Les belles images vs À rebours: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: French fiction, Continental european fiction, Fiction

Cover of Les belles images

Les belles images Simone de Beauvoir · 1966 ★★★★☆ 3.8 174 pages · ≈ 3 h 13 m · Moderate Find on Amazon

vs

Cover of À rebours

À rebours Joris-Karl Huysmans · 1884 ★★★★☆ 3.8 294 pages · ≈ 5 h 27 m · Challenging Find on Amazon

The verdict

Ratings are close: 3.8 vs 3.8 — either is a safe pick by score.
Les belles images is the quicker read — about 3 hours vs 5 for À rebours.
Les belles images is the easier read (Moderate), À rebours more demanding (Challenging).

Side by side