Обломов vs Идиот: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Russia in fiction, Russian fiction, Russia, Continental european fiction, Social life and customs, Fiction
Обломов
More
A comedic story about a member of the landed gentry of nineteenth-century Russia whose indolence destroys his life.
Идиот
More
Inspired by an image of Christ's suffering, Fyodor Dostoyevsky set out to portray "a truly beautiful soul" colliding with the brutal reality of contemporary society. Returning to St. Petersburg from a Swiss sanatorium,…
Side by side
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Обломов is the quickest read — about 9 hours vs 12 for Идиот.
- Идиот has the widest readership — 230503 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Обломов | Идиот | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.2 (44321) | 4.2 (230503) |
| Google Books | — | 5.0 (1) |
Reception
| Обломов | Идиот | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 44321 | 230503 |
| Editions | 117 | 437 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Written reviews | — | 1 |
| Wikipedia attention | 4588 | 31339 |
| Pages | 517 | 655 |
Questions readers ask
Which is rated higher: Обломов or Идиот?
Идиот has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Идиот 4.2/5, Обломов 4.1/5).
Which is shorter to read: Обломов or Идиот?
Обломов is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Обломов (517 pages, ≈ 9 h 34 m); Идиот (655 pages, ≈ 12 h 08 m).
Which is harder to read: Обломов or Идиот?
Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Обломов: Demanding; Идиот: Demanding.
Have both books been made into films?
Обломов: 2 film adaptations; Идиот: 5 film adaptations.