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Arthur Less #2
Less Is Lost
In the follow-up to the best-selling and Pulitzer Prize-winning Less, 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, and the stories we tell along the way.
“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, and the stories we tell along the way.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published September 20, 2022
About the author
Andrew Sean Greer
31 books3,005 followersAndrew Sean Greer (born 1970) is an American novelist and short story writer.
He is the bestselling author of The Story of a Marriage, which The New York Times has called an “inspired, lyrical novel,” and The Confessions of Max Tivoli, which was named one of the best books of 2004 by the San Francisco Chronicle and received a California Book Award.
The child of two scientists, Greer studied writing with Robert Coover and Edmund White at Brown University, where he was the commencement speaker at his own graduation, where his unrehearsed remarks, critiquing Brown's admissions policies, caused a semi-riot. After years in New York working as a chauffeur, theater tech, television extra and unsuccessful writer, he moved to Missoula, Montana, where he received his Master of Fine Arts from The University of Montana, from where he soon moved to Seattle and two years later to San Francisco where he now lives. He is currently a fellow at the New York Public Library Cullman Center. He is an identical twin.
While in San Francisco, he began to publish in magazines before releasing a collection of his stories, How It Was for Me. His stories have appeared in Esquire, The Paris Review, The New Yorker and other national publications, and have been anthologized most recently in The Book of Other People, and The PEN/ O. Henry Prize Stories 2009. His first novel, The Path of Minor Planets, was published in 2001.
He is the bestselling author of The Story of a Marriage, which The New York Times has called an “inspired, lyrical novel,” and The Confessions of Max Tivoli, which was named one of the best books of 2004 by the San Francisco Chronicle and received a California Book Award.
The child of two scientists, Greer studied writing with Robert Coover and Edmund White at Brown University, where he was the commencement speaker at his own graduation, where his unrehearsed remarks, critiquing Brown's admissions policies, caused a semi-riot. After years in New York working as a chauffeur, theater tech, television extra and unsuccessful writer, he moved to Missoula, Montana, where he received his Master of Fine Arts from The University of Montana, from where he soon moved to Seattle and two years later to San Francisco where he now lives. He is currently a fellow at the New York Public Library Cullman Center. He is an identical twin.
While in San Francisco, he began to publish in magazines before releasing a collection of his stories, How It Was for Me. His stories have appeared in Esquire, The Paris Review, The New Yorker and other national publications, and have been anthologized most recently in The Book of Other People, and The PEN/ O. Henry Prize Stories 2009. His first novel, The Path of Minor Planets, was published in 2001.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,349 reviews
November 16, 2023
i am not emotionally developed enough to be ok with endings. sequels are the universe's gift to me specifically.
this didn't make me have the oh-my-god-life-is-beautiful-we-are-all-so-lucky-to-be-here-loving-each-other-and-i-am-so-lucky-to-be-here-loving-this-book five-star feeling of the first one, but it was very fun and clever and i enjoyed it nearly from top to bottom.
and that's a lot more than most!
bottom line: sequels are never as good. but they are better than nothing!
this didn't make me have the oh-my-god-life-is-beautiful-we-are-all-so-lucky-to-be-here-loving-each-other-and-i-am-so-lucky-to-be-here-loving-this-book five-star feeling of the first one, but it was very fun and clever and i enjoyed it nearly from top to bottom.
and that's a lot more than most!
bottom line: sequels are never as good. but they are better than nothing!
November 13, 2022
My Remembrance Day long weekend has looked like this: car broken down, life broken down, sick kid, sick me.
No little excursions to spark joy, but instead a lot of caretaking, a lot of coughing, a lot of shivering, a lot of aching, and a little vomiting (the last part not by me, thankfully). AND... this book.
THANK GOD I had this wonderful book to sail me through the weekend. Thank god for Andrew Sean Greer. In addition to being an eloquent and elegant writer, he's also uplifting and funny. He encourages us to not take ourselves and our lives so seriously... while also reminding us to make the most of them.
This is a delightful sequel to the Pulitzer Prize winner. For many of us who were never able to be happily young and in love, or for those of us who never will again, Greer encourages us with a wry and hopeful smile -- fullness and connection can be had at whatever age. And, life will not always look like... this.
A beautiful thing to remember, on this weekend of remembering.
No little excursions to spark joy, but instead a lot of caretaking, a lot of coughing, a lot of shivering, a lot of aching, and a little vomiting (the last part not by me, thankfully). AND... this book.
THANK GOD I had this wonderful book to sail me through the weekend. Thank god for Andrew Sean Greer. In addition to being an eloquent and elegant writer, he's also uplifting and funny. He encourages us to not take ourselves and our lives so seriously... while also reminding us to make the most of them.
This is a delightful sequel to the Pulitzer Prize winner. For many of us who were never able to be happily young and in love, or for those of us who never will again, Greer encourages us with a wry and hopeful smile -- fullness and connection can be had at whatever age. And, life will not always look like... this.
A beautiful thing to remember, on this weekend of remembering.
September 27, 2022
I enjoyed this follow up — thoroughly!!!!!!
— even ‘more’ than “Less” (The Pulitzer Prize novel)
“Less is Lost” …. is anything but ‘less-of-a-sequel’. It’s a WINNER!!!
A couple of times, my sides were hurting from laughing as much as I did.
