Factotum vs Go: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Beats, Beat generation, Fiction
Factotum
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One of Charles Bukowski's best, this beer-soaked, deliciously degenerate novel follows the wanderings of aspiring writer Henry Chinaski across World War II-era America. Deferred from military service, Chinaski travels…
Go
“"Last week I got the idea that the one aim of my intercourse with other people is to prevent them from noticing how brittle and will-less I have become," Paul Hobbes was writing.”
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Go is a 1952 semi-autobiographical novel by John Clellon Holmes. (Holmes referred to the book as a roman à clef.) It is considered to be the first published novel depicting the Beat Generation. Set in New York, it…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Factotum has the widest readership — 207 ratings behind its score.
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Scores by source
| Factotum | Go | |
|---|---|---|
| Hardcover | 3.8 (151) | 4.0 (1) |
| Google Books | — | 4.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (207) | — |
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Reception
| Factotum | Go | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 207 | 1 |
| Editions | 9 | 17 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Wikipedia attention | 335 | 411 |
| Pages | 205 | 311 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Factotum or Go?
Factotum has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Factotum 3.9/5, Go 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: Factotum or Go?
Factotum is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Factotum (205 pages, ≈ 3 h 48 m); Go (311 pages, ≈ 5 h 46 m).
Which is harder to read: Factotum or Go?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Factotum: Moderate; Go: Moderate.