Of Mice and Men vs The Great Gatsby: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Classics, Drama, Fiction

Of Mice and Men John Steinbeck · 1937 ★★★★☆ 3.9 194 pages · ≈ 3 h 36 m · Challenging

“A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas River drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green.”

The second book in John Steinbeck’s labor trilogy, Of Mice and Men is a touching tale of two migrant laborers in search of work and eventual liberation from their social circumstances. Fiercely devoted to one another,…

1 film adaptation

Labor Trilogy Vida ranchera Goal People with mental disabilities

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The Great Gatsby F. Scott Fitzgerald · 1920 ★★★★☆ 3.9 431 pages · ≈ 7 h 59 m · Moderate

“In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since.”

Here is a novel, glamorous, ironical, compassionate – a marvelous fusion into unity of the curious incongruities of the life of the period – which reveals a hero like no other – one who could live at no other time and…

1 film adaptation

Mistresses American Manuscripts Traffic accidents First loves

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Side by side

The verdict

Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
Of Mice and Men is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 7 for The Great Gatsby.
The Great Gatsby has the widest readership — 6120259 ratings behind its score.
Of Mice and Men runs the darker storyline; The Great Gatsby stays the lighter read.

How to choose

Want a one-evening read? Of Mice and Men ≈ 3h vs 7h for The Great Gatsby New to the genre? The Great Gatsby Moderate vs Challenging for Of Mice and Men In the mood for something dark? Of Mice and Men a darker storyline than The Great Gatsby Want something lighter? The Great Gatsby an easier tone than Of Mice and Men

Scores by source

	Of Mice and Men	The Great Gatsby
Goodreads	3.9 (2939654)	3.9 (6120259)
Hardcover	4.0 (1)	4.5 (2)
Google Books	4.0 (12)	5.0 (1)
Apple Books	4.5 (4121)	4.5 (806)
LiveLib	—	4.0 (5)

Reception

	Of Mice and Men	The Great Gatsby
Ratings	2939654	6120259
Editions	292	1179
Citations	—	24
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	978907	2127185
Reading it now	18844	85180
Written reviews	72226	138625
Wikipedia attention	54160	94574
Pages	194	431

Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Of Mice and Men or The Great Gatsby?

The Great Gatsby has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Great Gatsby 3.9/5, Of Mice and Men 3.9/5).

Which is shorter to read: Of Mice and Men or The Great Gatsby?

Of Mice and Men is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Of Mice and Men (194 pages, ≈ 3 h 36 m); The Great Gatsby (431 pages, ≈ 7 h 59 m).

Which is harder to read: Of Mice and Men or The Great Gatsby?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Of Mice and Men: Challenging; The Great Gatsby: Moderate.

Have both books been made into films?

Of Mice and Men: 4 film adaptations; The Great Gatsby: 5 film adaptations.