The troll garden vs White Nights: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Manners and customs, Social life and customs, Short Stories, Fiction
The troll garden
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"This collection of Willa Cather stories - her first book of fiction and the capstone of her early career - is as relevant today as at the time of its initial publication. As different and individually distinguished as…
White Nights
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White Nights by Fyodor Dostoyevsky is a poignant short story about love, loneliness, and fleeting human connections. Set in St. Petersburg during the ethereal "white nights" of summer, it follows a dreamy, solitary…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- White Nights has the widest readership — 866 ratings behind its score.
- The troll garden runs the darker storyline; White Nights stays the lighter read.
How to choose
Scores by source
| The troll garden | White Nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.0 (154) | 4.0 (54) |
| Hardcover | 5.0 (1) | 3.9 (866) |
| Google Books | — | 5.0 (1) |
| Apple Books | 4.0 (8) | 4.5 (364) |
Reception
| The troll garden | White Nights | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 154 | 866 |
| Editions | 66 | 10 |
| Citations | 9 | — |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 518 | 75 |
| Reading it now | 51 | 80 |
| Written reviews | 65 | 4 |
| Wikipedia attention | 154 | 556 |
| Pages | 156 | 239 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: The troll garden or White Nights?
White Nights has the higher combined reader rating across sources (White Nights 4.1/5, The troll garden 3.9/5).
Which is shorter to read: The troll garden or White Nights?
The troll garden is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: The troll garden (156 pages, ≈ 2 h 53 m); White Nights (239 pages, ≈ 4 h 26 m).
Which is harder to read: The troll garden or White Nights?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — The troll garden: Challenging; White Nights: Moderate.