La père Goriot vs White Nights: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Continental european fiction, Social life and customs, History, Fiction

La père Goriot Honoré de Balzac · 1800 ★★★★☆ 3.9 285 pages · ≈ 5 h 17 m · Demanding Find on Amazon

White Nights

White Nights Fyodor Dostoyevsky · 1961 ★★★★☆ 4.1 239 pages · ≈ 4 h 26 m · Moderate Find on Amazon

The verdict

Ratings are close: 3.9 vs 4.1 — either is a safe pick by score.
White Nights is the easier read (Moderate), La père Goriot more demanding (Demanding).