Big Sur vs Mexico City blues: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Beats, Beat generation, Literary Criticism
Big Sur
More
Big Sur is a novel written by Jack Kerouac, that was published in 1962. The books perspective is told from Kerouac's alter ego Jack Dulouz. The novel describes Kerouac's frustration that he has with his fame of being a…
Mexico City blues
More
A series of poems deals with music, life, religion, literature, dreams and mortality.
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Big Sur has the widest readership — 38930 ratings behind its score.
- Mexico City blues runs the darker storyline; Big Sur stays the lighter read.
Affiliate links: we may earn a commission on purchases.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Big Sur | Mexico City blues | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.8 (38930) | 3.7 (3872) |
| Hardcover | 3.6 (57) | 3.2 (10) |
| Google Books | — | 4.0 (3) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (57) | 4.0 (7) |
| Check price → | Check price → |
Reception
| Big Sur | Mexico City blues | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 38930 | 3872 |
| Editions | 38 | 13 |
| Citations | — | 14 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 3741 |
| Reading it now | — | 183 |
| Written reviews | — | 205 |
| Wikipedia attention | 3031 | 395 |
| Pages | 210 | 244 |
| Check price → | Check price → |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Big Sur or Mexico City blues?
Big Sur has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Big Sur 3.8/5, Mexico City blues 3.7/5).
Which is shorter to read: Big Sur or Mexico City blues?
Big Sur is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Big Sur (210 pages, ≈ 3 h 53 m); Mexico City blues (244 pages, ≈ 4 h 31 m).
Which is harder to read: Big Sur or Mexico City blues?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Big Sur: Challenging; Mexico City blues: Demanding.
Have both books been made into films?
Big Sur: 1 film adaptation; Mexico City blues: no film adaptation on record.