Big Sur vs Mexico City blues: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Beats, Beat generation, Literary Criticism

Cover of Big Sur

Big Sur Jack Kerouac · 1962 ★★★★☆ 3.8 210 pages · ≈ 3 h 53 m · Challenging Find on Amazon

vs

Cover of Mexico City blues

Mexico City blues Jack Kerouac · 1959 ★★★★☆ 3.7 244 pages · ≈ 4 h 31 m · Demanding Find on Amazon

The verdict

Ratings are close: 3.8 vs 3.7 — either is a safe pick by score.
Big Sur is the easier read (Challenging), Mexico City blues more demanding (Demanding).

Side by side