Go vs Martin Eden: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Autobiographical fiction, Young men, Authors, Fiction
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…
Martin Eden
“The one opened the door with a latch-key and went in, followed by a young fellow who awkwardly removed his cap.”
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Jack London's Martin Eden was first published in 1909 and is the story of a young writer's quest for celebrity and love. Much loved by writers who identify with Martin's belief that when he posted a manuscript, 'there…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Martin Eden highest: Martin Eden 4.5 · Go 3.8.
- Martin Eden has the widest readership — 59067 ratings behind its score.
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Scores by source
| Go | Martin Eden | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 4.5 (59067) |
| Hardcover | 4.0 (1) | 4.4 (90) |
| Google Books | 4.0 (1) | — |
| Apple Books | — | 4.5 (11) |
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Reception
| Go | Martin Eden | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 1 | 59067 |
| Editions | 17 | 168 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 52050 |
| Reading it now | — | 3865 |
| Written reviews | — | 4446 |
| Wikipedia attention | 411 | 4308 |
| Pages | 311 | 374 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Go or Martin Eden?
Martin Eden has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Martin Eden 4.5/5, Go 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: Go or Martin Eden?
Go is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Go (311 pages, ≈ 5 h 46 m); Martin Eden (374 pages, ≈ 6 h 56 m).
Which is harder to read: Go or Martin Eden?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Go: Moderate; Martin Eden: Challenging.
Have both books been made into films?
Go: no film adaptation on record; Martin Eden: 5 film adaptations.