Идиот vs Смерть Ивана Ильича: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: Russian fiction, Continental european fiction, Historical Fiction, Fiction

Cover of Идиот

Идиот Fyodor Dostoyevsky · 1874 ★★★★☆ 4.2 655 pages · ≈ 12 h 08 m · Demanding Find on Amazon

vs

Cover of Смерть Ивана Ильича

Смерть Ивана Ильича Лев Толстой · 1887 ★★★★☆ 4.1 76 pages · ≈ 1 h 24 m · Challenging Find on Amazon

The verdict

Ratings are close: 4.2 vs 4.1 — either is a safe pick by score.
Смерть Ивана Ильича is the quicker read — about 1 hours vs 12 for Идиот.
Смерть Ивана Ильича is the easier read (Challenging), Идиот more demanding (Demanding).

Side by side