Smoke and Ashes vs The Glass Palace: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: India, History, 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 Glass Palace
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Set in Burma during the British invasion of 1885, this masterly novel by Amitav Ghosh tells the story of Rajkumar, a poor boy lifted on the tides of political and social chaos, who goes on to create an empire in the…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Smoke and Ashes is the quickest read — about 6 hours vs 10 for The Glass Palace.
- The Glass Palace has the widest readership — 1406392 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| Smoke and Ashes | The Glass Palace | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 4.3 (1406392) |
| Hardcover | 4.1 (16) | 3.7 (32) |
| Google Books | — | 5.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (43) | 4.5 (76) |
Reception
| Smoke and Ashes | The Glass Palace | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 43 | 1406392 |
| Editions | 6 | 27 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Wikipedia attention | 570 | 1847 |
| Pages | 352 | 560 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Smoke and Ashes or The Glass Palace?
The Glass Palace has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Glass Palace 4.3/5, Smoke and Ashes 4.2/5).
Which is shorter to read: Smoke and Ashes or The Glass Palace?
Smoke and Ashes is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Smoke and Ashes (352 pages, ≈ 6 h 31 m); The Glass Palace (560 pages, ≈ 10 h 22 m).
Which is harder to read: Smoke and Ashes or The Glass Palace?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Smoke and Ashes: Moderate; The Glass Palace: Moderate.