Sons vs Sons and Lovers: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Social life and customs, Fiction

Sons Pearl S. Buck · 1932 ★★★★☆ 3.9 467 pages · ≈ 8 h 39 m · Moderate

"Wang Lung lay dying." Thus the action of SONS begins immediately after that of the last chapter of THE GOOD EARTH. This new novel carries on the saga of the house of Wang, of Pear Blossom and the aging Lotus, of the…

Conflict of generations Children of the rich China Inheritance and succession

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Sons and Lovers D. H. Lawrence · 1913 ★★★★☆ 3.6 510 pages · ≈ 9 h 27 m · Challenging

Sons and Lovers, a story of working-class England, is D. H. Lawrence’s third novel. It went through various drafts, and was titled “Paul Morel” until the final draft, before being published and met with an indifferent…

1 film adaptation

Working class families Young men in fiction Coal mines and mining English Manuscripts

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Side by side

The verdict

Readers rate Sons highest: Sons 3.9 · Sons and Lovers 3.6.
Sons and Lovers has the widest readership — 56594 ratings behind its score.
Sons runs the darker storyline; Sons and Lovers stays the lighter read.

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How to choose

Want the crowd-tested pick? Sons and Lovers 56594 ratings vs 7764 for Sons New to the genre? Sons Moderate vs Challenging for Sons and Lovers In the mood for something dark? Sons a darker storyline than Sons and Lovers Want something lighter? Sons and Lovers an easier tone than Sons

Scores by source

	Sons	Sons and Lovers
Goodreads	3.9 (7764)	3.6 (56594)
Hardcover	3.4 (8)	3.4 (65)
Google Books	3.0 (3)	—
Apple Books	4.5 (18)	4.0 (94)
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Reception

	Sons	Sons and Lovers
Ratings	7764	56594
Editions	39	332
Citations	—	7
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	8021	—
Reading it now	1836	—
Written reviews	579	1
Wikipedia attention	690	5979
Pages	467	510
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Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Sons or Sons and Lovers?

Sons has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Sons 3.9/5, Sons and Lovers 3.6/5).

Which is shorter to read: Sons or Sons and Lovers?

Sons is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Sons (467 pages, ≈ 8 h 39 m); Sons and Lovers (510 pages, ≈ 9 h 27 m).

Which is harder to read: Sons or Sons and Lovers?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Sons: Moderate; Sons and Lovers: Challenging.

Have both books been made into films?

Sons: no film adaptation on record; Sons and Lovers: 1 film adaptation.