Lolita vs Madame Bovary: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Literary Fiction, 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
Madame Bovary
Charles Bovary, médecin de campagne, veuf d'une mégère, fait lors d'une tournée la rencontre du père Rouault et de sa fille, Emma. Après leur mariage, Emma reste insatisfaite et rêve d'une nouvelle vie. Son premier…
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 Madame Bovary.
- Lolita has the widest readership — 975210 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Lolita | Madame Bovary | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.9 (975210) | 3.7 (388377) |
| Hardcover | 3.5 (1) | 3.5 (454) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (653) | 4.0 (316) |
Reception
| Lolita | Madame Bovary | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 975210 | 388377 |
| Editions | 229 | 1558 |
| Citations | — | 76 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 1105781 | 377133 |
| Reading it now | — | 23808 |
| Written reviews | 54148 | 21977 |
| Wikipedia attention | 96603 | 23433 |
| Pages | 322 | 430 |