A struggling novelist travels the world to avoid an awkward wedding in this hilarious Pulitzer Prize-winning novel full of “arresting lyricism and beauty” (The New York Times Book Review). WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZENational BestsellerA New York Times Notable Book of 2017A Washington Post Top Ten Book of 2017A San Francisco Chronicle Top Ten Book of 2017Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal … 2017
A San Francisco Chronicle Top Ten Book of 2017
Longlisted for the Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence, the Lambda Award, and the California Book Award
Who says you can’t run away from your problems? You are a failed novelist about to turn fifty. A wedding invitation arrives in the mail: your boyfriend of the past nine years is engaged to someone else. You can’t say yes–it would be too awkward–and you can’t say no–it would look like defeat. On your desk are a series of invitations to half-baked literary events around the world.
QUESTION: How do you arrange to skip town?
ANSWER: You accept them all.
What would possibly go wrong? Arthur Less will almost fall in love in Paris, almost fall to his death in Berlin, barely escape to a Moroccan ski chalet from a Saharan sandstorm, accidentally book himself as the (only) writer-in-residence at a Christian Retreat Center in Southern India, and encounter, on a desert island in the Arabian Sea, the last person on Earth he wants to face. Somewhere in there: he will turn fifty. Through it all, there is his first love. And there is his last.
Because, despite all these mishaps, missteps, misunderstandings and mistakes, Less is, above all, a love story.
A scintillating satire of the American abroad, a rumination on time and the human heart, a bittersweet romance of chances lost, by an author The New York Times has hailed as “inspired, lyrical,” “elegiac,” “ingenious,” as well as “too sappy by half,” Less shows a writer at the peak of his talents raising the curtain on our shared human comedy.
“I could not love LESS more.”–Ron Charles, The Washington Post
“Andrew Sean Greer’s Less is excellent company. It’s no less than bedazzling, bewitching and be-wonderful.”-–Christopher Buckley, The New York Times Book Review
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Less is a stunning masterpiece of nuance, which shines fresh light onto everyday observations.
As a writer, Greer teaches me with each clever turn of phrase, and his ability to encapsulate an entire character with a colorful detail.
Arthur Less evoked laughs, poignancy, and ultimately, truths about the human condition. The final line is perfection.
Love, love, love.
I’m often left wondering why something won a big prize in literature. Not necessarily because I didn’t enjoy the book, but because I don’t see what it is that sets it above/apart. Not so in the case of Less.
The writing is beautiful, the author, invisible. I never once tripped over precious prose. The beauty of it was organic, subtle, easily-absorbable in all it’s magnificence without ever announcing itself as such.
The story–a gay man turning fifty and feeling as if he’s accomplished nothing, not even a grown up relationship–is relatable, no matter who you are. Arthur Less is everyone. Anyone. He isn’t a GAY MAN, he’s just a human, trying to navigate his life.
It’s also hilarious in that same, inobtrusive way. Every mishap simply is, again, without announcing itself. Always part of the story, just like in real life.
And that’s why, IMO, it won the Pulitzer. Well deserved.
My first finished book of 2021 is actually an audiobook I began last month. Less, by Andrew Sean Greer is a book so full of heart, I’m still rereading parts of it. Arthur Less is a gay, middling author arriving at 50, fearing the sum total of his writing life will be an ode to mediocrity, while his long-time lover has just gotten engaged to be married. As a result, Less accepts every possible invitation to appear or teach in the most far-flung places in an effort to escape his life and embarks on a tour of the world that is at turns catastrophic and hilarious, all of which teach him about himself, all of which prime him for love.
This book has a huge heart – it’s warm, funny, and generous towards the reader and its main character. I am surprised such a beautifully humorous book would land the Pulitzer Prides but this bodes well for the American literary establishment, which seems to revel in human misery and pathos. The writing is positively lyrical – the author, as well as the character, find joy in wordplay, and the structure of the novel allows for the kind of digressions that easily invites the reader to reflect alongside Less about what his life has ultimately meant and how much more he has left to experience and give. A beautiful gem of a novel.
I found this book very engaging. It took me into a world that I only know from the outside. I grew to love the characters and was surprised by the ending. Definitely a good read.
A somewhat down on his luck author about to turn 50, embarks on a world tour to avoid the wedding invitation of his former love. Filled with wit, wisdom, and laugh-out-loud humor, this book has everything, from travel, adventure, and romance, to the trials and tribulations of writing, publishing, and the notion of genius. I highly recommend this book!
A very amusing and poignant read
Normally, I don’t enjoy reading the books that have won fancy schmancy prizes. Less was an exception. It is contemporary, relatable, and funny.
The author has an incredible way of putting words on a page. The words flow and its like reading a gently flowing stream. Loved it. Looking forward to his other books.
I wasn’t expecting to fall in love with this Pulitzer Prize winning novel, but it’s become one of my favorites and one of only a hand-full that I’ve read more than twice. Funny and depressing at the same time, it’s the story of a less-than-successful gay writer fast approaching 50. Been there, doing that!
It’s funny, sometimes very funny. In the kind of unfunny world we live in today, that can mean, yes, that this is light reading. That’s okay, surely. Okay to be light. (Trigger warning: this is about the life of a writer and, moreover, a pretty successful writer who bemoans his lot.)
Wonderful coming-of-age story for those 60-something types! Gives readers hope that there’s ALWAYS time to change, to go after your dreams.
Gloria Squitiro: A first lady of Kanas City and author of May Cause Drowsiness and Blurred Vision: The Side Effects of Bravery—YOU, Too! can OVERCOME ANXIETY and live a bigger more carefree life—Become a New and Better You!
