An Autobiography vs Correspondence: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Composers, Musicians, Biography & Memoir
An Autobiography
An Autobiography chronicles the first half-century of Stravinsky's life, all the while offering his opinions and "abhorrences". A Parsifal performance at Bayreuth? "At the end of a quarter of an hour I could bear no…
vs
Correspondence
The Life of Hector Berlioz as Written by Himself in His Letters and Memoirs is both autobiography and artistic manifesto, gathering the composer's recollections and correspondence into a vivid self-portrait of Romantic…
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- An Autobiography is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 5 for Correspondence.
- An Autobiography has the widest readership — 2 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| An Autobiography | Correspondence | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 3.5 (2) | 4.0 (1) |
Reception
| An Autobiography | Correspondence | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 2 | 1 |
| Editions | 11 | 24 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Wikipedia attention | 68 | 335 |
| Pages | 176 | 322 |