Andrew Sean Greer

Arthur Less is uncertain. And that, as it turns out, is a problem. It’s a problem for his partner, Freddy Pelu. Because Freddy travelled half-way across the world to choose Less. But Less is uncertain. He’s also, at least momentarily alone. Freddy is far away in Maine at a conference. Arthur’s former love, the poet Robert Brownburn, has died. And where does that leave Less? Nowhere, not least because it turns out that the place he had been staying for years (a place he had shared with show more Robert and then later with Freddy) is due years worth of rent by the end of the month. Less must somehow come up with the cash so that Freddy will have somewhere to come back to. And thus begins a madcap peregrination to write an interview with a reclusive author, to participate in a theatre presentation of one of Less’ stories, and to undertake a lecture tour, all to come up with the cash for the Shack. But what does Arthur Less really want? He’s uncertain.

Growth, especially for a man in his early fifties, often requires a regression to some youthful state. Less is in need of growth. And growth is not easy. By the time he does achieve his apotheosis, he’ll at least be certain of one thing.

Andrew Sean Greer’s creation, Arthur Less, is such an endearing character that the reader almost can’t help but be charmed all over again. Less is so helpless but earnest, so hapless but determined. And his German is so ridiculous! It is no effort at all to follow him across America as he searches for himself and, more important, the love of his life.

So easy to recommend. show less

If someone ever decided to rework It’s a Wonderful Life to omit the angels, update the references, and switch out Jimmy Stewart et. al. in place of gay cast, LESS is probably pretty close to what they’d produce. Our protagonist, Arthur Less, is convinced he hasn’t made much of a dent in the world. Sure, he helped nurture a lover who later became a world-reknowned writer and genius; sure, he wrote a book himself that received some good notices; sure, he’s seen a bit of the world – show more but mostly he’s haunted by all his perceived failures: all the things he hasn’t done, all the places he hasn’t been, all the feats he hasn’t achieved. As far as he can see, he's a timid, anxious, 50yr old gay man who messed up his best chance at love and now has nothing to look forward to but losing his looks and awkward invitations from sympathetic friends ... which, by the way, happens to be the plot of his latest book, which even his usually supportive book publisher can't get excited about, and who can blame them?

Except that not all is as it seems, because when – in true Frank Capra style – our protagonist has an opportunity to view his life from an entirely new perspective (how others see him), he comes to realize that he’s actually had a pretty terrific life and, moreover, that the best may still be before him.

Any retelling of It’s a Wonderful Life is bound to be engaging, but Greer doubles down by infusing Arthur’s tale with a wit that’s perhaps best described as “Don Quixote meets Jeeves the Butler.”* When Arthur isn’t futilely dashing after elusive windmills (an especially funny chapter in which he endeavors to tour the great sites of Mexico City comes to mind), he inevitably finds himself entangled in some naively ridiculous situation or scheme: trust me, never has the German language been abused to such hilarious effect! (*And just to make sure that his readers - including any potential Pulitzer Prize judges - don't miss this, Greer seeds the book with a suspiciously hefty number of Charlie Chaplin references.)

Other institutions that Greer pinions along the way include academic conferences, literary fads, writing communes, and travel in general. Hopefully, any readers inclined to feel a little snarky upon discovering they’ve placed too much trust in an unreliable narrator will accept the tale’s picaresque humor as a more-than-adequate apology.

Feel free to take this at face value: Less is a witty and engaging read. Or you can approach it as an invitation to try viewing yourself through the perspectives of others and see if the exercise causes you to change how you see yourself. Either way, I think you’ll consider the time well spent. show less

Meet hopeless, hapless Arthur Less, a not-so-successful novelist and ‘our brave protagonist’. Rapidly approaching his fiftieth birthday, his new novel rejected by the publisher with whom he has been for almost twenty years, his ex-partner about to be married to someone else…. Less decides to escape his life, avoid the wedding, and accept all the literary invitations he would normally reject. Thus begins his peripatetic trip across the world in this 2018 Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by show more Andrew Sean Greer.

