People assume that comedy is avoiding the subject, but when it’s good it looks directly at it. In America, our idea of the great American novel is deeply serious: 800 pages, by a straight white man. Why, in the literary world, are comic novels are often deemed less important than serious ones? So I wrote a book that tackles that, but is about joy. It’s not that I’m not aware of the horrible way the world is. That’s exactly what I was feeling when I wrote Less. I was reading an article in the New York Times about how fashion needs to be more full of joy. 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, the riddle of love, and the stories we tell along the way.Less is the first comic novel to win the Pulitzer in years. 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. We cannot, however, escape ourselves - even across deserts, bayous, and coastlines. 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'. He grows a handlebar mustache, ditches his signature gray suit, and disguises himself in the bolero-and-cowboy-hat costume of a true 'Unitedstatesian'. 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.
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.
'Wildly, painfully funny' David Sedaris 'Unforgettable' Elizabeth Day 'The joyfulness of this book is a balm' Madeline Miller 'What a joy' Katie Kitamura For Arthur Less, life is going surprisingly well: he is a moderately accomplished novelist in a steady relationship with his partner, Freddy Pelu.
The awkward and lovable hero of Andrew Sean Greer's bestselling and prize-winning novel Less returns in this unforgettable road trip across America.
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