Less

Written by Andrew Sean Greer and published in 2017, Less is a satirical comedy novel. It portrays the journey of Arthur Less, who after a difficult breakup plots a round-the-world trip to better understand himself. It won the 2019 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction.

Plot Summary

Approaching 50, Arthur Less sits in a hotel lobby waiting to be picked up for a literary event. He is a writer and will be interviewing another writer, albeit a sci-fi author whose fame far exceeds his own. The event is the first step on a round-the-world trip organized by Less to avoid attending the wedding of his former lover Freddy, whom he dated for 15 years. He had searched New York for a suitable prop for his interview, eventually finding a cosmonaut’s helmet in a gay bar. His time in the city prompts him to reflect on his relationship with Freddy and a relationship before that with Robert Brownburn, a renowned poet. Less also learns that his latest book has been passed over for publication. When he arrives at the event, the sci-fi author is vomiting profusely.

Arthur travels to Mexico to participate in a panel discussing Robert’s work with Robert’s ex-wife Marian. Most of the literary festival is conducted in Spanish, however, so Less spends his time being shown around the city by a local man named Arturo.