The Painted Veil vs The Sacred and Profane Love Machine: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Married people, Domestic fiction, Fiction
The Painted Veil
A story of the beautiful but love-starve Kitty Fane who is forced to accompany her husband to the heart of a cholera epidemic. She is compelled by her awakening conscience to reassess her life and learn how to love.
vs
The Sacred and Profane Love Machine
This is a story of different loves; and of how a man may need two women in such a way that he can be happy with neither. Sacred and profane love are related opposites; the one enjoyed renders the other necessary, so…
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- The Painted Veil is the quickest read — about 4 hours vs 6 for The Sacred and Profane Love Machine.
- The Painted Veil has the widest readership — 53437 ratings behind its score.
- The Sacred and Profane Love Machine runs the darker storyline; The Painted Veil stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Want a one-evening read?
The Painted Veil
≈ 4h vs 6h for The Sacred and Profane Love Machine
Want the crowd-tested pick?
The Painted Veil
53437 ratings vs 1708 for The Sacred and Profane Love Machine
New to the genre?
The Sacred and Profane Love Machine
Moderate vs Challenging for The Painted Veil
In the mood for something dark?
The Sacred and Profane Love Machine
a darker storyline than The Painted Veil
Want something lighter?
The Painted Veil
an easier tone than The Sacred and Profane Love Machine
Scores by source
| The Painted Veil | The Sacred and Profane Love Machine | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.0 (53437) | 3.9 (1708) |
| Hardcover | 3.7 (48) | 3.8 (3) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (139) | — |
Reception
| The Painted Veil | The Sacred and Profane Love Machine | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 53437 | 1708 |
| Editions | 30 | 26 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | — | 2378 |
| Reading it now | — | 87 |
| Written reviews | — | 203 |
| Wikipedia attention | 15679 | 245 |
| Pages | 238 | 365 |