Bring Up the Bodies vs Gilgamesh: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: History, Fiction

Bring Up the Bodies Hilary Mantel · 2012 ★★★★☆ 4.3 432 pages · ≈ 8 h 00 m · Moderate

“His children are falling from the sky.”

Bring Up the Bodies is a historical novel by Hilary Mantel; sequel to the award-winning Wolf Hall; and part of a trilogy charting the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, the powerful minister in the court of King Henry…

1 film adaptation

Fictional Works Englisch Literary Fiction Literary

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Gilgamesh Stephen Mitchell · 2004 ★★★★☆ 4.0 304 pages · ≈ 5 h 38 m · Moderate

"Gilgamesh dates from as early as 1700 BCE - a thousand years before the Iliad. Lost for almost two millennia, the eleven clay tablets on which the epic was inscribed were discovered in 1853 in the ruins of Nineveh, and…

Giants Epic poetry Immortality Male friendship

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Side by side

The verdict

Readers rate Bring Up the Bodies highest: Bring Up the Bodies 4.3 · Gilgamesh 4.0.
Gilgamesh is the quickest read — about 5 hours vs 8 for Bring Up the Bodies.
Bring Up the Bodies has the widest readership — 107638 ratings behind its score.
Bring Up the Bodies runs the darker storyline; Gilgamesh stays the lighter read.

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How to choose

Want a one-evening read? Gilgamesh ≈ 5h vs 8h for Bring Up the Bodies In the mood for something dark? Bring Up the Bodies a darker storyline than Gilgamesh Want something lighter? Gilgamesh an easier tone than Bring Up the Bodies

Scores by source

	Bring Up the Bodies	Gilgamesh
Goodreads	4.3 (107638)	—
Hardcover	4.3 (183)	4.0 (2)
Google Books	3.0 (118)	—
Apple Books	4.5 (807)	4.0 (64)
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Reception

	Bring Up the Bodies	Gilgamesh
Ratings	107638	64
Editions	55	11
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	113981	—
Reading it now	5742	—
Written reviews	10039	—
Wikipedia attention	3806	47756
Pages	432	304
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Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Bring Up the Bodies or Gilgamesh?

Bring Up the Bodies has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Bring Up the Bodies 4.3/5, Gilgamesh 4.0/5).

Which is shorter to read: Bring Up the Bodies or Gilgamesh?

Gilgamesh is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Gilgamesh (304 pages, ≈ 5 h 38 m); Bring Up the Bodies (432 pages, ≈ 8 h 00 m).

Which is harder to read: Bring Up the Bodies or Gilgamesh?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Bring Up the Bodies: Moderate; Gilgamesh: Moderate.

Have both books been made into films?

Bring Up the Bodies: 1 film adaptation; Gilgamesh: no film adaptation on record.