All the Light We Cannot See vs Water for Elephants: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: Historical, Historical Fiction, History, Fiction
All the Light We Cannot See
From the highly acclaimed, multiple award-winning Anthony Doerr, a stunningly ambitious and beautiful novel about a blind French girl and a German boy whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the…
1 film adaptation
vs
Water for Elephants
As a young man, Jacob Jankowski was tossed by fate onto a rickety train that was home to the Benzini Brothers Most Spectacular Show on Earth. It was the early part of the great Depression, and for Jacob, now ninety, the…
1 film adaptation
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Water for Elephants is the quickest read — about 7 hours vs 10 for All the Light We Cannot See.
- All the Light We Cannot See has the widest readership — 2061893 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| All the Light We Cannot See | Water for Elephants | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.3 (2061893) | 4.1 (1724103) |
| Hardcover | — | 3.9 (749) |
| Google Books | 4.5 (4) | 4.0 (70) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (11862) | 4.5 (129) |
Reception
| All the Light We Cannot See | Water for Elephants | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 2061893 | 1724103 |
| Editions | 72 | 36 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 2133539 | 5 |
| Reading it now | 119150 | — |
| Written reviews | 128411 | — |
| Wikipedia attention | 29517 | 4448 |
| Pages | 544 | 418 |