Self-absorbed main character in boring situations
Why, oh why did my book club choose Less by Andrew Sean Greer? From the privileged, dislikable character Arthur Less, to the lack of direction with the writing; I really wouldn’t recommend this book!
Arthur Less is a novelist who is about to turn fifty. When Arthur’s long-time flame, Freddy, announces he’s engaged to another man, he decides to skip town and travel the world.
As Arthur travels from Paris, Berlin, India and even Morocco, he easily picks up lovers and goes down memory lane of his previous flings. But as Arthur’s travels intensify so does his sense of existential dread. He quickly realises he’ll be returning to an empty home with no one he loves. As Arthur re-examines his life, he starts to wonder will he ever find love again?
I’m just going to get right to the point — I really didn’t like this book. What a bloody self-absorbed man. Let’s go over a couple of things — he has a paid off house in San Francisco, a fantastic career as a teacher and novelist, tons of friends and absolutely no debt or health problems. Are you seriously telling me that people should pity a character with that many positives going for him — but the man he loved for nine years decides to get engaged, Arthur’s life is worthless? This sad, pathetic, privileged middle-aged man is definitely one of the worst characters I’ve ever read.
While there were aspects that had potential, like Arthur’s fear of ageing and the rollercoaster of past lovers, there seemed to be no exploration of these problems. Instead, Arthur avoids these concerns by traveling the world rather than confronting his issues. This book could have had a fantastic learning opportunity by examining how Arthur could grow and evolve from his travels, but sure enough, nothing was resolved. I followed an angsty, middle aged, self-absorbed man all the way to the end of the book and felt nothing but anger and disappointment that I actually finished it.
I take absolutely no pleasure in writing negative reviews, but from my frustration and confusion, I have to say, I do not understand what the point of this novel is. Maybe after book club tonight I can understand other people’s perspectives on this, but either way, I would not recommend this novel.
Check out my full review here: https://bit.ly/2JZUoTy
For me, this story just dragged. Also, predictable. If you like struggling through a slow, slow, s-l-o-w story, this is the book for you.
Difficult to believe that this is Pulitzer prize material
If you ask yourself – how could this book have won the Pulitzer? So this is a question that I also debated. It is noticeable that the writer is trying to take a paragraph, and to put as many images, descriptions and words in it, and thus create a situation that is rich and full of details but it throws you back and forth, and you are missing the point.
LOVED this book. Full review coming.
A sly moving meditation on how we get in our way when it comes to just about everything!
At first glance this little novel seems to be a cliche. But once I started reading, the pithy prose full of humour carried me over any misgivings I had into a novel with so many unforeseen pleasures. Whilst it is a novel about a writer, it is about everyone and how we judge ourselves and our achievements very differently to how others do.
Like any curious writer, I occasionally read the award-winning books of the Pulitzer and Booker variety. I also watch award-winning movies (Oscars, Golden Globes, etc.) and listen to award-winning albums (Grammys, Pulitzer, et al.). I like to see what all the hub-bub is about and judge for myself. I really wanted to love Less by Andrew Sean Greer. It’s classified as humorous (awesome) literary (even better) fiction. That’s my wheelhouse (disclaimer: I also write humorous literary fiction). Unfortunately, I didn’t love it. Sad, I know.
Published book blurb for Less: Who says you can’t run away from your problems? You are a failed novelist about to turn fifty. A wedding invitation arrives in the mail: your boyfriend of the past nine years is engaged to someone else. You can’t say yes–it would be too awkward–and you can’t say no–it would look like defeat. On your desk are a series of invitations to half-baked literary events around the world. How do you arrange to skip town? You accept them all.
This is the setup to how Arthur Less avoids suffering and humiliation. He escapes. And this is what Greer uses to setup a series of comedic situations to drop author Arthur Less into. Some are amusing. Arthur believes he’s fluent in German (he’s not) while staying in Germany. His translated books are brilliant overseas (they’re not. Maybe artfully translated). Comedic (?) foibles unfold. Arthur flies around the world, takes pills, hops in the sack(s) with various assistants and travel companions. He ruminates about past transgressions. Or does he since the book is narrated by someone else? This someone’s identity is the novel’s big reveal. Don’t worry; I won’t spoil it.
I found the character of Less to be annoying and unlikeable. I know there are readers that are attracted to this type of hot-mess, Peter Pan-esque, worried about aging / too vain for their own good character. I guess I’m not one of them. The narrator is fascinated with Arthur Less, infatuated even, the same way a pet owner is in love with their scrappy dog that pees on the rug while they claim it to be the cutest dog in the world. It’s not; it’s a dog that pees on the rug.
There is an airy, whimsical quality to Greer’s writing. It goes down like a fresh-baked croissant does with an espresso while sitting on the patio of a French bistro. But there is also a shallowness that is cloying. It’s lack of plot is unfortunate. And I kept thinking: What is so great about Arthur Less? More so, what is so great about Less? There is no accounting for the taste of the Pulitzer judges, I guess.
In the book, there is a passage where Arthur’s old flame, Robert, actually wins the Pulitzer Prize (just like Andrew Sean Greer did?!), then a mutual friend of theirs explains:
“Prizes aren’t love. Because people who never met you can’t love you. The slots for winners are already set, from here until Judgment Day. They know the kind of poet who’s going to win, and if you happen to fit the slot, then bully for you! It’s like fitting a hand-me-down suit. It’s luck, not love. Not that it isn’t nice to have luck… ”
I guess this novel had the luck this time. It must have been awkward for Greer to receive the Pulitzer after writing such a passage. Right? Probably not. He won the prize anyway. Bully for him.