If you love road trip stories across American - love Arthur Less —you’re in heaven —
Plus….
if you left your heart in San Francisco—you just might find it again!!
— even ‘more’ than “Less” (The Pulitzer Prize novel)
“Less is Lost” …. is anything but ‘less-of-a-sequel’. It’s a WINNER!!!
A couple of times, my sides were hurting from laughing as much as I did.
If you love road trip stories across American - love Arthur Less —you’re in heaven —
Plus….
if you left your heart in San Francisco—you just might find it again!!
October 12, 2022
How wonderful to believe in a universe that holds, for you, a special plan! Only the very young, Less observes, could think so. Only those still at the beginning of this novel would trust the Author knows what He is doing. While Less, being an author himself, knows that no authors know what they are doing. That is what the drink and drugs and madness are about (we have two authors in a van as evidence). And, having seen twice as much of life as anyone here, he knows the Author has long ago lost the plot.Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for sending me an ARC of Less Is Lost in exchange for an honest review.
Less Is Lost takes place a few years after Less. Arthur Less is still with Freddie, but there’s a strain in their relationship. When Arthur needs to raise some cash very quickly in order to cover back taxes on the house where they’ve been living, he accepts several invitations that require him to travel around the American West, South, and mid-Atlantic.
So, as with Less, the story revolves around Less going on an extended road trip, meeting some amusing characters, getting into some comic situations, and grappling with his current crisis. These secondary characters, such as HHH Mandern, a famous sci-fi writer who’s a cross between George RR Martin and Ernest Hemingway, provide much of the story’s comedy. Interestingly, I thought the road trip around America concept was underwhelming. The description made it sound like there might be Borat-style takedowns of different sections of the country. Instead, other than a very few sections about “America” that feel forced, the locales are largely extraneous to the story’s laser focus on Less.
I enjoyed Less, but when I heard there would be a sequel, I wasn’t sure what new ground there would be to cover. In Less, Arthur was processing turning fifty in the aftermath of a breakup. In Less Is Lost, he is dealing with his thoughts about the death of his former lover, his dying father, and the uncertainty in his relationship with Freddie. And I suppose there were some new ideas discussed: the idea of good gays versus bad gays, is it worth it being a writer, and what do we want from the past? But the novel primarily covers a lot of the same themes as Less: gay relationships, aging and death, family, regrets, and forgiveness.
Less Is Lost is a perfectly pleasant novel. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator gave a good performance. If you enjoyed Less, you’ll probably like this book too. But it covers familiar ground, and ultimately doesn’t add much to the story of Arthur Less.
October 23, 2022
Flashes of inspired writing and some observational gems, but the storyline was flat. Tedious, even. I missed the magic the previous Less book cast over me. Not terrible, but certainly no “Less.”
June 4, 2022
Andrew Sean Greer and his protagonist Arthur Less are back for more comedic, existential adventures in Less is Lost.
Arthur Less is happily living with his lover Freddy in their "Shack" in San Francisco, where they both work on their own writings. When Freddy is off in Maine, Less receives news that his ex-lover Robert has passed and along with his passing comes the inheritance of some very steep bills. In order to pay down these bills, Less postpones his trip to Maine to see Freddy and embarks on a road trip down the California Coast, across the Southwest and Southeast, and back up the Eastern seaboard to his childhood home in Delaware. Along each leg of this journey, Less meets a cast of characters - including ones who share his name - and Less slowly makes up the money needed to pay what is owed to Robert's estate.
I fell in love with Arthur Less - and Greer's writing - when I first encountered him in Greer's prior book, Less, and Greer does not let his readers down with this sequel. Greer has the unique and uncanny ability to write with lightness and humor while shining spotlights on quintessential elements of human experience like love, aging, and family. Less is Lost, much like its predecessor, will have you rolling on the floor laughing, wiping away tears, and pausing to think about your own relationship to love, life, and society. Just as good as its predecessor, Less is Lost is a must-read book of the year.
Arthur Less is happily living with his lover Freddy in their "Shack" in San Francisco, where they both work on their own writings. When Freddy is off in Maine, Less receives news that his ex-lover Robert has passed and along with his passing comes the inheritance of some very steep bills. In order to pay down these bills, Less postpones his trip to Maine to see Freddy and embarks on a road trip down the California Coast, across the Southwest and Southeast, and back up the Eastern seaboard to his childhood home in Delaware. Along each leg of this journey, Less meets a cast of characters - including ones who share his name - and Less slowly makes up the money needed to pay what is owed to Robert's estate.
I fell in love with Arthur Less - and Greer's writing - when I first encountered him in Greer's prior book, Less, and Greer does not let his readers down with this sequel. Greer has the unique and uncanny ability to write with lightness and humor while shining spotlights on quintessential elements of human experience like love, aging, and family. Less is Lost, much like its predecessor, will have you rolling on the floor laughing, wiping away tears, and pausing to think about your own relationship to love, life, and society. Just as good as its predecessor, Less is Lost is a must-read book of the year.
October 3, 2022
Freddy Pelu is back! The reveal at the end of part one was that we hear the adventures of the mildly successful author Arthur Less through the eyes of his funny, warm-hearted boyfriend Freddy, and it's also him who narrates part two, making the star of the show once again the satiric, humorous tone of the text. In this second installment, Arthur's ex-lover dies, and the estate charges him ten years of rent as he and Freddy have lived in the late lover's mansion for free. Once again, Arthur embarks on a journey, this time to collect the money within a month so he and Freddy don't get into financial trouble.
