As I Lay Dying vs The Faithless: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Dysfunctional families, Families, Fiction

As I Lay Dying William Faulkner · 1915 ★★★★☆ 3.7 250 pages · ≈ 4 h 38 m · Demanding

Written in stream-of-consciousness style with multiple narrators, the story follows a journey wherein the family of a dead woman try to transport her body to her birthplace in Mississippi in accordance with her wishes.…

1 film adaptation

Parent and adult child Problem families American Manuscripts Married women

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The Faithless Martina Cole · 2011 ★★★★☆ 4.2 490 pages · ≈ 9 h 04 m · Moderate

Don't miss NO REGRET, the brand new novel from Martina Cole. Coming October 2025. With family, there's a dangerous line between love and hate... Reaching the darkest corners of family life, THE FAITHLESS by the…

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Side by side

The verdict

Readers rate The Faithless highest: The Faithless 4.2 · As I Lay Dying 3.7.
As I Lay Dying is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 9 for The Faithless.
As I Lay Dying has the widest readership — 193649 ratings behind its score.
As I Lay Dying runs the darker storyline; The Faithless stays the lighter read.

As I Lay Dying: Check price →The Faithless: Check price →

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How to choose

Want a one-evening read? As I Lay Dying ≈ 4h vs 9h for The Faithless Want the crowd-tested pick? As I Lay Dying 193649 ratings vs 3894 for The Faithless Just want the better-reviewed one? The Faithless 4.2 vs 3.7 from readers New to the genre? The Faithless Moderate vs Demanding for As I Lay Dying In the mood for something dark? As I Lay Dying a darker storyline than The Faithless

Scores by source

	As I Lay Dying	The Faithless
Goodreads	3.7 (193649)	4.2 (3894)
Hardcover	3.7 (309)	4.0 (3)
Apple Books	4.0 (231)	—
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Reception

	As I Lay Dying	The Faithless
Ratings	193649	3894
Editions	62	3
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	285152	1534
Reading it now	9257	411
Written reviews	14613	194
Wikipedia attention	17736	891
Pages	250	490
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Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: As I Lay Dying or The Faithless?

The Faithless has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Faithless 4.2/5, As I Lay Dying 3.7/5).

Which is shorter to read: As I Lay Dying or The Faithless?

As I Lay Dying is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: As I Lay Dying (250 pages, ≈ 4 h 38 m); The Faithless (490 pages, ≈ 9 h 04 m).

Which is harder to read: As I Lay Dying or The Faithless?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — As I Lay Dying: Demanding; The Faithless: Moderate.

Have both books been made into films?

As I Lay Dying: 1 film adaptation; The Faithless: no film adaptation on record.