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Less

The delightful, hilarious Pulitzer Prize-winning bestseller

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Less

By: Andrew Sean Greer
Narrated by: Robert Petkoff
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*** Pre-order Andrew Sean Greer's brilliant new novel Villa Coco, coming in June ***

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION 2018

'You will sob little tears of joy' Nell Zink

'I recommend it with my whole heart' Ann Patchett

'This book is basically perfect' Dolly Alderton

'Charming, languid and incredibly funny, I absolutely adored Arthur' Jenny Colgan

'Marvellously, endearingly, unexpectedly funny' Gary Shteyngart

'I adore this book' Armistead Maupin

'Bedazzling, bewitching and be-wonderful' New York Times Book Review

'A fast and rocketing read . . . a wonderful, wonderful book!' Karen Joy Fowler

'Hilarious, and wise, and abundantly funny' Adam Haslett

WHO SAYS YOU CAN'T RUN AWAY FROM YOUR PROBLEMS?

Arthur Less is a failed novelist about to turn fifty. A wedding invitation arrives in the post: it is from an ex-boyfriend of nine years who is engaged to someone else. Arthur can't say yes - it would be too awkward; he can't say no - it would look like defeat. So, he begins to accept the invitations on his desk to half-baked literary events around the world.

From France to India, Germany to Japan, Arthur almost falls in love, almost falls to his death, and puts miles between him and the plight he refuses to face. Less is a novel about mishaps, misunderstandings and the depths of the human heart.©2017 Andrew Sean Greer Fiction Genre Fiction Humorous Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Romantic Comedy Heartfelt Feel-Good Funny Witty
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Critic reviews

I adore this book (Armistead Maupin)
Greer is one of the most talented writers around (Michael Chabon)
A really smart, funny book that pulls you up instead of down . . . It's hysterical, and the writing is fantastic (Ann Patchett)
The most deftly funny romantic comedy I've read in years. If you have a sentimental bone in your body (I have 206),the ending will make you sob little tears of joy (Nell Zink)
One of my favourite books (Elizabeth Day)
Marvelously, unexpectedly, endearingly funny. A love story focused on the erroneous belief that the second half of life will pale in comparison to the first. Guess what? It won't!
Less is the funniest, smartest, and most humane novel I've read since The Imperfectionists . . . Greer writes sentences of arresting lyricism and beauty. His metaphors come at you like fireflies . . . Like Arthur, Andrew Sean Greer's Less is excellent company. It's no less than bedazzling, bewitching and be-wonderful
A generous book, musical in its prose and expansive in its structure and range, about growing older and the essential nature of love
I am re-reading Less by Andrew Sean Greer. It is a hilarious, heart-warming story about an imperfect, optimistic and utterly loveable protagonist Arthur Less, stumbling towards a milestone of middle-age on a geographical and personal odyssey while reflecting on his life so far. It is my idea of perfect comfort reading - heroically hopeful, laugh-out-loud funny and overflowing with love (Dolly Alderton)
A fast and rocketing read with everything I want from a story - moments of high humor, moments of genuine wisdom, sharp insights, and gorgeous images. A wonderful, wonderful book!
Greer is an exceptionally lovely writer, capable of mingling humor with sharp poignancy . . . Brilliantly funny . . . Greer's narration, so elegantly laced with wit, cradles the story of a man who loses everything: his lover, his suitcase, his beard, his dignity
Less is philosophical, poignant, funny and wise, filled with unexpected turns . . . Although Greer is gifted and subtle in comic moments, he's just as adept at ruminating on the deeper stuff. His protagonist grapples with aging,loneliness, creativity, grief, self-pity and more
Greer elevates Less' picaresque journey into a wise and witty novel. This is no Eat, Pray Love story of touristic uplift, but rather a grand travelogue of foibles, humiliations and self-deprecation, ending in joy, and a dollop of self-knowledge
Greer, the author of wonderful, heartfelt novels including The Confessions of Max Tivoli, The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells and The Story of a Marriage, shows he has another powerful weapon in his arsenal: comedy. And who doesn't need a laugh right about now?
All stars
Most relevant
My review headline might as well be for Arthur Less in the torn blue suit falling from the sky, frantically re-working his novel! I absolutely love this book and guess what? It's the first comic novel to win the Pulitzer Prize! This is such a beautifully and richly written book. I am writing this review while at the last 50 minutes of narration. I have paused it because like Arthur Less who took five years to read Proust, I just don't want it to end. I'm savoring every single line and Robert Petkoff is an excellent narrator. I will truly miss Arthur Less, just turned 50, in Osaka and about to return to San Francisco. Don't leave Less! I'm going to have to walk to the bookstore to order a hard copy of the novel, put it on my bookshelf and re-read it when I'm 49.

Less is wonderful, charming and full of humanity!

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I cant think what to write as a review that would actually be helpful here. This story is a mildly amusing character study about a hapless man travelling in wildly different countries (who really would go from mexico to germany to morocco to japan with the same few clothes and one after other.. ..) with the expected happy ending and thats all.
Also a fatal flaw - given that Arthur Less is supposed to be unlucky, accident prone etc. its a bit of a stretch to believe this when he is on an all expenses paid world trip, meets amazing people, wins a literary prize, is lauded wherever he goes, gets plenty of sex, is tall blonde handsome etc. He is hardly one of life’s losers.
Is this story worth spending a credit on ?
Doubtful.

yes and ?

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I listen to this on a whim, and I’m so glad I did. It’s brilliantly beautiful.

Brilliant

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No great story but both moving and amusing with characters cleverly brought to life by an excellent narrator.

Entertaining and brilliantly performed. V ejoyable

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The writing is so clever. The writer uses the narrator and use of third person in such a unique way.

The writer brilliantly conjures a vivid and clear sense of place. I want to go on holiday now. The only problem is I want to go everywhere.

Beautifully written a picturesque and amusing whirl around the world

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