Call number
Series
Genres
Collection
Publication
New York : Little, Brown/ Little, Brown and Company, 2022.
Description
Fiction. Literature. Humor (Fiction.) LGBTQIA+ (Fiction.) HTML:In the follow-up to the �??bedazzling, bewitching, and be-wonderful�?� (New York Times) best-selling and Pulitzer Prize-winning Less: A Novel, the awkward and lovable Arthur Less returns in an unforgettable road trip across America. �??Go get lost somewhere, it always does you good.�?� For Arthur Less, life is going surprisingly well: he is a moderately accomplished novelist in a steady relationship with his partner, Freddy Pelu. But nothing lasts: the death of an old lover and a sudden financial crisis has Less running away from his problems yet again as he accepts a series of literary gigs that send him on a zigzagging adventure across the US. Less roves across the �??Mild Mild West,�?� through the South and to his mid-Atlantic birthplace, with an ever-changing posse of writerly characters and his trusty duo �?? a human-like black pug, Dolly, and a rusty camper van nicknamed Rosina. He grows a handlebar mustache, ditches his signature gray suit, and disguises himself in the bolero-and-cowboy-hat costume of a true �??Unitedstatesian�?�... with varying levels of success, as he continues to be mistaken for either a Dutchman, the wrong writer, or, worst of all, a �??bad gay.�?� �??We cannot, however, escape ourselves�??even across deserts, bayous, and coastlines. From his estranged father and strained relationship with Freddy, to the reckoning he experiences in confronting his privilege, Arthur Less must eventually face his personal demons. With all of the irrepressible wit and musicality that made Less a bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning, must-read breakout book, Less Is Lost is a profound and joyous novel about the enigma of life in America, the riddle of love,… (more)
Awards
Audie Award (Finalist — Fiction — 2023)
NPR: Books We Love (2022)
Boston Globe Best Book (Fiction — 2022)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2022-09
ISBN
9780316498906
Similar in this library
User reviews
LibraryThing member Narshkite
I am gobsmacked. If there is anything I did not expect to say when I started this book it was these 7 words: "It was better than the last one." Arthur Less is back, feeling put upon but in fact living a life of ease and privilege, stumbling backward into opportunity and money. He is like the
Homebody Arthur is once again pushed out of his comfort zone, forced onto the road when he suddenly needs a wad of cash for Reasons that I will let you learn on your own. Arthur reveals truths good and bad about America and Americans and about love and humility and empathy as he travels across the South, and up the Eastern seaboard. Greer deftly touches on issues of race, class, and fitting and not fitting the stereotypes associated with gay men. He addressed privilege with such a precision and economy and humor it made me recall how many books I had read in recent years with so many more words and so much less subtlety to far lesser effect.
This book is just a flat out joy to read. It is so rare that good literature intersects with humor and with a real sense of the splendor of life and love and discovery. Only a few writers are turning out sweet and hopeful books that are still realistic and not remotely saccharine, Kevin Wilson, Emily St. John Mandel, and Greer are the only ones I can think of. It is really hard to manage this balance! Greer is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. Now I have to go and update my best of the year list.
Show More
literary equivalent of Kramer. I was delighted to bumble along beside Arthur Less. (It took me until yesterday, when I was about 3/4 into the second Arthur Less novel, to realize his name is "artless" and he is very much the personification of that word -- nothing happens to him through planning.)Homebody Arthur is once again pushed out of his comfort zone, forced onto the road when he suddenly needs a wad of cash for Reasons that I will let you learn on your own. Arthur reveals truths good and bad about America and Americans and about love and humility and empathy as he travels across the South, and up the Eastern seaboard. Greer deftly touches on issues of race, class, and fitting and not fitting the stereotypes associated with gay men. He addressed privilege with such a precision and economy and humor it made me recall how many books I had read in recent years with so many more words and so much less subtlety to far lesser effect.
This book is just a flat out joy to read. It is so rare that good literature intersects with humor and with a real sense of the splendor of life and love and discovery. Only a few writers are turning out sweet and hopeful books that are still realistic and not remotely saccharine, Kevin Wilson, Emily St. John Mandel, and Greer are the only ones I can think of. It is really hard to manage this balance! Greer is quickly becoming a favorite of mine. Now I have to go and update my best of the year list.
Show Less
LibraryThing member alexrichman
Nowhere near as good as Less, but that's hardly a crime. The narrator intrudes a bit too much, and the book lacks the satisfying payoff of the first book, but it's enjoyable enough for a fan.
LibraryThing member ablachly
A perfect book.
LibraryThing member froxgirl
Less is Lost is l-o-o-o-ong and hilarious, and Andrew Sean Greer is almost like an Anne Tyler of gay male life. In this sequel to the Pulitzer prize-winning Less, narrated by his younger partner Freddy Pelu, Arthur Less is truly on the road to nowhere, accompanied by one H.H.H. Mandern, a
Quotes: "The memorial opens with a chorale of varied homosexuals singing a Leonard Cohen song. Less whispers, "They're okay, they're okay." Marian snorts and says, "It's the OK Chorale."
"One could not withdraw the days of one's youth in retirement and throw them on the fire to warm old bones."
