Nineteen Eighty-Four vs The Plague: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Fiction
Nineteen Eighty-Four
“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”
Nineteen Eighty-Four: A Novel, often referred to as 1984, is a dystopian social science fiction novel by the English novelist George Orwell (the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair). It was published on 8 June 1949 by Secker…
1 film adaptationBanned book
vs
The Plague
From the Publisher: From one of the most brilliant and influential thinkers of the twentieth century-two novels, six short stories, and a pair of essays in a single volume. In both his essays and his fiction, Albert…
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Nineteen Eighty-Four is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 12 for The Plague.
- Nineteen Eighty-Four has the widest readership — 5733183 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Nineteen Eighty-Four | The Plague | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.2 (5733183) | — |
| Hardcover | 5.0 (1) | 3.7 (3) |
| Apple Books | — | 4.5 (14) |
Reception
| Nineteen Eighty-Four | The Plague | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 5733183 | 14 |
| Editions | 536 | 2 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 3170038 | — |
| Written reviews | 171557 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 140637 | 132985 |
| Pages | 244 | 680 |