The English Patient vs To Have and Have Not: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Ficción, American literature, Fiction
The English Patient
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With ravishing beauty and unsettling intelligence, Michael Ondaatje's Booker Prize-winning novel traces the intersection of four damaged lives in an Italian villa at the end of World War II. Hana, the exhausted nurse;…
To Have and Have Not
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This 1936 novel tells the story of an American fishing boat skipper who dabbles in a little smuggling to make ends meet. In need of money for his family the captain reluctantly becomes agrees to smuggle a group of…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The English Patient has the widest readership — 142060 ratings behind its score.
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Scores by source
| The English Patient | To Have and Have Not | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.9 (142060) | — |
| Hardcover | 3.6 (144) | 3.2 (61) |
| Google Books | 4.0 (11) | 4.5 (2) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (157) | 4.0 (194) |
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Reception
| The English Patient | To Have and Have Not | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 142060 | 194 |
| Editions | 93 | 54 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 112281 | — |
| Reading it now | 4228 | — |
| Written reviews | 7099 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 7713 | 4882 |
| Pages | 308 | 262 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: The English Patient or To Have and Have Not?
The English Patient has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The English Patient 3.9/5, To Have and Have Not 3.8/5).
Which is shorter to read: The English Patient or To Have and Have Not?
To Have and Have Not is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: To Have and Have Not (262 pages, ≈ 4 h 51 m); The English Patient (308 pages, ≈ 5 h 42 m).
Which is harder to read: The English Patient or To Have and Have Not?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The English Patient: Moderate; To Have and Have Not: Demanding.
Have both books been made into films?
The English Patient: 2 film adaptations; To Have and Have Not: 5 film adaptations.