All the Light We Cannot See vs The Pillars of the Earth: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Historical Fiction, History, Fiction

All the Light We Cannot See Anthony Doerr · 2014 ★★★★☆ 4.3 544 pages · ≈ 10 h 04 m · Moderate

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

Blind Youth Germany Amerikanisches Englisch

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The Pillars of the Earth Ken Follett · 1989 ★★★★☆ 4.4 1040 pages · ≈ 19 h 16 m · Challenging

“IN A BROAD VALLEY, at the foot of a sloping hillside, beside a clear bubbling stream, Tom was building a house.”

The Pillars of the Earth is a historical novel by Welsh author Ken Follett published in 1989 about the building of a cathedral in the fictional town of Kingsbridge, England. Set in the 12th century, the novel covers the…

1 film adaptation

Church and State Suspense & Thriller Epic Fiction Epic literature

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Side by side

The verdict

Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
All the Light We Cannot See is the quickest read — about 10 hours vs 19 for The Pillars of the Earth.
All the Light We Cannot See has the widest readership — 2061893 ratings behind its score.

How to choose

Want a one-evening read? All the Light We Cannot See ≈ 10h vs 19h for The Pillars of the Earth New to the genre? All the Light We Cannot See Moderate vs Challenging for The Pillars of the Earth

Scores by source

	All the Light We Cannot See	The Pillars of the Earth
Goodreads	4.3 (2061893)	4.3 (855879)
Hardcover	—	4.2 (1034)
Google Books	4.5 (4)	—
Apple Books	4.5 (11862)	4.5 (3249)

Reception

	All the Light We Cannot See	The Pillars of the Earth
Ratings	2061893	855879
Editions	72	111
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	2133539	598767
Reading it now	119150	39803
Written reviews	128411	43843
Wikipedia attention	29517	28093
Pages	544	1040

Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: All the Light We Cannot See or The Pillars of the Earth?

The Pillars of the Earth has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Pillars of the Earth 4.4/5, All the Light We Cannot See 4.3/5).

Which is shorter to read: All the Light We Cannot See or The Pillars of the Earth?

All the Light We Cannot See is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: All the Light We Cannot See (544 pages, ≈ 10 h 04 m); The Pillars of the Earth (1040 pages, ≈ 19 h 16 m).

Which is harder to read: All the Light We Cannot See or The Pillars of the Earth?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — All the Light We Cannot See: Moderate; The Pillars of the Earth: Challenging.

Have both books been made into films?

All the Light We Cannot See: 1 film adaptation; The Pillars of the Earth: 2 film adaptations.