This is no social realist writing, it's more like The Odyssey starring Don Quixote: It features readings, a bizarre prize committee, various animals, a magazine job writing the profile of sci-fi author HHH Mandern, a traveling theatre company, Arthur's German father etc. pp. It's funny, often smart (this prize committee is hilarious), but sometimes a little cutesy, and - you certainly can't blame Greer for this - it lacks the novelty effect of part one, which was a surprising Künstlerroman about a middle-aged gay man with an identity crisis, so a theme that is usually covered by white, straight guys.
On a more subtle level, this second installment ponders what Arthur, a white artsy guy from the coast, knows about his country. These issues are more hinted at than explored, but they are well developed when it comes to his relationship with Freddy, our narrator with Mexican heritage. The road trip through the nation is one of the most American literary motifs imaginable (hello, On the Road and every single book about pushing the frontier), but the heavy ponderings on the state of the union frequently clash with the romcom character and the text loses its balance.
Still, Greer is just a wonderful, empathetic writer, and this novel is intelligent entertainment. Nevertheless, I'd like to read something completely different by this author in his next effort.
This is no social realist writing, it's more like The Odyssey starring Don Quixote: It features readings, a bizarre prize committee, various animals, a magazine job writing the profile of sci-fi author HHH Mandern, a traveling theatre company, Arthur's German father etc. pp. It's funny, often smart (this prize committee is hilarious), but sometimes a little cutesy, and - you certainly can't blame Greer for this - it lacks the novelty effect of part one, which was a surprising Künstlerroman about a middle-aged gay man with an identity crisis, so a theme that is usually covered by white, straight guys.
On a more subtle level, this second installment ponders what Arthur, a white artsy guy from the coast, knows about his country. These issues are more hinted at than explored, but they are well developed when it comes to his relationship with Freddy, our narrator with Mexican heritage. The road trip through the nation is one of the most American literary motifs imaginable (hello, On the Road and every single book about pushing the frontier), but the heavy ponderings on the state of the union frequently clash with the romcom character and the text loses its balance.
Still, Greer is just a wonderful, empathetic writer, and this novel is intelligent entertainment. Nevertheless, I'd like to read something completely different by this author in his next effort.
September 15, 2022
4.0 - Not quite as good as the first, but Less's road trip adventures are pretty entertaining and there is quite a bit of character growth, if you like that sort of thing.
October 6, 2022
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 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 precision and economy and humor it made me recall how many books I had read in recent years that approached the topic 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.
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 precision and economy and humor it made me recall how many books I had read in recent years that approached the topic 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.
February 1, 2023
I realized about halfway through this novel that I had no idea where the story was going or what the point of the narrative even was. The comedy of the various events that befall our main character were entertaining enough, but didn’t add up to anything resembling a coherent narrative for me.
That’s all the more disappointing because I truly loved the first Arthur Less book. I felt so connected to that first novel - maybe because it was about a gay man who, like me, was turning 50 and was questioning his life to that point. That novel had an overarching theme exploring issues of getting older, tied in with a nice love story.
This follow-up seemed to be more about an indecisive person who has events happen to him. There was one bit that made me think maybe the novel’s intent was to ask how much does one still need to be adaptable to changing our self identity as we get older - but I couldn’t even find a good through line around that theme.
Ultimately I found the story much less relevant to me. I just didn’t see a lot of value in revisiting these characters. I found the storytelling to be a bit chaotic, and the telling (by a seemingly omniscient narrator in the form of Arthur’s boyfriend) was disjointed.
I could add half a star for the poetry of the language - I do find Greer's prose to be quite entrancing - but in the end, it’s not enough to rescue a novel that doesn’t feel like it has a coherent, meaningful plot.
That’s all the more disappointing because I truly loved the first Arthur Less book. I felt so connected to that first novel - maybe because it was about a gay man who, like me, was turning 50 and was questioning his life to that point. That novel had an overarching theme exploring issues of getting older, tied in with a nice love story.
This follow-up seemed to be more about an indecisive person who has events happen to him. There was one bit that made me think maybe the novel’s intent was to ask how much does one still need to be adaptable to changing our self identity as we get older - but I couldn’t even find a good through line around that theme.
Ultimately I found the story much less relevant to me. I just didn’t see a lot of value in revisiting these characters. I found the storytelling to be a bit chaotic, and the telling (by a seemingly omniscient narrator in the form of Arthur’s boyfriend) was disjointed.
I could add half a star for the poetry of the language - I do find Greer's prose to be quite entrancing - but in the end, it’s not enough to rescue a novel that doesn’t feel like it has a coherent, meaningful plot.
January 14, 2023
I must have a case of the January doldrums, because everything I've read so far this month has been blah, and this was no different. I really enjoyed the first book, Less, and had high hopes for Less is Lost, but Arthur Less lost us both on his road trip across America. From one unlikely adventure to another, in the end it all just seemed a farce. Good-bye Arthur. If there is a third book, I'll just leave it alone.
August 9, 2024
I loved Less so much that I nearly did not read this sequel in case I did not like it as much. Of course the magic of meeting a character like Arthur Less can only happen once, but this second book is actually funnier than the first and just as enjoyable in every way.
