Nineteen Eighty-Four vs The Book Thief: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Fiction
Nineteen Eighty-Four
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”
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Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel, often referred to as 1984, is a dystopian social science fiction novel by the English novelist George Orwell (the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair). It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker…
The Book Thief
“a mountain range of rubble in which our narrator introduces: himself – the colours – and the book thief.”
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The extraordinary, beloved novel about the ability of books to feed the soul even in the darkest of times. When Death has a story to tell, you listen. It is 1939. Nazi Germany. The country is holding its breath. Death…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Nineteen Eighty-Four is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 10 for The Book Thief.
- Nineteen Eighty-Four has the widest readership — 5733183 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| Nineteen Eighty-Four | The Book Thief | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.2 (5733183) | 4.4 (2969332) |
| Hardcover | 5.0 (1) | 4.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | — | 4.5 (6428) |
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Reception
| Nineteen Eighty-Four | The Book Thief | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 5733183 | 2969332 |
| Editions | 536 | 109 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 3170038 | 2459430 |
| Reading it now | — | 106721 |
| Written reviews | 171557 | 166701 |
| Wikipedia attention | 140637 | 21498 |
| Pages | 244 | 564 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Nineteen Eighty-Four or The Book Thief?
The Book Thief has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Book Thief 4.4/5, Nineteen Eighty-Four 4.2/5).
Which is shorter to read: Nineteen Eighty-Four or The Book Thief?
Nineteen Eighty-Four is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Nineteen Eighty-Four (244 pages, ≈ 4 h 31 m); The Book Thief (564 pages, ≈ 10 h 27 m).
Which is harder to read: Nineteen Eighty-Four or The Book Thief?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Nineteen Eighty-Four: Challenging; The Book Thief: Light.
Have both books been made into films?
Nineteen Eighty-Four: 5 film adaptations; The Book Thief: 3 film adaptations.