All the Light We Cannot See vs The Book Thief: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: World War II, New York Times reviewed, Historical Fiction, History, Fiction
All the Light We Cannot See
From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, a stunningly ambitious and beautiful novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the…
1 film adaptation
vs
The Book Thief
“a mountain range of rubble in which our narrator introduces: himself – the colours – and the book thief.”
The extraordinary, beloved novel about the ability of books to feed the soul even in the darkest of times. When Death has a story to tell, you listen. It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death…
1 film adaptation
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Book Thief has the widest readership — 2969332 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| All the Light We Cannot See | The Book Thief | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.3 (2061893) | 4.4 (2969332) |
| Hardcover | — | 4.0 (1) |
| Google Books | 4.5 (4) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (11862) | 4.5 (6428) |
Reception
| All the Light We Cannot See | The Book Thief | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 2061893 | 2969332 |
| Editions | 72 | 109 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 2133539 | 2459430 |
| Reading it now | 119150 | 106721 |
| Written reviews | 128411 | 166701 |
| Wikipedia attention | 29517 | 21498 |
| Pages | 544 | 564 |