Less (Pulitzer Prize Winner) by Andrew Sean Greer
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 PRIZE National Bestseller. A New York Times Notable Book of 2017. A Washington Post Top Ten Book of 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.
- Suggested age range- Adult
- Format- Paperback
- Product dimensions- 5.4" W x 8.2" H x 1" D
- Genre- Fiction
- Publisher- Little, Brown and Company, Publication date- 05-22-2018
- Page count- 272
- ISBN- 9780316316132
Web ID: 6018167
Stellar
Truly one of my top reads of all time. The premise may come across as a bit boring, but this is the story of an extraordinary man who views himself as less than ordinary. Written incredibly well.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Marginally Interesting
Written in a non-original style and peppered with a bit of humor, this book did not resonate with me.
Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
entertaining and enjoyable,
Less is the first novel in the Less series by award-winning best-selling American author, Andrew Sean Greer. Quickly approaching fifty, Arthur Less is dismayed to be invited to the wedding of a former lover. Attending is out of the question: Arthur Less devises a “cats cradle of junkets” that will ensure he is out of the country and very busy while Freddy Pelu marries Tom Dennis in Sonoma, CA. First on his itinerary is New York City, interviewing an author of a sci-fi series with a cult following. This is preceded by a lunch with his agent, the outcome of which is a shock: his new novel will need a rewrite if it is to attract a publisher. From there, Mexico City (an interview about his famous lover, poet Robert Brownburn), Turin (nominated for a book award), Berlin (teaching a five-week course), a short, unplanned stop-over in Paris (catch up with a friend), Morocco (to celebrate the birthday of a friend of a friend, and his own), India (a writing retreat, to fix his novel?), and Japan (to review some restaurant meals). But at each destination, and often, during his travels, Arthur is overwhelmed by reminiscences, reveries, flashbacks, courtesy of those he meets, old friends and new acquaintances, and of little incidents that occur. Much as he would rather not, he recalls not just past lovers, but those he truly loved (and perhaps still does?), and fails to scrub Freddy from his mind and heart. It’s on his fiftieth birthday that he is blessed with an epiphany about his apparently unwanted novel, and it’s a delightful irony that it just about describes what Greer has written: “What if it isn’t a poignant, wistful novel at all? What if it isn’t the story of a sad middle-aged man on a tour of his hometown, remembering the past and fearing the future; a peripateticism of humiliation and regret; the erosion of a single male soul? What if it isn’t even sad?” Greer’s protagonist might remind some readers of those that David Nicholls creates: inept, accident-prone, awkward, subject to “those writerly humiliations planned by the universe to suck at the bones of minor artists like him”, whose “brain sits before its cash register again, charging him for old shames as if he has not paid before”. And towards the end, his friend/rival tells him “You are the most absurd person I’ve ever met. You’ve bumbled through every moment and been a fool; you’ve misunderstood and misspoken and tripped over absolutely everything and everyone in your path, and you’ve won. And you don’t even realize it.” The story is related by an unnamed narrator whose identity gradually becomes clear. Greer’s plot, characters and prose are entertaining and enjoyable, and it’s no surprise that this novel was awarded the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Literature. Fans will be pleased to know they can look forward to a sequel, Less Is Lost.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Sad
Arthur Less receives a wedding invitation from his former lover. In order to miss the wedding and the humiliation of others talking behind his back, he looks in his drawer where he has stored other invitations. With those invitations, he plans a trip around the world. I wasn't sure what to expect when I opened this book. Arthur is a gay man who will turn 50 on this trip. As he is in the places, he remembers his past and we learn of his present. Until the end I figured Arthur was telling his story in the third person. I was wrong. The narrator was very much present the further I got into the book. I was surprised by the ending. I had to read it twice to understand what was happening. Never expected it. I found this a sad story with some humor along the way. Arthur is oblivious. It is only as he looks back on his life that he finally knows what he wants. He also rewrites his newest book while on his trip. Hopefully his life and his book turn out the way he wants.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Deceptively Insightful
I heard about this book from Fareed Zaharia and I’m so thankful I happened to wake up early that Sunday. It’s comes alive when the protagonist, Arthur Less, is moving through the world (no pun intended) as the boyish, less neurotic version of himself before he met his great love, Robert. The book is filled with so much color, so much tenderness, and so much heart.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com