The Memorial vs The Rainbow: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Domestic fiction, Family, British and irish fiction, Families, England, Fiction
The Memorial
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The Memorial is a 1932 English novel by author Christopher Isherwood. The novel tells the story of an English family's disintegration in the days following World War I. Isherwood's second published novel, this is the…
The Rainbow
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(Brangwen Family #1) Lush with imagery, this is the story of three generations of Brangwen women living during the decline of English rural life. Banned upon publication, it explores the most taboo subjects of its…
Side by side
The verdict
- Readers rate The Rainbow highest: The Rainbow 3.7 · The Memorial 3.4.
- The Rainbow has the widest readership — 22002 ratings behind its score.
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Scores by source
| The Memorial | The Rainbow | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 3.4 (455) | 3.7 (22002) |
| Hardcover | 4.0 (2) | 4.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | — | 4.0 (40) |
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Reception
| The Memorial | The Rainbow | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 455 | 22002 |
| Editions | 22 | 358 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 1643 | 31401 |
| Reading it now | 22 | — |
| Written reviews | 56 | 1230 |
| Wikipedia attention | 119 | 3868 |
| Pages | 294 | 208 |
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Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: The Memorial or The Rainbow?
The Rainbow has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Rainbow 3.7/5, The Memorial 3.4/5).
Which is shorter to read: The Memorial or The Rainbow?
The Rainbow is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Rainbow (208 pages, ≈ 3 h 51 m); The Memorial (294 pages, ≈ 5 h 27 m).
Which is harder to read: The Memorial or The Rainbow?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The Memorial: Challenging; The Rainbow: Challenging.