REVIEW: Less by Andrew Sean Greer

 

This novel, surprisingly, won the Pulitzer in 2022 - I say surprising because it literally skewers the literary world. The main character is Arthur Less, a minor author who is newly and abruptly single after his much younger lover has left him and announced his engagement to someone else in a manner that may as well have been simultaneously with his break from Less. Also, this lover is the son of Less' archenemy - drama! In order to get away from it all, Less accepts a handful of literary engagements all over the world, including teaching a class in Germany. During Less' journey we see his self discovery, laugh and meet colorful characters from all over the world. 

I loved Greer's prose - it was simple and yet so elegant, it flowed like a calm, swift river. Greer made it seem effortless to write this and the book moved quickly as a result. The structure of the book appealed to me too - it is split into chapters based upon the places that Greer visits and there are lots of breaks within the chapter that allows the reader to leave and come back in the course of their own busy lives.  I found myself fond of Less, who is...quirky.  Having said all this, I think I would appreciated the novel more if I were more connected to the Literary genre because I feel like I was barely scraping the understanding of the satire related to the publishing industry.