The Road?
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man has the higher combined reader rating across sources (A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man 3.6/5, On The Road 3.6/5).
Which is shorter to read: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man or On The Road?
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (216 pages, ≈ 4 h 00 m); On The Road (255 pages, ≈ 4 h 43 m).
Which is harder to read: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man or On The Road?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: Demanding; On The Road: Demanding.
Have both books been made into films?
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: 1 film adaptation; On The Road: 3 film adaptations.