South Sea Tales vs When God Laughs and Other Short Stories: 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…
When God Laughs and Other Short Stories
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Released in 1911, When God Laughs, and Other Stories is the eleventh collection of short stories by Jack London. In contrast with most of his other work that had been released at the time, When God Laughs is set in…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- South Sea Tales has the widest readership — 2682 ratings behind its score.
Scores by source
| South Sea Tales | When God Laughs and Other Short Stories | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.8 (2682) | — |
| Hardcover | 2.0 (3) | — |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (104) | — |
Reception
| South Sea Tales | When God Laughs and Other Short Stories | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 2682 | 1 |
| Editions | 70 | 61 |
| Citations | 5 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | — |
| Want to read | 2086 | — |
| Reading it now | 344 | — |
| Written reviews | 206 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 212 | — |
| Pages | 157 | 148 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: South Sea Tales or When God Laughs and Other Short Stories?
South Sea Tales has the higher combined reader rating across sources (South Sea Tales 3.8/5, When God Laughs and Other Short Stories 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: South Sea Tales or When God Laughs and Other Short Stories?
When God Laughs and Other Short Stories is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: When God Laughs and Other Short Stories (148 pages, ≈ 2 h 44 m); South Sea Tales (157 pages, ≈ 2 h 54 m).
Which is harder to read: South Sea Tales or When God Laughs and Other Short Stories?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — South Sea Tales: Challenging; When God Laughs and Other Short Stories: Challenging.