South Sea Tales vs Welcome to the Monkey House: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: American Short stories, Short Stories, Fiction
South Sea Tales
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Despite the heavy clumsiness of her lines, the Aorai handled easily in the light breeze, and her captain ran her well in before he hove to just outside the suck of the surf. The atoll of Hikueru lay low on the water, a…
Welcome to the Monkey House
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Welcome to the Monkey House is a collection of Kurt Vonnegut’s shorter works. Originally printed in publications as diverse as The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and The Atlantic Monthly, these superb stories…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate Welcome to the Monkey House highest: Welcome to the Monkey House 4.2 · South Sea Tales 3.8.
- South Sea Tales is the quickest read — about 2 hours vs 5 for Welcome to the Monkey House.
- South Sea Tales has the widest readership — 2682 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| South Sea Tales | Welcome to the Monkey House | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.8 (2682) | — |
| Hardcover | 2.0 (3) | 4.0 (150) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (104) | 4.5 (104) |
Reception
| South Sea Tales | Welcome to the Monkey House | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 2682 | 150 |
| Editions | 70 | 40 |
| Citations | 5 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 2086 | — |
| Reading it now | 344 | — |
| Written reviews | 206 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 212 | 2367 |
| Pages | 157 | 310 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: South Sea Tales or Welcome to the Monkey House?
Welcome to the Monkey House has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Welcome to the Monkey House 4.2/5, South Sea Tales 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: South Sea Tales or Welcome to the Monkey House?
South Sea Tales is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: South Sea Tales (157 pages, ≈ 2 h 54 m); Welcome to the Monkey House (310 pages, ≈ 5 h 44 m).
Which is harder to read: South Sea Tales or Welcome to the Monkey House?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — South Sea Tales: Challenging; Welcome to the Monkey House: Moderate.
Have both books been made into films?
South Sea Tales: no film adaptation on record; Welcome to the Monkey House: 1 film adaptation.