Notre Dame de Paris vs The Plague: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: French fiction, French literature, Fiction
Notre Dame de Paris
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In fifteenth-century Paris, a disfigured man named Quasimodo, who was abandoned as an infant in the cathedral of Notre-Dame and now lives in its bell tower, must come to the aid of a beautiful gypsy girl named Esmeralda…
The Plague
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From the Publisher: From one of the most brilliant and influential thinkers of the twentieth century-two novels, six short stories, and a pair of essays in a single volume. In both his essays and his fiction, Albert…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Notre Dame de Paris is the quickest read — about 7 hours vs 12 for The Plague.
- Notre Dame de Paris has the widest readership — 224399 ratings behind its score.
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How to choose
Scores by source
| Notre Dame de Paris | The Plague | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.0 (224399) | — |
| Hardcover | — | 3.7 (3) |
| Apple Books | — | 4.5 (14) |
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Reception
| Notre Dame de Paris | The Plague | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 224399 | 14 |
| Editions | 265 | 2 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 272359 | — |
| Written reviews | 10083 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 53026 | 132985 |
| Pages | 409 | 680 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Notre Dame de Paris or The Plague?
The Plague has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Plague 4.1/5, Notre Dame de Paris 4.0/5).
Which is shorter to read: Notre Dame de Paris or The Plague?
Notre Dame de Paris is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Notre Dame de Paris (409 pages, ≈ 7 h 34 m); The Plague (680 pages, ≈ 12 h 36 m).
Which is harder to read: Notre Dame de Paris or The Plague?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Notre Dame de Paris: Challenging; The Plague: Moderate.