Less

I was able to be on a couple of panels with Mr. Greer where he discussed this novel and its sequel, Less is Lost. The first book, Less, is a queer novel that won the Pulitzer Prize, a well-deserved accolade for this story about second chances in life—or third or fourth chances, depending upon the situation.

It’s remarkable to see a novel like this win such a major literary prize. Mr. Greer deserves it for his dynamic work.

First, because a novel should surprise us, and Less surprised me greatly. When I started reading this picaresque tale of a middle-aged gay man wandering as far as humanly possible to escape the sadness and embarrassment of his young lover marrying someone else, I knew only that it had won a Pulitzer and that there was some controversy over that. Having read Andrew Sean Greer’s funny and wildly imaginative novel, I believe I understand the problem: books that win a major literary prize are expected to be grim and “major.” They are hardly ever funny. I’m not sure how that… show more.

The happiest people are over fifty years old. At fifty, I realized I had more days behind than I had ahead of me. I began to throw off what was expected of me.

At fifty, Arthur Less, the failed novelist in Greer’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book, felt the same urgency. He hoped to find new meaning as he traveled to Paris, Berlin, Morocco, and India. In time, he transitions from measuring time to experiencing it and discovers love.

Less is a satire that artfully wraps humor around Greer’s poignancy. While reading what masks as a travelogue, one hardly realizes one is… show more.

Less is an extremely fun and clever novel about love, middle age, and the indignities of writing. But Greer isn’t just telling us a story – he’s also imagining the criticism writing such a “low stakes” book might arouse. And then he deftly reveals to us why such narratives – emotionally satisfying love stories with no greater consequence than the happy ending – are still so important. The effect is joyous, and I haven’t even gotten into how hilarious this book is, with language as crafty as Catch 22 and jokes that rival Jane Austen. There is a sweetness at… show more.