Chase Talks About the LGBTQ Novel "Less" by Andrew Sean Greer

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 50^th 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 50^th 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