A host of crazy reasons cause Arthur and Freddy to be separated for a while and both parties have fears for their relationship. As in the first book Arthur travels extensively and gets himself into all kinds of scrapes. Eventually Freddy sets off on his own voyage of discovery and becomes uncontactable. For this reader this became very worrying even as I was laughing out loud at one or other of Arthur's excesses.
The conclusion is worthy of a movie and left me with a happy smile. So glad I did decide to read it after all.
A host of crazy reasons cause Arthur and Freddy to be separated for a while and both parties have fears for their relationship. As in the first book Arthur travels extensively and gets himself into all kinds of scrapes. Eventually Freddy sets off on his own voyage of discovery and becomes uncontactable. For this reader this became very worrying even as I was laughing out loud at one or other of Arthur's excesses.
The conclusion is worthy of a movie and left me with a happy smile. So glad I did decide to read it after all.
July 27, 2022
Actual rating 3.5 stars.
I’ve had Less is Lost on my ARC shelf for months, and I kept procrastinating. Because I requested this book on a whim but hadn’t read its prequel yet. So I bought Less intending to read it soon. It didn’t happen. I just kept picking up other books. So two months before its release, I made a decision. I’d read Less is Lost without reading Less. And how did that turn out?
Quite well, to be honest. I started reading and immediately got hooked on the story, and there was not a moment that I felt that I missed something.
Less is Lost is written from his partner Freddie’s point of view, while Freddie is not with Less most of the time. This way of writing is refreshing, and I felt close to Freddie’s feelings while I constantly experienced what Less was doing (from a more distant point of view).
I really liked the story, and giggles escaped my mouth more than once. Less’ adventures were quite ridiculous at times, and there were a few moments when I raised my brows and rolled my eyes because that particular scene was just a little too much. Overall, I really liked the story and recommend it to all of you who need an escape and want to read a book that’s not too long and in a different structure than usual. Even if you haven’t read its prequel!
I received an ARC from Little Brown Company and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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I’ve had Less is Lost on my ARC shelf for months, and I kept procrastinating. Because I requested this book on a whim but hadn’t read its prequel yet. So I bought Less intending to read it soon. It didn’t happen. I just kept picking up other books. So two months before its release, I made a decision. I’d read Less is Lost without reading Less. And how did that turn out?
Quite well, to be honest. I started reading and immediately got hooked on the story, and there was not a moment that I felt that I missed something.
Less is Lost is written from his partner Freddie’s point of view, while Freddie is not with Less most of the time. This way of writing is refreshing, and I felt close to Freddie’s feelings while I constantly experienced what Less was doing (from a more distant point of view).
I really liked the story, and giggles escaped my mouth more than once. Less’ adventures were quite ridiculous at times, and there were a few moments when I raised my brows and rolled my eyes because that particular scene was just a little too much. Overall, I really liked the story and recommend it to all of you who need an escape and want to read a book that’s not too long and in a different structure than usual. Even if you haven’t read its prequel!
I received an ARC from Little Brown Company and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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October 15, 2022
[3.8] Although I found this sequel a little less superb than Less, it is still a fine novel with an endearing hero and plenty of humor and warmth.
November 8, 2023
I first read Less a few years ago, when it was offered to me by my local library as a gift for completing the adult reading program. Here is my review: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
I wasn’t sure I wanted to read the sequel.
But…
I decided to give it a try.
And…
This time ordered the book from my library.
I realized that even though I had read the first book, I had forgotten so much of it, that I would have to say, it is important to read the first book to understand and connect to the second book…
Because…
They are continuing characters…
Arthur and Freddy.
But…
You can still enjoy the second book for the nuances that it brings to the story. If that made sense.
So…
The author helped me, too, with a little bit of reminisces of what had occurred in “Less.”
With this story, Arthur is back, past 50 years, happily with his younger partner, Freddy. Thankfully, Freddy chose not to get married to someone else (the drama of Less) and is now enjoying “nine months of unmarital bliss” with Arthur.
But…
The author isn’t quite sure how to create total happiness. Instead, he brings in clouds and chaos.
Less’s first love, the older poet Robert Brownburn, dies, leaving him not the house, the place they have been living in that they have happily called “the shack”, but the stack of rent bills that Less has apparently never bothered to pay.
Oy!
Now…
He must find a way to raise 10 years-worth of rent or lose his love nest “the shack” with Freddy.
So…
Road trip for this writer!
His assignment…
To profile a best-selling sci-fi novelist named Mandern. On the way he also finds himself chauffeuring a pug called Dolly on a road trip through the American Southwest in an aging camper van called Rosina.
And…
Mandern has his own complications with his daughter.
Along with…
Less’s father, who abandoned his children in their youth, who is now dying.
But…
That’s not all.
There is more.
Across the country Less weaves along. Rowina running on fumes. There is some silly humor, but warm heartedness, too.
Will Less be able to achieve his goal of collecting the rent funds and enable he and Freddy to stay in their shack for the rest of their lives?
Still…
What readers can appreciate most, is that Freddy is our narrator and guide. Who gives us a hopeful ending.
“Well reader, I will simply let you guess.”
January 6, 2023
QUICK TAKE: I might have liked it more than the first book. A beautiful story, heartbreaking and hilarious, I relate to Arthur Less as I get older, and I could spend another 3 books with him on various adventures. The ending is a bit convenient, but also feels earned and I just loved it. The audiobook is fantastic as well.
