Less: A Novel by Andrew
Sean Greer
Synopsis:
In Andrew Sean Greer’s novel, Less: A Novel, Arthur Less pulls together a trip around the world
to avoid the wedding of his former lover of nine years as well as his own 50th
birthday. As a writer with varying degrees of success overseas, Less accepts
invitations to either host, teach, or be a part of literary events in various
places. After he RSVP’s to Freddy’s wedding as “out of the country,” Arthur
finds himself in New York as an interviewer of a Science Fiction author and then
Mexico for a conference as a panelist discussing his former partner and famed
poet, Robert. In Italy, he attends an awards ceremony where he is nominated for
his first novel before he goes to Germany for five weeks to teach a class on
writing. An unplanned evening in Paris puts him at a gathering for literary aficionados.
His next destination is Morocco where he joins a group traveling by camel
across the desert for the 50th birthday of a friend of a friend that
transitions into his own birthday. Afterwards, he mistakenly books himself into
a Christian community in hopes of finishing his third novel but ends up at a
resort with his longest-known frenemy and adopted father of Freddy, Carlos. His
final destination before heading home to San Francisco is Japan where he is
writing an article about Japanese cuisine.
At each of his stops, Less reflects back on his 50 years. He
marvels at his life at 21 with the older Robert and his adjacency to Robert’s
literary circle. He mourns the youth and beauty he once possessed as he tries
to figure what a gay man of 50 is supposed to be like. During his journey, he
encounters potential love interests, but his thoughts always return to the
young Freddy and how he let him slip away only for Freddy to find someone else.
Moments of self-discovery dot his path through each foreign country, but they
are not as foreign as he is to himself and the loves of his life. Who will
Arthur Less be when he finds himself back home?
LGBTQ/Romance Elements in
Less: A Novel
·
Middle aged gay man reflecting on life and love.
·
Character driven story where the protagonist
must come to understand himself and his relationships.
·
Settings involve traveling to different
countries who are described in detail.
·
Language used in detailed and creative ways.
Read-Alikes:
·
A Single
Man by Christopher Isherwood
o
Middle aged gay men/relationships
o
Bittersweet tone
o
Engaging
·
What
Belongs to You by Garth Greenwll
o
Gay fiction
o
Relationships - older/younger
o
Complex characters
·
Remembrance
of Things I Forgot by Bob Smith
o
Gay fiction/ breakups
o
Sardonic
o
Witty
