The Adult vs The Line of Beauty: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: LGBTQ novels, Coming-of-age, Fiction
The Adult
It's her first year of college - her first real time away from home - and Natalie isn't quite sure what to do. She's learning how to be an adult, without anyone to really show her the way. Nora is an older woman - a…
vs
The Line of Beauty
“PETER CROWTHER'S BOOK on the election was already in the shops.”
It is the summer of 1983, and twenty-year-old Nick Guest has moved into an attic room in the Notting Hill home of the Feddens: conservative Member of Parliament Gerald, his wealthy wife Rachel, and their two children,…
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Adult is the quickest read — about 5 hours vs 9 for The Line of Beauty.
- The Line of Beauty has the widest readership — 33229 ratings behind its score.
- The Line of Beauty runs the darker storyline; The Adult stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| The Adult | The Line of Beauty | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | — | 3.8 (33229) |
| Hardcover | 3.0 (9) | 3.9 (49) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (19) | 4.5 (37) |
Reception
| The Adult | The Line of Beauty | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 19 | 33229 |
| Editions | 4 | 19 |
| Citations | — | 48 |
| Film adaptations | — | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 50785 |
| Reading it now | — | 2391 |
| Written reviews | — | 2552 |
| Wikipedia attention | 37 | 3928 |
| Pages | 311 | 501 |