Major Barbara vs This Side of Paradise: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Children of the rich, Facsimiles, Manuscripts, Fiction

Major Barbara George Bernard Shaw · 1909 ★★★★☆ 3.7 136 pages · ≈ 2 h 31 m · Moderate

This is a play with the theme of societal salvation and salvation of the human soul brought out in characters representing the rich versus the poor.

1 film adaptation

Dictionaries British and irish drama English drama Fathers and daughters

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This Side of Paradise F. Scott Fitzgerald · 1920 ★★★★☆ 3.6 252 pages · ≈ 4 h 40 m · Moderate

This Side of Paradise, F. Scott Fitzgerald's romantic and witty first novel, was written when the author was only twenty-three years old. This semi-autobiographical story of the handsome, indulged, and idealistic…

College stories American Manuscripts Advertising Veterans

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Side by side

The verdict

Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
Major Barbara is the quickest read — about 2 hours vs 4 for This Side of Paradise.
This Side of Paradise has the widest readership — 81836 ratings behind its score.

How to choose

Want a one-evening read? Major Barbara ≈ 2h vs 4h for This Side of Paradise Want the crowd-tested pick? This Side of Paradise 81836 ratings vs 7360 for Major Barbara

Scores by source

	Major Barbara	This Side of Paradise
Goodreads	3.7 (7360)	3.6 (81836)
Hardcover	3.3 (6)	3.6 (102)
Apple Books	—	4.0 (223)

Reception

	Major Barbara	This Side of Paradise
Ratings	7360	81836
Editions	175	631
Citations	—	3
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	3865	112497
Reading it now	97	10247
Written reviews	303	5892
Wikipedia attention	2187	7674
Pages	136	252

Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Major Barbara or This Side of Paradise?

Major Barbara has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Major Barbara 3.7/5, This Side of Paradise 3.6/5).

Which is shorter to read: Major Barbara or This Side of Paradise?

Major Barbara is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Major Barbara (136 pages, ≈ 2 h 31 m); This Side of Paradise (252 pages, ≈ 4 h 40 m).

Which is harder to read: Major Barbara or This Side of Paradise?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Major Barbara: Moderate; This Side of Paradise: Moderate.

Have both books been made into films?

Major Barbara: 1 film adaptation; This Side of Paradise: no film adaptation on record.