January 15, 2023
I believe there was a passage in Andrew Sean Greer's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Less in which we were told that Arthur Less, Greer's hapless protagonist, was writing a "gay Odyssey." Well, this book is kind of that.
Grieving the death of his first lover, the much-older, renowned poet Robert Brownburn, our queer 50-something everyman discovers the home he's currently living in with his long-term boyfriend Freddy is no longer his. But if he can come up with the back payments in one month he might be able to keep it.
And so he embarks on a quest to earn some quick cash to pay off the home; he takes on a magazine profile of an eccentric sci-fi writer; he agrees to make an appearance at a Southern theatre company that's adapting one of his short stories; he takes on a series of lectures; and, via Zoom, he's a member of a jury deciding who to award a prestigious prize.
His journey takes him across America, where he spends time not with coastal elites but with ordinary folks. In a camper he's inherited and with a cute dog in tow, he drives across the country to his events. At the end will be Freddy, and, hopefully, romantic bliss.
Along the way, there are many obstacles – and revelations. Arthur hears from his estranged father. The sci-fi writer turns out to be an asshole. Arthur causes lots of problems. And Freddy might be about to stray.
While this novel suffers from a lack of momentum – and, let's face it, the premise itself feels contrived – every now and then Greer will come up with an absolutely gorgeous, profound paragraph that will make you smile and tear up at the same time.
Freddy, too, is an active presence - besides being the book's ironic narrator, he's no Penelope. There's one scene in which he encounters a man who's given up love that is stunningly beautiful and recalls the tender and transcendent meetings in Less.
I was all set to give the novel 3 stars (slighter and more scattered than the original), but Greer delivers a very satisfying ending: funny, touching, profound. I enjoyed spending time with Arthur and Freddy.
And I'll never think of people from the Netherlands in quite the same way again.
Grieving the death of his first lover, the much-older, renowned poet Robert Brownburn, our queer 50-something everyman discovers the home he's currently living in with his long-term boyfriend Freddy is no longer his. But if he can come up with the back payments in one month he might be able to keep it.
And so he embarks on a quest to earn some quick cash to pay off the home; he takes on a magazine profile of an eccentric sci-fi writer; he agrees to make an appearance at a Southern theatre company that's adapting one of his short stories; he takes on a series of lectures; and, via Zoom, he's a member of a jury deciding who to award a prestigious prize.
His journey takes him across America, where he spends time not with coastal elites but with ordinary folks. In a camper he's inherited and with a cute dog in tow, he drives across the country to his events. At the end will be Freddy, and, hopefully, romantic bliss.
Along the way, there are many obstacles – and revelations. Arthur hears from his estranged father. The sci-fi writer turns out to be an asshole. Arthur causes lots of problems. And Freddy might be about to stray.
While this novel suffers from a lack of momentum – and, let's face it, the premise itself feels contrived – every now and then Greer will come up with an absolutely gorgeous, profound paragraph that will make you smile and tear up at the same time.
Freddy, too, is an active presence - besides being the book's ironic narrator, he's no Penelope. There's one scene in which he encounters a man who's given up love that is stunningly beautiful and recalls the tender and transcendent meetings in Less.
I was all set to give the novel 3 stars (slighter and more scattered than the original), but Greer delivers a very satisfying ending: funny, touching, profound. I enjoyed spending time with Arthur and Freddy.
And I'll never think of people from the Netherlands in quite the same way again.
April 6, 2022
In Less, Andrew Sean Greer took us on a blundering trip around the world. In "Less Is Lost," he attempts to recapture the magic, sending his hapless but lovable protagonist Arthur Less on a road trip across the United States, from the "Mild Mild West" to the Eastern Seaboard. A lengthy detour through the South provides some of the novel's more hilarious--and poignant--moments, as the well-dressed (and gay) Less stands out like a Baptist in a Lutheran church.
"Less Is Lost" hews close to the old adage: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The detached third-person narration was one of the many treats in the first book; here, it works just as well, if not better, as the narrator's identity is known from page one. The plot zigs when you expect it to zag; the humor is consistently laugh-out-loud. However, the set-up for Less's journey is more tortured this time around, and at times the trip feels random just for randomness's sake (always an issue with road trip stories, especially comedies).
Fear not, dear Reader--Greer lands the plane smoothly, leaving you gasping for breath and wondering what you were ever so worried about. Of course Greer was going to tie everything up in one beautiful bow! Of course he will break your heart just to mend it. Fans of the first book and new readers alike will delight at the mishaps that befall Greer's hero on his cross-country adventure. "Less Is Lost" stands on its own, too, so if you haven't gotten lost with Less, hop onboard.
"Less Is Lost" hews close to the old adage: if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The detached third-person narration was one of the many treats in the first book; here, it works just as well, if not better, as the narrator's identity is known from page one. The plot zigs when you expect it to zag; the humor is consistently laugh-out-loud. However, the set-up for Less's journey is more tortured this time around, and at times the trip feels random just for randomness's sake (always an issue with road trip stories, especially comedies).
Fear not, dear Reader--Greer lands the plane smoothly, leaving you gasping for breath and wondering what you were ever so worried about. Of course Greer was going to tie everything up in one beautiful bow! Of course he will break your heart just to mend it. Fans of the first book and new readers alike will delight at the mishaps that befall Greer's hero on his cross-country adventure. "Less Is Lost" stands on its own, too, so if you haven't gotten lost with Less, hop onboard.
