Orlando vs Things Fall Apart: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Men, Historical Fiction, History, Fiction
Orlando
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In her most exuberant, most fanciful novel, Woolf has created a character liberated from the restraints of time and sex. Born in the Elizabethan Age to wealth and position, Orlando is a young nobleman at the beginning…
Things Fall Apart
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Things Fall Apart is the debut novel by Nigerian author Chinua Achebe, first published in 1958. It depicts pre-colonial life in the southeastern part of Nigeria and the arrival of Europeans during the late 19th century.…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Orlando has the widest readership — 122182 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| Orlando | Things Fall Apart | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.9 (122182) | — |
| Hardcover | 2.0 (1) | 3.7 (616) |
| Google Books | — | 3.5 (39) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (25) | 4.0 (719) |
Reception
| Orlando | Things Fall Apart | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 122182 | 719 |
| Editions | 452 | 94 |
| Citations | 22 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 217706 | — |
| Reading it now | 10968 | — |
| Written reviews | 12896 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 1731 | 30176 |
| Pages | 194 | 196 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Orlando or Things Fall Apart?
Orlando has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Orlando 3.9/5, Things Fall Apart 3.9/5).
Which is shorter to read: Orlando or Things Fall Apart?
Orlando is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Orlando (194 pages, ≈ 3 h 36 m); Things Fall Apart (196 pages, ≈ 3 h 38 m).
Which is harder to read: Orlando or Things Fall Apart?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Orlando: Demanding; Things Fall Apart: Challenging.
Have both books been made into films?
Orlando: no film adaptation on record; Things Fall Apart: 1 film adaptation.