From the Back Cover
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 invitations to half-baked literary events around the world. Question: How do you arrange to skip town? Answer: You accept them all. What could possibly go wrong? Thus begins an around-the-world-in-eighty-days fantasia that will take the novelist Arthur Less to Mexico, Italy, Germany, Morocco, India, and Japan and put thousands of miles between him and the plight he refuses to face.
My Thoughts
I think it’s pretty safe to say that LESS shocked everyone when it won last year’s Pulitzer. The Pull-it-sir winner heard ’round the world… is a comedic break-up novel about a middle-aged gay man who travels the world Jules-Verne-style? You betcha!!
“How can so many things become a bore by middle age- philosophy, radicalism, and other fast foods- but heartbreak keeps its sting?”
Reading LESS was a strange experience for me, because I didn’t really *feel* anything toward it. It’s an entertaining read, and it’s well-written for sure, but I felt slightly underwhelmed especially considering all of the hype surrounding it. I enjoyed reading about the trials and tribulations of main character Arthur Less, about the humiliation and embarrassment that he faces: in his career, in his relationships, and in his travels (though he might not realize it). But an appreciation for Greer’s prose and character development are about the extent of my feelings towards LESS.
I can’t exactly determine whether or not I’d recommend LESS, but I can say that it’s certainly an entertaining novel, and it reminded me of why I love reading to begin with: to be entertained, and to escape within a world I might never experience for myself.
Thanks for the honest review! This one is still on my TBR since I purchased it last summer, but I’m starting to see more and more reviews that agree with your thoughts
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Thanks Erin! I feel so conflicted. I liked it, it was a fine book, and it wasn’t “bad,” it just left me feeling quite “meh” overall. I’d be curious to hear your own thoughts if you do decide to read it!
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For sure! Right now I have it “scheduled” for The Unread Shelf Challenge for June so we’ll see if I get to it before that! I’m not in any particular rush 😉
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Haha!! I will keep my eye out for it. 😀
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Interesting plot…. Sometimes hard to write about book that are sort in 5-6/10 range isn’t it?
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It’s unbelievably difficult!! It’s easy to praise a book, and easy to trash a book, but not so easy to write about an “alright” book. Have you read LESS?
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No – I haven’t. Haven’t even see it in the shops…
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Interesting! After it won the Pulitzer here, it seems it’s all anyone could talk about!
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I started this book just a few days ago and I don’t even think I got through the first chapter! I didn’t like the writing style and found it rather boring to begin with. I like books that at least make me want to keep reading for some reason – whether it’s the writing or the character or the plot or the humor – something!
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Of course, it’s only natural that you’d like to read books that interest you! LESS was a “meh” book for me; I didn’t love it nor hate it. Hopefully you have better reads ahead of you!
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