Lord Jim vs The Magus: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: English Psychological fiction, British, Travel, Fiction
Lord Jim
This compact novel, completed in 1900, as with so many of the great novels of the time, is at its baseline a book of the sea. An English boy in a simple town has dreams bigger than the outdoors and embarks at an early…
1 film adaptation
vs
The Magus
A startlingly original novel about a young English graduate who takes a position as a teacher at a private school on a small Greek island. Bored and lonely he spends his free hours wandering alone until he meets a…
1 film adaptation
The verdict
- Readers rate The Magus highest: The Magus 3.9 · Lord Jim 3.6.
- Lord Jim is the quickest read — about 6 hours vs 12 for The Magus.
- Lord Jim has the widest readership — 33698 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Lord Jim | The Magus | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.6 (33698) | — |
| Hardcover | 3.5 (51) | 3.9 (113) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (89) | 4.0 (96) |
Reception
| Lord Jim | The Magus | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 33698 | 113 |
| Editions | 345 | 61 |
| Citations | 6 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 34552 | — |
| Reading it now | 2453 | — |
| Written reviews | 2031 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 7447 | 9779 |
| Pages | 332 | 670 |