“I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” is a short story, not a full-length novel, and it’s very short by book standards.

Quick Scoop

  • The original Harlan Ellison short story runs about 13–20 pages in most printings, depending on formatting and anthology layout.
  • In typical paperback anthologies, that translates to roughly 40–60 minutes of reading time for an average reader.
  • You’ll sometimes see “I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream” listed as 170+ pages, but that refers to the anthology titled after the story, which collects multiple Ellison stories, not just this one.

So if you’re wondering whether you can finish it in one sitting: yes, you absolutely can, and most people do. SEO mini-note:
If you’re searching “how long is i have no mouth and i must scream,” you’re almost certainly safe planning under an hour to read the original short story, but several hours if you pick up the full anthology with the same title.

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