The Napoleon of Notting Hill vs The Quiet American: Which Should You Read?

Cover of The Napoleon of Notting Hill The Napoleon of Notting Hill Gilbert Keith Chesterton · 1904 ★★★★☆ 3.8 150 pages · ≈ 2 h 47 m · Challenging
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A witty and surreal novel of the future. In a rather dull stuck-in-a-rut future, a prankster chosen randomly to be King of England revives the old ways and inadvertently arouses romantic patriotism and civil war…

1★2★3★4★5★
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Cover of The Quiet American The Quiet American Graham Greene · 1940 ★★★★☆ 4.2 202 pages · ≈ 3 h 44 m · Challenging
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One of Graham Greene's best works. The story is set at the time of the French war against the Viet Cong and tells the story of liberal British journalist Thomas Fowler, his mistress Phuong, and their relationship with…

1★2★3★4★5★
1 film adaptation

Side by side

The Napoleon of Notting HillThe Quiet AmericanEnjoymentDifficultyInfluencePopularityClassic

The verdict

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How to choose

Scores by source

The Napoleon of Notting HillThe Quiet American
Goodreads 3.8 (4211) —
Hardcover 3.3 (12) 4.0 (132)
Google Books 4.5 (2) —
Apple Books 4.5 (19) 4.5 (130)
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Reception

The Napoleon of Notting HillThe Quiet American
Ratings 4211 132
Editions 454 117
Film adaptations 1 1
Want to read 8684 —
Reading it now 554 —
Written reviews 525 —
Wikipedia attention 6143 8750
Pages 150 202
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Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: The Napoleon of Notting Hill or The Quiet American?

The Quiet American has the higher combined reader rating across sources (The Quiet American 4.2/5, The Napoleon of Notting Hill 3.8/5).

Which is shorter to read: The Napoleon of Notting Hill or The Quiet American?

The Napoleon of Notting Hill is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The Napoleon of Notting Hill (150 pages, ≈ 2 h 47 m); The Quiet American (202 pages, ≈ 3 h 44 m).

Which is harder to read: The Napoleon of Notting Hill or The Quiet American?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The Napoleon of Notting Hill: Challenging; The Quiet American: Challenging.

Have both books been made into films?

The Napoleon of Notting Hill: no film adaptation on record; The Quiet American: 5 film adaptations.

Shared themes