Giovanni's Room vs Things Fall Apart: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Men, Race Relations, Classics, Fiction
Giovanni's Room
“I stand at the window of this great house in the south of France as night falls, the night which is leading me to the most terrible morning of my life.”
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Considered an 'audacious' second novel, GIOVANNI'S ROOM is set in the 1950s Paris of American expatriates, liaisons, and violence. This now-classic story of a fated love triangle explores, with uncompromising clarity,…
Things Fall Apart
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Things Fall Apart is the debut novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, first published in 1958. It depicts pre-colonial life in the southeastern part of Nigeria and the arrival of Europeans during the late 19th century.…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Giovanni's Room highest: Giovanni's Room 4.3 · Things Fall Apart 3.9.
- Giovanni's Room has the widest readership — 294566 ratings behind its score.
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Scores by source
| Giovanni's Room | Things Fall Apart | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.3 (294566) | — |
| Hardcover | 4.0 (1) | 3.7 (616) |
| Google Books | — | 3.5 (39) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (509) | 4.0 (719) |
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Reception
| Giovanni's Room | Things Fall Apart | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 294566 | 719 |
| Editions | 65 | 94 |
| Citations | 80 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 533499 | — |
| Reading it now | 17324 | — |
| Written reviews | 43542 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 35465 | 30176 |
| Pages | 185 | 196 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Giovanni's Room or Things Fall Apart?
Giovanni's Room has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Giovanni's Room 4.3/5, Things Fall Apart 3.9/5).
Which is shorter to read: Giovanni's Room or Things Fall Apart?
Giovanni's Room is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Giovanni's Room (185 pages, ≈ 3 h 26 m); Things Fall Apart (196 pages, ≈ 3 h 38 m).
Which is harder to read: Giovanni's Room or Things Fall Apart?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Giovanni's Room: Challenging; Things Fall Apart: Challenging.
Have both books been made into films?
Giovanni's Room: no film adaptation on record; Things Fall Apart: 1 film adaptation.