August 29, 2022
This is an honest sequel. If u enjoyed the original Pulitzer-winning novel, you will most likely enjoy this second trip also. The excuse for this sequel doesn't even pretend that it is more than that. The "crisis" is "just" financial. The big difference is that Arthur Less stays local. Instead of going around the world, this time around he tours America and rediscovers his origins.
I knew that I liked Arthur Less. I discovered that I like him even more than I wanted to admit. And I think that this won't be the last time we take a trip with him.
Thanks, NetGalley and Hachette for the early copy.
I knew that I liked Arthur Less. I discovered that I like him even more than I wanted to admit. And I think that this won't be the last time we take a trip with him.
Thanks, NetGalley and Hachette for the early copy.
December 27, 2023
Perfection!!! And just as good—or better—than Less.
Arthur Less and Freddy Pelu are two of the nicest people I've ever (wished I'd) known. I'm so glad they found each other (again) when they did. Such a very beautiful love story.😘
5 "rainbow" stars.
💜💛🧡💚💙
Arthur Less and Freddy Pelu are two of the nicest people I've ever (wished I'd) known. I'm so glad they found each other (again) when they did. Such a very beautiful love story.😘
5 "rainbow" stars.
💜💛🧡💚💙
September 30, 2024
Less is Lost is the sequel to Pulitzer Prize winning Less by Andrew Sean Greer. I loved this book and I loved Arthur Less. In this book, one becomes aware of a much deeper understanding as to who Arthur Less is and many of the influences that may have shaped his life. It is a lovely story as it unfolds as a road trip through much of America beginning in San Francisco, California to Palm Desert and then through the desert southwest and through the American South and up the Atlantic seaboard as lovable but awkward Arthur Less makes his way on his zany and madcap road trip. His experiences throughout this journey are entertaining and enlightening. I hesitate to say more because it is better if it all unfolds freshly for the reader as talented Andrew Sean Greer intended.
But a few of my favorite passages:
But a few of my favorite passages:
"The landscape is reversed; the desert is now in the sky, streaked with heliotrope and tawny gold as if along the crests of sand dunes, and below it spreads a dark galaxy of spiny plants: the Joshua trees. They lie out to the horizon in clumps, Holy Rollers at a revival, lifting their heavy arms. How long has this been going on? For all time? Why did no one tell him? The stars are being extinguished one by one, as if by a lamplighter, as the horizon begins to whiten in expectation. And he notices, out there among the Joshua trees, almost of them, silhouetted against the sky, the shape of an old man in a robe regarding the sunrise. His little dog begins to bay. To tell the truth, America looks fine from here."
"One leads to the Grand Canyon, which Less visited once on a chance southwest trip in his early forties. He arrived before dawn and hiked out onto a promontory--utterly alone--to watch one of the wonders of America. Each level of the canyon began to be slowly colored, as by a paint-by-numbers virtuoso, and quickly became saturated in sepias, umbers, buffs, fawns, coppers, and bronzes. The whole thing seemed queerly flat. He felt like he was looking at a mural in a high-school gymnasium."
July 1, 2024
I remember being disappointed in the Pulitzer-winning Foreign Affairs, and after reading it, wishing for a really good middle-aged romance. Well here it is. Andrew Sean Greer, another Pulitzer winner, someone who says he likes to write about love and the passage of time, has made my wish come true with this book.
A sequel to the prize-winning Less, I didn’t expect this to be as good, but for me, it was even better. The first book was a delightful introduction to the loveable character of Arthur Less, his hilarious midlife crisis, and his search for love. With this one, he goes a little deeper, into the problems of his childhood, the pain of loss, and the difficulties of long-term relationships. Greer’s framing of the story, through the eyes of Less’s beloved Freddy Pelu, is enhanced in this second volume, and now the reader can fall in love with both of them.
Here Less is on another adventure, this time within the borders of his own crazy country. The story resembles Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley: In Search of America, only instead of Charley the dog is Dolly, and Steinbeck’s Rocinante has become the camper van Rosina. A key difference is even Steinbeck couldn’t take his American tour without avoiding the serious conflicts that exist amongst Americans, but somehow when Greer sends Arthur Less out there, he smooths them over for us.
Still, at one point, the narrator asks a timely question. “America, how’s your marriage? Your two-hundred fifty-year-old promise to stay together in sickness and in health? … Like so many marriages, I know it was not for love; I know it was for tax reasons, but soon you all found yourselves financially entwined, with shared debts and land purchases and grandiose visions of the future, yet somehow, from the beginning, essentially at odds … Do you ever dream of being on your own again? … Never having to share a penny? Never having to bear with someone else’s gun hobby, or car obsession, or nutrition craze? Tell me honestly, because I have contemplated marriage and wonder: If it can’t work for you, can it work for any of us?”
One of my favorite aspects of the book was the way Greer uses running jokes throughout. He’d tell an initial anecdote, and when it comes up again, you feel a knowing wink, like you’re in on the joke as the reader. I’d give examples, but, like any inside joke, it wouldn’t be funny unless you were there. The way he writes them into the story makes us readers feel like we are there, like we’re connected to the characters in the most endearing way.
Delightful, warm, touching, memorable and laugh-outloud-funny. I hope there’s an Arthur Less #3.
“As my grandma Cookie says, we’re all having different experiences.”
