Life of Pi vs The Great Gatsby: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Fiction
Life of Pi
“My suffering left me sad and gloomy.”
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After the tragic sinking of a cargo ship, one solitary lifeboat remains bobbing on the wild, blue Pacific. The only survivors from the wreck are a sixteen-year-old boy named Pi, a hyena, a zebra (with a broken leg), a…
The Great Gatsby
“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.”
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Here is a novel, glamorous, ironical, compassionate – a marvelous fusion into unity of the curious incongruities of the life of the period – which reveals a hero like no other – one who could live at no other time and…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Great Gatsby has the widest readership — 6120259 ratings behind its score.
- The Great Gatsby runs the darker storyline; Life of Pi stays the lighter read.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| Life of Pi | The Great Gatsby | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.9 (1784421) | 3.9 (6120259) |
| Hardcover | 3.8 (1589) | 4.5 (2) |
| Google Books | 4.0 (39) | 5.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (116) | 4.5 (806) |
| LiveLib | — | 4.0 (5) |
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Reception
| Life of Pi | The Great Gatsby | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 1784421 | 6120259 |
| Editions | 115 | 1179 |
| Citations | — | 24 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 884954 | 2127185 |
| Reading it now | 28669 | 85180 |
| Written reviews | 58825 | 138625 |
| Wikipedia attention | 54450 | 94574 |
| Pages | 392 | 431 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Life of Pi or The Great Gatsby?
Life of Pi has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Life of Pi 3.9/5, The Great Gatsby 3.9/5).
Which is shorter to read: Life of Pi or The Great Gatsby?
Life of Pi is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Life of Pi (392 pages, ≈ 7 h 16 m); The Great Gatsby (431 pages, ≈ 7 h 59 m).
Which is harder to read: Life of Pi or The Great Gatsby?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Life of Pi: Moderate; The Great Gatsby: Moderate.
Have both books been made into films?
Life of Pi: 2 film adaptations; The Great Gatsby: 5 film adaptations.