Smoke and Ashes vs The Constant Gardener: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: British, Investigation, Murder, Fiction
Smoke and Ashes
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India, 1921. Haunted by his memories of World War I, Captain Sam Wyndham is battling a serious addiction to opium that he must keep secret from his superiors in the Calcutta police force. When Sam is summoned to…
The Constant Gardener
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Frightening, heartbreaking, and exquisitely calibrated, John le Carré's new novel opens with the gruesome murder of the young and beautiful Tessa Quayle near northern Kenya's Lake Turkana, the birthplace of mankind. Her…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Smoke and Ashes highest: Smoke and Ashes 4.2 · The Constant Gardener 3.8.
- Smoke and Ashes is the quickest read — about 6 hours vs 10 for The Constant Gardener.
- The Constant Gardener has the widest readership — 31802 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| Smoke and Ashes | The Constant Gardener | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 3.8 (31802) |
| Hardcover | 4.1 (16) | 3.7 (49) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (43) | 4.0 (171) |
Reception
| Smoke and Ashes | The Constant Gardener | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 43 | 31802 |
| Editions | 6 | 30 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Wikipedia attention | 570 | 3597 |
| Pages | 352 | 557 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Smoke and Ashes or The Constant Gardener?
Smoke and Ashes has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Smoke and Ashes 4.2/5, The Constant Gardener 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: Smoke and Ashes or The Constant Gardener?
Smoke and Ashes is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Smoke and Ashes (352 pages, ≈ 6 h 31 m); The Constant Gardener (557 pages, ≈ 10 h 19 m).
Which is harder to read: Smoke and Ashes or The Constant Gardener?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Smoke and Ashes: Moderate; The Constant Gardener: Moderate.
Have both books been made into films?
Smoke and Ashes: no film adaptation on record; The Constant Gardener: 2 film adaptations.