A sequel to the prize-winning Less, I didn’t expect this to be as good, but for me, it was even better. The first book was a delightful introduction to the loveable character of Arthur Less, his hilarious midlife crisis, and his search for love. With this one, he goes a little deeper, into the problems of his childhood, the pain of loss, and the difficulties of long-term relationships. Greer’s framing of the story, through the eyes of Less’s beloved Freddy Pelu, is enhanced in this second volume, and now the reader can fall in love with both of them.
Here Less is on another adventure, this time within the borders of his own crazy country. The story resembles Steinbeck’s Travels with Charley: In Search of America, only instead of Charley the dog is Dolly, and Steinbeck’s Rocinante has become the camper van Rosina. A key difference is even Steinbeck couldn’t take his American tour without avoiding the serious conflicts that exist amongst Americans, but somehow when Greer sends Arthur Less out there, he smooths them over for us.
Still, at one point, the narrator asks a timely question. “America, how’s your marriage? Your two-hundred fifty-year-old promise to stay together in sickness and in health? … Like so many marriages, I know it was not for love; I know it was for tax reasons, but soon you all found yourselves financially entwined, with shared debts and land purchases and grandiose visions of the future, yet somehow, from the beginning, essentially at odds … Do you ever dream of being on your own again? … Never having to share a penny? Never having to bear with someone else’s gun hobby, or car obsession, or nutrition craze? Tell me honestly, because I have contemplated marriage and wonder: If it can’t work for you, can it work for any of us?”
One of my favorite aspects of the book was the way Greer uses running jokes throughout. He’d tell an initial anecdote, and when it comes up again, you feel a knowing wink, like you’re in on the joke as the reader. I’d give examples, but, like any inside joke, it wouldn’t be funny unless you were there. The way he writes them into the story makes us readers feel like we are there, like we’re connected to the characters in the most endearing way.
Delightful, warm, touching, memorable and laugh-outloud-funny. I hope there’s an Arthur Less #3.
“As my grandma Cookie says, we’re all having different experiences.”
October 3, 2022
I love this more than the first Less book!
Andrew Sean Greer writes funny, heartfelt and hilarious lines in this excellent sequel.
Our hero, Arthur Less, finds himself in debt after living rent free in his former lover’s house. What to do; how can he earn a ton of money in one month.
A speaking and literary tour drops into his lap and Less figures, ‘why not.’
Less’s tour is non-other than adventurous and eventful, which we all expected. Greer’s wit and magic wizardry of words is art of a unique kind.
I slowed down towards the end because I didn’t want to finish it. I wanted to stay in Less’ crazy world with those cozy cool words!
Alas, a sequel even better than the first.
Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown and Co.
Andrew Sean Greer writes funny, heartfelt and hilarious lines in this excellent sequel.
Our hero, Arthur Less, finds himself in debt after living rent free in his former lover’s house. What to do; how can he earn a ton of money in one month.
A speaking and literary tour drops into his lap and Less figures, ‘why not.’
Less’s tour is non-other than adventurous and eventful, which we all expected. Greer’s wit and magic wizardry of words is art of a unique kind.
I slowed down towards the end because I didn’t want to finish it. I wanted to stay in Less’ crazy world with those cozy cool words!
Alas, a sequel even better than the first.
Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown and Co.
Shelved as 'owned-tbr'
October 30, 2022I was gifted a copy and I can't stop the feel good shimmy
May 5, 2023
Arthur Less might perish by coyote, or from thirst, or from exposure to the elements; he might even face the blunt barrel of a pistol and escape with the joy of knowing he has stolen another day from Death and sleep well. You could say he is having the time of his life. You could say, at least, that Less is lost. At last.
When Andrew Sean Greer won the Pulitzer Prize for Less, it raised the eyebrows of literary pundits everywhere about the value and craft of comedy writing. While I read the book well before it received this accolade, I put off reading the follow-up for as long as possible.
What if it sucked, like how Aciman bombed with Find Me? And did that perfect first book really need an add-on? Then I hit a patch of quite heavy reading and needed a bit of a break, so I decided to find out what Arthur had been up to in the interim.
How can a book be so funny and so sad at the same time? Dare I say it, I enjoyed this much more than the original, maybe because it enriches that initial reading experience so much. (It’ll be interesting to hear what readers thought who read Less is Lost first.)
It was only when I did English at university level that I experienced Shakespeare’s comedies, as if these were somehow ‘lesser’ works compared to the great tragedies. And it was only then that I truly fell in love with Shakespeare. To this day, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is one of my all-time favourites.
There is so much pathos and empathy in Greer’s writing, but he never veers into melodrama or outright schmaltz. It is a delicate balance. And we always chuckle with Arthur as he stumbles haplessly along, never at him, which is an important distinction. So, yes, comedy is literary alchemy in Greer’s hands, transforming life’s travails into something magical.
When Andrew Sean Greer won the Pulitzer Prize for Less, it raised the eyebrows of literary pundits everywhere about the value and craft of comedy writing. While I read the book well before it received this accolade, I put off reading the follow-up for as long as possible.
What if it sucked, like how Aciman bombed with Find Me? And did that perfect first book really need an add-on? Then I hit a patch of quite heavy reading and needed a bit of a break, so I decided to find out what Arthur had been up to in the interim.
How can a book be so funny and so sad at the same time? Dare I say it, I enjoyed this much more than the original, maybe because it enriches that initial reading experience so much. (It’ll be interesting to hear what readers thought who read Less is Lost first.)
