How to Be Good vs The Silent Patient: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Marriage, London, Fiction
How to Be Good
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According to her own complex moral calculations, Katie Carr has earned her affair. She's a doctor and her husband David is the self-styled Angriest Man in Holloway. But when David suddenly becomes good - properly,…
The Silent Patient
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Alicia Berenson’s life is seemingly perfect. One evening her husband Gabriel returns home late from a fashion shoot, and Alicia shoots him five times in the face, and then never speaks another word. Alicia’s refusal to…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate The Silent Patient highest: The Silent Patient 4.5 · How to Be Good 3.2.
- How to Be Good is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 6 for The Silent Patient.
- How to Be Good has the widest readership — 58443 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| How to Be Good | The Silent Patient | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.2 (58443) | 4.2 (377) |
| Hardcover | 3.4 (78) | 4.0 (1) |
| Google Books | 3.0 (1) | — |
| Apple Books | 3.5 (46) | 4.5 (27458) |
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Reception
| How to Be Good | The Silent Patient | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 58443 | 27458 |
| Editions | 49 | 26 |
| Citations | — | 2 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | — |
| Want to read | — | 5586 |
| Written reviews | — | 377 |
| Wikipedia attention | 689 | 34265 |
| Pages | 258 | 366 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: How to Be Good or The Silent Patient?
The Silent Patient has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Silent Patient 4.5/5, How to Be Good 3.2/5).
Which is shorter to read: How to Be Good or The Silent Patient?
How to Be Good is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: How to Be Good (258 pages, ≈ 4 h 47 m); The Silent Patient (366 pages, ≈ 6 h 47 m).
Which is harder to read: How to Be Good or The Silent Patient?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — How to Be Good: Light; The Silent Patient: Moderate.