A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man vs Sons and Lovers: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: English Manuscripts, Facsimiles, Manuscripts, Young men, 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…
Sons and Lovers
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Sons and Lovers, a story of working-class England, is D. H. Lawrence’s third novel. It went through various drafts, and was titled “Paul Morel” until the final draft, before being published and met with an indifferent…
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 is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 9 for Sons and Lovers.
- A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man has the widest readership — 167858 ratings behind its score.
- A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man reaches further in scholarship and criticism — cited 256 times.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Sons and Lovers | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.6 (167858) | 3.6 (56594) |
| Hardcover | 3.6 (300) | 3.4 (65) |
| Google Books | 3.5 (3) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (31) | 4.0 (94) |
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Reception
| A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man | Sons and Lovers | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 167858 | 56594 |
| Editions | 765 | 332 |
| Citations | 256 | 7 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 178390 | — |
| Written reviews | 9911 | 1 |
| Wikipedia attention | 17085 | 5979 |
| Pages | 216 | 510 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man or Sons and Lovers?
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, Sons and Lovers 3.6/5).
Which is shorter to read: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man or Sons and Lovers?
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); Sons and Lovers (510 pages, ≈ 9 h 27 m).
Which is harder to read: A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man or Sons and Lovers?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: Demanding; Sons and Lovers: Challenging.
Have both books been made into films?
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: 1 film adaptation; Sons and Lovers: 1 film adaptation.