How long does it take to read Either/Or?
A Fragment of Life
Either/Or by Søren Kierkegaard takes about 11 hours 44 minutes to read at 250 words a minute.
About 11 hours 44 minutes
A week or two of reading
First published 1992. 640 pages, about 176,000 words.
24 days at 30 minutes a day
Estimate based on 275 words per page.
At other speeds
| Slow, 150 words a minute | 19 hours 33 minutes |
| Average, 250 words a minute | 11 hours 44 minutes |
| Fast, 400 words a minute | 7 hours 20 minutes |
The page count is the median across 1 edition, so your copy may differ. How we calculate.
About the book
In Either/Or, using the voices of two characters - the aesthetic young man of part one, called simply 'A', and the ethical Judge Vilhelm of the second section - Kierkegaard reflects upon the search for a meaningful existence, contemplating subjects as diverse as Mozart, drama, boredom, and, in the famous Seducer's Diary, the cynical seduction and ultimate rejection of a young, beautiful woman. A masterpiece of duality, Either/Or is a brilliant exploration of the conflict between the aesthetic and the ethical - both meditating ironically and seductively upon Epicurean pleasures, and eloquently expounding the noble virtues of a morally upstanding life.
Subjects: Philosophy
