My husband hated how the narrator announced too often, ‘I’m Freddy Pelu!’ whereas I found that there were a number of odd descriptions of the race of a character, a sense that Greer wants to do right and be correct about writing in these fraught times but isn’t quite sure how to do so. The other thing is that I loved (and was surprised) by the mystery of the narrator of the first book losing this tension felt a bit unsatisfying. There were some fun parts that made me laugh, but I suppose I wasn’t charmed in the same way as being freshly introduced to Arthur Less. I didn’t find the American adventures quite as compelling as his international ones. I wasn’t opposed to a sequel to ‘Less’ but what would it bring to be new, to be engaging? I love Greer’s writing, and find it both immensely readable and at times, simply beautiful. 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.I loved ‘Less’ so much that I guess four stars is a fall from five. 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. 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’. 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. ‘The joyfulness of this book is a balm’ Madeline Millerįor 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.

Less sequel andrew sean greer