A Bird in the House vs The Stone Diaries: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Canadian fiction, Canada, Women, Fiction
A Bird in the House
“THAT HOUSE in Manawaka is the one which, more than any other, I carry with me.”
A Bird in the House is a series of eight interconnected short stories narrated by Vanessa MacLeod as she matures from a child at age ten into a young woman at age twenty. Wise for her years, Vanessa reveals much about…
vs
The Stone Diaries
“MY MOTHER'S NAME WAS MERCY STONE GOODWILL.”
This is the poignant story of Daisy Goodwill, twentieth-century pilgrim, from her calamitous birth in Canada to her death in a Florida nursing home nearly ninety years later. Struggling to find her place in the world,…
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- A Bird in the House is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 6 for The Stone Diaries.
- The Stone Diaries has the widest readership — 42697 ratings behind its score.
- A Bird in the House runs the darker storyline; The Stone Diaries stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Want a one-evening read?
A Bird in the House
≈ 3h vs 6h for The Stone Diaries
Want the crowd-tested pick?
The Stone Diaries
42697 ratings vs 3000 for A Bird in the House
In the mood for something dark?
A Bird in the House
a darker storyline than The Stone Diaries
Want something lighter?
The Stone Diaries
an easier tone than A Bird in the House
Scores by source
| A Bird in the House | The Stone Diaries | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.0 (3000) | 3.9 (42697) |
| Hardcover | 4.0 (3) | — |
| Google Books | — | 4.5 (3) |
| Apple Books | — | 4.0 (106) |
Reception
| A Bird in the House | The Stone Diaries | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 3000 | 42697 |
| Editions | 35 | 65 |
| Citations | 3 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 1799 | 32477 |
| Reading it now | 44 | — |
| Written reviews | 167 | 2527 |
| Wikipedia attention | 160 | 1364 |
| Pages | 207 | 361 |