Less (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize)

A Novel

De: Andrew Sean Greer

Narrado por: Robert Petkoff

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, 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

Reseñas de la Crítica

"Less is the funniest, smartest and most humane novel I've read since Tom Rachman's 2010 debut, The Imperfectionists....Greer writes sentences of arresting lyricism and beauty. His metaphors come at you like fireflies....Like Arthur, Andrew Sean Greer's Less is excellent company. It's no less than bedazzling, bewitching and be-wonderful."
—New York Times Book Review

"Greer is an exceptionally lovely writer, capable of mingling humor with sharp poignancy.... Brilliantly funny.... Greer's narration, so elegantly laced with wit, cradles the story of a man who loses everything: his lover, his suitcase, his beard, his dignity."—Ron Charles, Washington Post

"Greer's novel is philosophical, poignant, funny and wise, filled with unexpected turns....Although Greer is gifted and subtle in comic moments, he's just as adept at ruminating on the deeper stuff. His protagonist grapples with aging, loneliness, creativity, grief, self-pity and more."—San Francisco Chronicle

"I recommend it with my whole heart."
—Ann Patchett

"A piquantly funny fifth novel."
—Entertainment Weekly

"Greer, the author of wonderful, heartfelt novels including The Confessions of Max Tivoli, The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells and The Story of a Marriage, shows he has another powerful weapon in his arsenal: comedy. And who doesn't need a laugh right about now?"—Miami Herald

"Greer elevates Less' picaresque journey into a wise and witty novel. This is no Eat, Pray Love story of touristic uplift, but rather a grand travelogue of foibles, humiliations and self-deprecation, ending in joy, and a dollop of self-knowledge."—National Book Review

"Dressed in his trademark blue suit, Less adorably butchers the German language, nearly falls in love in Paris, celebrates his birthday in the desert and, somewhere along the way, discovers something new and fragile about the passing of time, about the coming and going of love, and what it means to be the fool of your own narrative. It's nothing less than wonderful."—Book Page

"Greer's evocations of the places Arthur visits offer zesty travelogue pleasures"—Seattle Times

"Less is perhaps Greer's finest yet.... A comic yet moving picture of an American abroad.... Less is a wondrous achievement, deserving an even larger audience than Greer's bestselling The Confessions of Max Tivoli."
—Booklist, starred review

"Treat yourself to this book. I missed subway stops. I doubled over in laughter. I experienced more pure reading pleasure than I had in ages. It is hilarious, and wise, and abundantly fun."—Adam Haslett, author of Imagine Me Gone

The narrator made the book come alive

The narrator was so skilled at accents and voices that you felt that you were travelling the world with Arthur Les. Arthur Les' insecurities are so endearing that you are rooting for him to succeed. Even though it is told in the third person, you experience life through Arthur Les' eyes, and little by little realize how unreliable he is at interpreting his own life. Thoroughly delightful book with a satisfying ending.

Beautifully Written Coupled with Stellar Narration

What did you like best about this story?

Refreshing read for our times, a coming-of-middle age tale of a gay man dealing with the sometimes comedic, yet poignant life lessons. The author, Greer's prose is lyrical, humorous, and endearing; not a single wasted word.

What does Robert Petkoff bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Vivid narration, like a radio play. Incredible sense of characters through his voice and dialects used

Unlikable Main Character

Unlikable and somewhat unbelievable main character. It was narrated well in the audio. The actual narrator was an annoying perspective. I wanted everything to be better...

Loved it

Would you consider the audio edition of Less to be better than the print version?

I would consider the audio edition to be better than the print version. I followed along in the print version as I listened to the audio version.

What did you like best about this story?

I could relate to the story. I also loved the adventure of such exotic travel with San Francisco as a home base.

Which character – as performed by Robert Petkoff – was your favorite?

Less of course. I could picture him in my mind at all stages of his life, but I could imagine the author as him too.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I'd say I felt wistful as I read it. And I laughed a lot too. It's not remotely sad.

Any additional comments?

This is a book I loved enough to want to read again.

Truly amazing

I loved every piece of this book. I stayed up late and got up early just to listen. Very witty, perfectly written, and very real. I simply loved it.