Say Nothing vs Under the Banner of Heaven: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Violence, True Crime, New York Times reviewed, Murder
Say Nothing
“The John J. Burns Library occupies a grand Neo-Gothic building on the leafy campus of Boston College.”
“Masked intruders dragged Jean McConville, a 38-year-old widow and mother of 10, from her Belfast home in 1972. In this meticulously reported book — as finely paced as a novel — Keefe uses McConville’s murder as a prism…
vs
Under the Banner of Heaven
“Balanced atop the highest spire of the Salt Lake Temple, gleaming in the Utah sun, a statue of the angel Moroni stands watch over downtown Salt Lake City with his golden trumpet raised.”
Jon Krakauer's literary reputation rests on insightful chronicles of lives conducted at the outer limits. In UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN, he shifts his focus from extremes of physical adventure to extremes of religious…
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Under the Banner of Heaven is the quickest read — about 7 hours vs 9 for Say Nothing.
- Under the Banner of Heaven has the widest readership — 231239 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Say Nothing | Under the Banner of Heaven | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.9 (5779) | 4.0 (231239) |
| Hardcover | 4.5 (438) | 4.0 (354) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (1329) | 4.0 (810) |
Reception
| Say Nothing | Under the Banner of Heaven | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 5779 | 231239 |
| Editions | 12 | 23 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 191943 |
| Reading it now | — | 11408 |
| Written reviews | — | 16819 |
| Wikipedia attention | 130 | 9914 |
| Pages | 536 | 395 |