This is a genuinely laugh-out-loud book – be warned in case you are reading it on the train or bus, you might get some odd looks from your fellow-passengers! But it is also touching, warm and poignant and Greer is an excellent writer, able to switch from the humour to sentences that are so perfectly crafted that you can only marvel at his skill. The book reminded me of the campus novels of David Lodge mixed with great literary stylists like Alan Hollinghurst or Philip Roth.

The comic exploits of poor Arthur Less travel to New York, then to Mexico to attend a conference on his ex-lover Robert Brownburn (a conference entirely in Spanish, a language Less does not speak, of course). His trip continues in ever-increasing disasters through an award ceremony in Italy, and to Germany where he is, however, moderately successful teaching a course on ‘literature’ to students – although his ability to speak German is not quite what he thinks it is. Then via Paris to Morocco, where a trip to the desert finds him trapped in a sandstorm…. You get the picture, right? Everything he does, everywhere he goes, Arthur Less bumbles through life in ever-increasing absurdity. In India, trying to find peace in a writers’ retreat to re-draft his novel, he fractures his ankle. On to Japan to review cuisine for a men’s magazine (his suitcase having gone missing in transit, of course). Eventually he finds himself trapped in a tiny Japanese room and summons the courage to break down the paper-thin walls….

The metaphor is apt – Less’s journey is not just a physical one, it is a psychological one as well. Along the way he keeps meeting people from his past who help him to understand that he is not such a failure, that he has in fact, as one puts it, ‘won’. But don’t get me wrong – it’s not that trite and the message does not in any way feel contrived. The style and structure of the book allows Greer to use his narrator – who is revealed at the end in a nice twist (I won’t spoil it here) – to show us a man lost, helpless, aimless. In the end is he redeemed? Has he changed? Has this middle-aged gay writer found his way at last? (At one point he is told his writing career is failing because he is ‘a bad gay’.) Maybe, maybe not. But we have travelled with him and, despite his (many) faults, we care about him.

I admit to never having heard of Andrew Sean Greer before I read this – now I want to read more of his work and perhaps the best comment I can make is that as soon as I finished the book I wanted to go back to the start and re-read it. Great book, 5 stars – and well worth the Pulitzer Prize. show less

Nel 2018, quando Less vinse il Premio Pulitzer per la narrativa, era sulla bocca di tuttə e Greer era diventato l’autore fenomeno che era riuscito a prendersi il prestigioso premio letterario con un romance. Veniva raccontata come un’impresa incredibile, per cui l’ho messo in lista e ho lasciato scorrere il tempo perché svanisse il fastidio di vedere questo romanzo ovunque e della spinta a leggerlo solo perché lo stavano leggendo tuttə.

Vi dico subito che a me Less non ha detto show more nulla: anzi, per gran parte del tempo mi è parso incredibilmente noioso. Temo che le crisi di mezz’età degli uomini non mi interessino nemmeno se l’uomo in questione è gay, soprattutto se parliamo di uno che può permettersi di scappare dal matrimonio del suo ex compagno iniziando il giro del mondo grazie a una serie di inviti, conferenze e vacanze.

L’unico modo per rendere interessante questo filone di storie trito e ritrito è di inserire un po’ di lavoro emotivo, quello che gli uomini si aspettano sempre che facciano le donne all’interno della coppia. Mentre leggevo mi dicevo che con una coppia di uomini magari a un certo punto il nostro protagonista ci avrebbe deliziato con un po’ di introspezione e ci avrebbe regalato qualche riflessione sulla sua ultima relazione. Macché.

Alla fine tutto si risolve con un lieto fine calato dall’alto, giocando la carta dell’amore vero che sta nella quotidianità delle piccole cose, come una qualunque commedia romantica di serie B. Non è che le relazioni vadano costruite e difese dalle proprie mancanze personali crescendo insieme all’interno del rapporto: ma no, due cuori e una capanna è tutto quello che serve.

Di sicuro non ha aiutato il fatto che si capisce abbastanza presto dove sta andando a parare la storia di Arthur Less e che nondimeno si prenda un sacco di tempo per arrivarci. Come si dice dalle mie parti, E l’ha presa larga di nulla! Così larga che mi è stato impossibile empatizzare con il protagonista e la sua percezione di sé chiaramente fallata. show less