Girl's Girl vs The Left Hand of Darkness: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Fiction

Girl's Girl Sonia Feldman ★★★★☆ 3.7 257 pages · ≈ 4 h 46 m · Moderate

Midnight Sun is the fifth studio album by Swedish singer and songwriter Zara Larsson. It was released on 26 September 2025, through Sommer House and Epic Records. Larsson worked with a range of collaborators on the…

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The Left Hand of Darkness Ursula K. Le Guin · 1969 ★★★★☆ 4.4 329 pages · ≈ 6 h 06 m · Challenging

[Comment by Kim Stanley Robinson, on The Guardian's website][1]: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin (1969) One of my favorite novels is The Left Hand of Darkness, by Ursula K Le Guin. For more than 40 years…

Gender Ice Age LGBTQ gender identity Space Travel

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Side by side

The verdict

Readers rate The Left Hand of Darkness highest: The Left Hand of Darkness 4.4 · Girl's Girl 3.7.
Girl's Girl has the widest readership — 9982 ratings behind its score.
The Left Hand of Darkness runs the darker storyline; Girl's Girl stays the lighter read.

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How to choose

Just want the better-reviewed one? The Left Hand of Darkness 4.4 vs 3.7 from readers New to the genre? Girl's Girl Moderate vs Challenging for The Left Hand of Darkness In the mood for something dark? The Left Hand of Darkness a darker storyline than Girl's Girl Want something lighter? Girl's Girl an easier tone than The Left Hand of Darkness

Scores by source

	Girl's Girl	The Left Hand of Darkness
Goodreads	3.7 (9982)	4.3 (262)
Hardcover	3.9 (9)	3.0 (2)
Apple Books	4.5 (18)	4.5 (576)
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Reception

	Girl's Girl	The Left Hand of Darkness
Ratings	9982	576
Editions	—	91
Film adaptations	—	1
Want to read	109288	502
Reading it now	1471	15
Written reviews	2795	27
Wikipedia attention	22180	34258
Pages	257	329
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Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Girl's Girl or The Left Hand of Darkness?

The Left Hand of Darkness has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Left Hand of Darkness 4.4/5, Girl's Girl 3.7/5).

Which is shorter to read: Girl's Girl or The Left Hand of Darkness?

Girl's Girl is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Girl's Girl (257 pages, ≈ 4 h 46 m); The Left Hand of Darkness (329 pages, ≈ 6 h 06 m).

Which is harder to read: Girl's Girl or The Left Hand of Darkness?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Girl's Girl: Moderate; The Left Hand of Darkness: Challenging.