Show More
resoundingly brilliant, barely fictionalized version of George R.R. Martin, the Game of Thrones series author, who drags Less into the hinterlands to search for his daughter. Their road trip is the funniest part of a very drily amusing narrative, and when Mandern abandons Less, gifting him with a popup camper and his pug Dolly, some of the fun is over. Less is seemingly in a very successful phase of his modest career as an author, having been invited to participate in a portrait of Mandern for a prominent magazine, a literary prize panel, an East Coast lecture tour, and watching as a small town theater company makes a musical of one of his short stories and takes it on the road. But all is less than it seems. Arthur Less may be lost, but all is not lost for the delighted reader, who will be charmed and frustrated by this milquetoast whose utmost fear is being a "bad gay". Quotes: "The memorial opens with a chorale of varied homosexuals singing a Leonard Cohen song. Less whispers, "They're okay, they're okay." Marian snorts and says, "It's the OK Chorale."
"One could not withdraw the days of one's youth in retirement and throw them on the fire to warm old bones."
Show Less
LibraryThing member RandyMetcalfe
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.
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 More
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 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
LibraryThing member muddyboy
The ongoing adventures of Arthur Less a character introduced in Greer's Pulitzer Pize winning novel "Less". The new story takes Arthur on the road accross the United States mostly in a camper which is totally alien to this middle aged gay author. Greer fills the book with his signature wit and off
Show More
the wall observations about life in general. I guess Arthur Less is lost in the sense of his personal relationships and his ability to fins himself in the literay world. Nice job. Show Less
LibraryThing member kayanelson
I liked this a little bit more than the first book. Arthur Less continues to travel, although this time it is across the United States. Less is trying to make money to pay off some back rent. He accepts all sorts of engagements (he is a writer) but then circumstances change everything. His partner
Show More
takes a journey of his own. The world is a complicated place. This book is an enjoyable read. Show Less
LibraryThing member FormerEnglishTeacher
Having read the first in a two-book series, “Less,” I was interested to see what our aging gay protagonist would do now after the world travels of the first book. I read that author Andrew Sean Greer intended this sequel to be a serious novel but soon realized that making a book about an old
Show More
queen like Less serious is pretty hard. Think back to Robin Williams in the movie “The Bird Cage.” Something about older gay men just lends itself to humor and that is what Greer decided to do. This book continues Less’ awkward saga and includes a clever, although not totally unexpected twist at the end. The writing is really worth the price of admission, and readers who might not enjoy the characters should at least respect Greer’s writing talent. I’m not sure the first novel deserved the Pulitzer, but I’ve never been a fan of that prize for fiction. The prizes for newspaper work and even drama have all seemed so much more deserving that those for fiction. That said, the Pulitzer Prize has, no doubt, brought many people to Greer’s first book, and on its merits ushered readers on to the sequel. Worth the read, for sure, but I doubt this book or Greer’s first will stand the test of time as a classic. Show Less
LibraryThing member Castlelass
This book is a humorous sequel to Less and takes up where the last book ended. It is a picaresque tale of the hapless but optimistic author, Arthur Less, who has good intentions, but finds that things never go quite right for him. At the beginning of the tale, Arthur’s ex-partner has died and,
Humor does not always work for me, but I found myself often smiling as I read along. It is not totally comedic. It also contains observations about the long-term impact of childhood abandonment as well as segments about relationships and commitment. Picaresque tales are also hit or miss with me, but this one is definitely a hit.
Show More
while attending the funeral, finds himself in debt. To try to repay it, he sets off on a tour requested by his publisher. First, he writes a piece on the famous author H.H.H. Mandarin, and then travels across the country on a wild ride through many states in a run-down RV in the company of a small dog. The story is told from the perspective of Arthur’s current partner, Freddie. Humor does not always work for me, but I found myself often smiling as I read along. It is not totally comedic. It also contains observations about the long-term impact of childhood abandonment as well as segments about relationships and commitment. Picaresque tales are also hit or miss with me, but this one is definitely a hit.
Show Less
LibraryThing member bobbieharv
I loved the first Less, but I found this sequel tiresome and unnecessary. The ironic, almost tongue-in-cheek voice, so appealing in the first book, became too much. I skimmed the second half just to be done.
LibraryThing member nivramkoorb
Andrew Sean Greer is a special author to me. I discovered him with "The Confessions of Max Tivoli" and have read all his books since that one. Along the way I got a chance to meet him at a book reading in San Francisco where we both lived. His book "Less" was a departure from his previous books in
A very worthwhile read.
Show More
that it was both. humorous and insightful. It was major surprise to many people when it won the Pulitzer Prize for Literature in 2018. It was a comic novel about a gay author and was somewhat autobiographical. Greer's prose is wonderful and the story was funny and engaging. The sequel follows Arthur Less a few years removed from winning a literary prize and dealing with issues with his current lover and the death of a long term relationship. He discovers that the home in San Francisco that he has been living in for 10 years(owned by the long term relationship) is owed 10 years of back rent. He needs to pay the back rent or lose his occupancy. This leads him to embark on a tour of the USA to make money on various literal engagements. With this back drop we deal with lots of issues while also enjoying the comic episodes that Arthur gets into. Told through the eyes of his current lover(Freddy), this was a fun engaging novel. I would suggest reading "Less" before you read "Less is Lost" but this novel can stand on its own. Check out Greer's other books which are excellent but much more serious in their subject matter.A very worthwhile read.
Show Less