It was only when I did English at university level that I experienced Shakespeare’s comedies, as if these were somehow ‘lesser’ works compared to the great tragedies. And it was only then that I truly fell in love with Shakespeare. To this day, ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is one of my all-time favourites.
There is so much pathos and empathy in Greer’s writing, but he never veers into melodrama or outright schmaltz. It is a delicate balance. And we always chuckle with Arthur as he stumbles haplessly along, never at him, which is an important distinction. So, yes, comedy is literary alchemy in Greer’s hands, transforming life’s travails into something magical.
December 10, 2022
I loved Less, but this one felt so much more self indulgent. I found myself skimming and zoning out because I could not care enough about what was happening to the characters.
November 23, 2022
I'm always worried about sequels to books I've loved - especially in this case where I suspect the author didn't plan on future adventures for Arthur Less. Turns out, worries unfounded; I discovered I was nowhere near done with Arthur Less, or with Greer's pitch perfect wit.
Once again, Arthur is on a roadtrip (this time across the US instead of Europe) but the setting makes for an entirely different experience, and allows us to learn more about Arthur the boy (FKA Archie). For me, Greer's decision to make Arthur's lover Freddy the narrator was pure genius. Freddy isn't physically with Arthur, but he narrates Arthur's experiences as if he was an omnipresent ghost, although periodically breaking the fourth wall to remind us that he's very much a character in the story too. His narrative voice is filled with affection for the hapless Arthur, but it never feels overly sentimental, thanks to Greer's humor. This humor is applied with light and frequent strokes. I love a few of the running jokes in the novel, such as the way people in the rural west think Arthur's from Europe because of his effeminate manner. Another is Arthur's pleasure in speaking German with some tourists, unaware that his vocabulary and grammar are .... off. Freddy gives us the literal translations, which can be almost slapstick funny at times.
I don't imagine there'll be a 3rd book in this series, but if there is I will definitely read it.
Once again, Arthur is on a roadtrip (this time across the US instead of Europe) but the setting makes for an entirely different experience, and allows us to learn more about Arthur the boy (FKA Archie). For me, Greer's decision to make Arthur's lover Freddy the narrator was pure genius. Freddy isn't physically with Arthur, but he narrates Arthur's experiences as if he was an omnipresent ghost, although periodically breaking the fourth wall to remind us that he's very much a character in the story too. His narrative voice is filled with affection for the hapless Arthur, but it never feels overly sentimental, thanks to Greer's humor. This humor is applied with light and frequent strokes. I love a few of the running jokes in the novel, such as the way people in the rural west think Arthur's from Europe because of his effeminate manner. Another is Arthur's pleasure in speaking German with some tourists, unaware that his vocabulary and grammar are .... off. Freddy gives us the literal translations, which can be almost slapstick funny at times.
I don't imagine there'll be a 3rd book in this series, but if there is I will definitely read it.
September 24, 2023
2.5 stars. Didn't do nearly as much for me as the first. This kind of odyssey-esque story of wanderings is not a type I enjoy much of the time, so it's all about execution and whether it really connects. The humor here didn't hit for me and the poignancy never quite got there either. There were some really lovely moments in it that I enjoyed a lot, but the broad strokes weren't effective. (I could already predict the outcome of almost every unanswered question long before we got to it, usually around the time the question was posed.) And at least it wasn't too much "oh no the uncultured South" as many of these books can do.
I will give Greer credit for doing enough homework that I recognized the names of several cities along the way that I had been to, a lot of road trip novels will not even do that much.
I will give Greer credit for doing enough homework that I recognized the names of several cities along the way that I had been to, a lot of road trip novels will not even do that much.
March 9, 2024
Well this one definitely grew on me but then it did have big shoes to fill as a follow up to Less, which I loved.
In this episode our hero, Arthur Less, is having to sing for his supper having just found out that the "shack" where he and Freddy have been living wasn't exactly rent free and now, if they want to stay, he needs to pay 10 years back rent. Thankfully his agent comes to the rescue with several requests for appearances, a lecture tour and an interview with HHH Manden, who Less remembers very well.
As Less criss crosses the country the engagements become more random but there is a possible meeting with his father and sister and he is determined to save their beloved shack. However Freddy is also on a bit of a pilgrimage and Less fears the worst - if he fails to save their home will Freddy leave him as everyone else has done?
This book gets funnier and crazier as it goes on. Well worth meandering through the slow start.
In this episode our hero, Arthur Less, is having to sing for his supper having just found out that the "shack" where he and Freddy have been living wasn't exactly rent free and now, if they want to stay, he needs to pay 10 years back rent. Thankfully his agent comes to the rescue with several requests for appearances, a lecture tour and an interview with HHH Manden, who Less remembers very well.
As Less criss crosses the country the engagements become more random but there is a possible meeting with his father and sister and he is determined to save their beloved shack. However Freddy is also on a bit of a pilgrimage and Less fears the worst - if he fails to save their home will Freddy leave him as everyone else has done?
This book gets funnier and crazier as it goes on. Well worth meandering through the slow start.
May 13, 2023
Less Is Lost is less than Less. The writing is nearly as good as it was for the first novel, but I found Arthur's charm diminished and his haplessness more annoying. It helps that the author is clearly enamored of his character, but I didn't share the love this time around.
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