La chartreuse de Parme vs Portnoy's Complaint: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Young men in fiction, Young men, Fiction
La chartreuse de Parme
Headstrong and naive, the young Italian aristocrat Fabrizio del Dongo is determined to defy the wrath of his right-wing father and go to war to fight for Napoleon. He stumbles on the Battle of Waterloo, ill-prepared,…
vs
Portnoy's Complaint
Though is caused outrage and controversy at the time of its publication Roth’s comic novel of sexual obsession and frustration is now widely regarded as one of the best novels of the twentieth century.
1 film adaptation
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Portnoy's Complaint is the quickest read — about 5 hours vs 8 for La chartreuse de Parme.
- Portnoy's Complaint has the widest readership — 75581 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| La chartreuse de Parme | Portnoy's Complaint | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.8 (20659) | 3.7 (75581) |
| Hardcover | — | 3.6 (94) |
Reception
| La chartreuse de Parme | Portnoy's Complaint | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 20659 | 75581 |
| Editions | 554 | 79 |
| Citations | 31 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 30310 | 61 |
| Reading it now | 1616 | — |
| Written reviews | 1193 | 10 |
| Wikipedia attention | 67 | 10301 |
| Pages | 478 | 306 |