Lolita vs The Great Gatsby: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Drama, Romance, Fiction
Lolita
“Lolita, light of my life, fire of my loins.”
Lolita is a 1955 novel written by Russian-American novelist Vladimir Nabokov. The novel is notable for its controversial subject: the protagonist and unreliable narrator, a middle-aged literature professor under the…
1 film adaptationBanned book
vs
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.”
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…
1 film adaptation
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Lolita is the quickest read — about 5 hours vs 7 for The Great Gatsby.
- The Great Gatsby has the widest readership — 6120259 ratings behind its score.
- The Great Gatsby runs the darker storyline; Lolita stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Want a one-evening read?
Lolita
≈ 5h vs 7h for The Great Gatsby
Want the crowd-tested pick?
The Great Gatsby
6120259 ratings vs 975210 for Lolita
New to the genre?
The Great Gatsby
Moderate vs Demanding for Lolita
In the mood for something dark?
The Great Gatsby
a darker storyline than Lolita
Want something lighter?
Lolita
an easier tone than The Great Gatsby
Scores by source
| Lolita | The Great Gatsby | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.9 (975210) | 3.9 (6120259) |
| Hardcover | 3.5 (1) | 4.5 (2) |
| Google Books | — | 5.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (653) | 4.5 (806) |
| LiveLib | — | 4.0 (5) |
Reception
| Lolita | The Great Gatsby | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 975210 | 6120259 |
| Editions | 229 | 1179 |
| Citations | — | 24 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 1105781 | 2127185 |
| Reading it now | — | 85180 |
| Written reviews | 54148 | 138625 |
| Wikipedia attention | 96603 | 94574 |
| Pages | 322 | 431 |