Bitter lemons vs China Road: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Manners and customs, Description and travel, Travel, Social life and customs
Bitter lemons
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With the publication of Justine Lawrence Durrell became, almost overnight, one of the most talked about, widely acclaimed novelists of the decade. Now, in Bitter Lemons, his focus has shifted from the world of his…
China Road
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Route 312 is the Chinese Route 66. It flows three thousand miles from east to west, passing through the factory towns of the coastal areas, through the rural heart of China, then up into the Gobi Desert, where it merges…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate China Road highest: China Road 4.1 · Bitter lemons 3.8.
- Bitter lemons has the widest readership — 2983 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| Bitter lemons | China Road | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.8 (2983) | — |
| Hardcover | 4.0 (1) | 3.8 (8) |
| Google Books | — | 4.5 (5) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (12) | 4.5 (16) |
Reception
| Bitter lemons | China Road | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 2983 | 16 |
| Editions | 48 | 15 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 4368 | — |
| Reading it now | 525 | — |
| Written reviews | 316 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 685 | 58 |
| Pages | 271 | 342 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Bitter lemons or China Road?
China Road has the higher combined reader rating across sources (China Road 4.1/5, Bitter lemons 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: Bitter lemons or China Road?
Bitter lemons is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Bitter lemons (271 pages, ≈ 5 h 01 m); China Road (342 pages, ≈ 6 h 20 m).
Which is harder to read: Bitter lemons or China Road?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Bitter lemons: Moderate; China Road: Moderate.