How Did I Get it So Wrong?
A novel I awarded a mere two stars (“It was OK”) on Goodreads won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction last month!
“Less” by Andrew Sean Greer is this year’s Pulitzer winner but I would never have predicted such fanfare. Talk about “different strokes for different folks!” The “Post” headline read FINALLY, A COMIC NOVEL GETS ITS DUE. That’s nice. But how funny is this novel really?
Ron Charles in “The Washington Post” exclaims how extraordinary it is for a humorous novel to win where cerebral and solemn usually merit the Pulitzer trophy. Charles describes “Less” as a delightful “unabashed comic novel, a descendant of the great ‘Lucky Jim’ by Kingsley Amis.” (Reprinted in “The Oregonian” May 13.)
My Goodreads review found the premise of this novel funnier than the actual story. A mediocre writer goes on a round-the-world tour of writing conferences, teaching gigs, and guest appearances in order to escape the wedding of his latest lover. The actual scenes and happenings are more bizarre than humorous. I had a few smiles, no chuckles, no big laughs.
Emily Temple on “Literary Hub” online found the Pulitzer award to Greer’s novel “something of a surprise pick.”
A fellow Goodreads member said, “How on earth did this win the Pulitzer? I found it plodding with an uninteresting protagonist.”
In slanted praise of the novel, I wrote in my February 26 review that some metaphors are astonishing, excellent, but others seem to be a stretch. I had a sense of pity for the main character but not enough to really care what happens to him. Time sequences and abrupt intrusions of back story are confusing and add to the chaos of this book.
Back to Charles in “The Washington Post,” he claims that the Pulitzer award to “Less” is a brave choice—and about time that readers stop suspecting the creation of laughter as a “sub-craft.” He reminds us that Shakespeare’s comedies are “as classic as his tragedies” and that our troubled times call for more novels like “Less.”
What do you think, dear readers? I welcome your comments and opinions on “Less” by Andrew Sean Greer as the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner. Agree with me or Ron Charles—diversity makes the world spin (or so we once believed.)
A side note: Andrew Sean Greer’s novel, “The Story of a Marriage” is one of my all-time favorite reads.
“Less” by Andrew Sean Greer is this year’s Pulitzer winner but I would never have predicted such fanfare. Talk about “different strokes for different folks!” The “Post” headline read FINALLY, A COMIC NOVEL GETS ITS DUE. That’s nice. But how funny is this novel really?
Ron Charles in “The Washington Post” exclaims how extraordinary it is for a humorous novel to win where cerebral and solemn usually merit the Pulitzer trophy. Charles describes “Less” as a delightful “unabashed comic novel, a descendant of the great ‘Lucky Jim’ by Kingsley Amis.” (Reprinted in “The Oregonian” May 13.)
My Goodreads review found the premise of this novel funnier than the actual story. A mediocre writer goes on a round-the-world tour of writing conferences, teaching gigs, and guest appearances in order to escape the wedding of his latest lover. The actual scenes and happenings are more bizarre than humorous. I had a few smiles, no chuckles, no big laughs.
Emily Temple on “Literary Hub” online found the Pulitzer award to Greer’s novel “something of a surprise pick.”
A fellow Goodreads member said, “How on earth did this win the Pulitzer? I found it plodding with an uninteresting protagonist.”
In slanted praise of the novel, I wrote in my February 26 review that some metaphors are astonishing, excellent, but others seem to be a stretch. I had a sense of pity for the main character but not enough to really care what happens to him. Time sequences and abrupt intrusions of back story are confusing and add to the chaos of this book.
Back to Charles in “The Washington Post,” he claims that the Pulitzer award to “Less” is a brave choice—and about time that readers stop suspecting the creation of laughter as a “sub-craft.” He reminds us that Shakespeare’s comedies are “as classic as his tragedies” and that our troubled times call for more novels like “Less.”
What do you think, dear readers? I welcome your comments and opinions on “Less” by Andrew Sean Greer as the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction winner. Agree with me or Ron Charles—diversity makes the world spin (or so we once believed.)
A side note: Andrew Sean Greer’s novel, “The Story of a Marriage” is one of my all-time favorite reads.
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Sheila
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May 17, 2018 08:47PM
I've not read either book. But I do have memories of my English teacher telling me "It's easy to make people cry with your writing; much harder to make them laugh." I guess that means she, for one, didn't think the creation of laughter a "sub-craft" - more a super-craft. I'm inclined to believe comedy doesn't often win because it's rarely done exceptionally well; indeed, it's (moderately) difficult even to write comedy moderately well. Which leaves me wondering - was this comic pick written exceptionally, moderately, or merely possibly well. Perhaps I really ought to read it. Meanwhile, thank you for making me think.
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Thanks for your thoughtful remarks. Writing comedy probably is more difficult than writing tragedy. But sometimes the latter isn't done well either-- too maudlin, and bad comedy can just be downright lame. Yes, read the book. You already know what I think of it.
I'm late to the party: I've just read this book, but my review is similar. "The Pulitzer pulled me in; the book left me disappointed."
Thanks Meg. I'm glad you agree. Thanks for reading and commenting!
I agree with you on the book not being of a quality I would expect from a Pulitzer win. But I do disagree about it not being about American culture. American culture consists of so many cultures, so many sub-cultures, many of which you and I are not even aware of. To be simplistic he is exposing a fictionalized cross-section of literary sub-culture and gay sub-cultures. And each of those categories have numerous sub-cultures..
If I pull back from the Pulitzer confusion, I think I can see it as a unique offering. But it did win a Pulitzer and it did not measure up in my mind, so I am left feeling a bit miffed!
Thanks for your input, giving a bow to the author of the book, yet not agreeing to its Pulitzer quality.
