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

If you are into exterior fabrics

The writer has a great master of the craft, no doubt about it, great writing skills, usage of about every single word. He can "paint" colorful pictures with words.

However, that's where it ends for me. I don't find amusing reading or listening for hours and hours about
all the details of the clothes he and others wear or how handsome is that guy or how cute that other one or himself (like some teenager girls's mind) over and over with some witty remarks sparkled here and there to show cleverness.

A couple lasting reflections (thank you for that) and a final surprise, the rest is color.

It's a series of frames about his life as he approaches the age of 50, a coming of age reflection on his "failures", his fears. A little bit cliche' to be honest. You travel and travel and there's more talk about the brief encounters with the men and the food than the places, not a word about the local atmosphere?

As many and many have wondered, why the Pulitzer? Well, this prize, in my opinion, this time, says more about the jury (and their "preferences") rather than about this good but not excellent work.

Loved Less!!!!

So very sorry that this book had to end. I could have stayed here forever!

Less is A’mour

Yes! I did intend a pun in the title of this review. It also works as a pun with the title, “Less is More”.

Author Less is the name of the main character. The choice of the last name, “Less” is ironic in nature.

The setup of the story is Author Less, as a youth (age 21), was the love interest of a famous older man and poet from the Russian River School of writing. After years of inspiring the man and work Less is abandoned, as the poet’s active lover, however still remains within the circle of the literati class due to his own prize winning novel. There he exists until he also takes up with a younger love interest, Freddy, who nine years later abandons Less so he can marry a lover nearer his own age. In order to avoid attending the wedding Less accepts a series of engagements that will take him in a around the world odyssey (classical pun intended) during the time of the naturals.

The bulk of the book is a recounting of this world tour journey as Less engages in introspection of his life, the meaning of life, and his feelings of loss and failure. The journey is full of mishaps, funny incidents, in addition to the usual travails of travel. During this trip the reader is invited to bond with Less and empathize with his lot in life. The reader comes to see Less is not as shallow as originally portrayed at age 21 and not just this empty shell of a man he sees himself as. Thus the original idea for the title, “Less is More”; above. Then why did I chose, “Less is A’mour”? Will I can’t divulge that without spoiling the end of the book. However, the A’mour term suggests the happy ending.

The writing style is fun, witty, and entertaining. However, if you are looking for a sizzling flesh bacchanal to send you blood rushing south, buy a different book.

Delightful

Everything about this book, (story, writing, and narrator) is delightful. It’s extremely well written. One of my favorites of the year.

I tried to return it!

Yes, I confess, I tried to return this book but, for some reason, Audible wouldn't let me. The first hour of it had driven me nuts, perhaps because I listened to it while running---a time when I need to be entertained, and this book was not doing it. When I was unable to return it, I decided to go forth again. On second listening, the first hour made more sense, and by the second hour the book had caught my interest. From then on I was drawn in, increasingly charmed, amused, and, dare I say, beginning to think of it as an odyssey.