Debbie Owen
asked:
I'm looking for something fun for my book club selection. Would this story make for a good discussion?
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Less,
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Mary Frances
If your book club enjoys a discussion around life's expectations and thwarted dreams, love, sickness and death, travel (and all of its joys and miseries) creativity and genius and a book that takes you back and forth from poignancy to laugh out loud humor, I'd say this is a great choice. There is more to this novel than we might first see and a book group is a great place to discover that.
Dh
There are so many layers in this novel. Here are a few:
Middle-age disappointment in career, love, self
Fear of commitment in love
Infidelity
May-December relationships at various stages in life
The toll of genius on a loved one
Social judgment and perceived obligations to a group of political identity
Envy of success in art and love
Loss of a beloved parent
Decimation of the gay community by AIDS
Relationship with a parent whom one has disappointed by being gay
Travel and exotic venues and cuisines
The craft of writing, and of rewriting
Self-referential fiction
Reinterpretation of The Odyssey
The use of metaphor, allegory, and symbols
The use of comedy in treating poignant themes
Middle-age disappointment in career, love, self
Fear of commitment in love
Infidelity
May-December relationships at various stages in life
The toll of genius on a loved one
Social judgment and perceived obligations to a group of political identity
Envy of success in art and love
Loss of a beloved parent
Decimation of the gay community by AIDS
Relationship with a parent whom one has disappointed by being gay
Travel and exotic venues and cuisines
The craft of writing, and of rewriting
Self-referential fiction
Reinterpretation of The Odyssey
The use of metaphor, allegory, and symbols
The use of comedy in treating poignant themes
SPE
I think there is a lot in this book for a bookclub. It's a rewarding read. And an educational one. For example, if your bookclub reads travelogues, there is more than enough to talk about. The hassles, the color, the thwarted expectations that turn into something memorable, even the reasons for travel.
At a certain age, most of us wonder at our contributions, the meaning of our work and what comes next. He does this compassionately and with humor.
If the discussants are interested in seeing life through the eyes of a middle-aged gay man, there is plenty to talk about: the life of an aging writer; the humor in food writing; the nature of love.
I'm not going to spoil the ending but I am glad I read this book.
Gay or straight, male or female, this book delivers some worthwhile insights and some great ideas for living a more interesting life.
I've already gone back into it to read a few particular passages.
At a certain age, most of us wonder at our contributions, the meaning of our work and what comes next. He does this compassionately and with humor.
If the discussants are interested in seeing life through the eyes of a middle-aged gay man, there is plenty to talk about: the life of an aging writer; the humor in food writing; the nature of love.
I'm not going to spoil the ending but I am glad I read this book.
Gay or straight, male or female, this book delivers some worthwhile insights and some great ideas for living a more interesting life.
I've already gone back into it to read a few particular passages.
Gabrielle
I think so! It's very entertaining, with interesting, quirky characters and a bit of a mystery at the heart of the plot. It tackles big questions about aging and love, but does so with a light, humorous hand. It's beautifully written, and hopelessly romantic (in the best way), and so warm-hearted it makes you want to literally curl up with it!
AZ BOOKS
I just finished the book- not sure there would be much to discuss for a book club. I am always partial to a good road trip book and this has that -not sure why it warranted a Pulitzer.
Deb Aronson
I"m really looking forward to talking about this at my book club. The idea of how a given group starts making rules about who is a "good" member or not. The fact that it wasn't many years that men could come out of the closet before AIDS came along and decimated their ranks. It's easy to forget that. Also, the author's description of living with genius was pretty darn compelling. Made me glad I wasn't/didn't live with a genius!!
Candy Greenway
Definitely not enough substance for a discussion. Pass on it.
John Lombardo
The consensus of our book club was better than mine, I found nothing funny abut this book.
Tracy
Yes. We selected it for our book club, and it was well-received.
Naruto Mania
I will chime in and agree with Candy Greenway's comment that there is little substance to this novel, and as such I would not recommend it as a book club selection. I keep reading reviews in here about how funny the book is (I did not find it so) and about how it takes you on a journey (so what? it is a boring journey that doesn't show you in any way the places where Mr Less travels) and how ... in short, it is a very uneventful, pointless slog of a novel. I would pass.
Nancy
I wanted to like it, but found it boring, and I couldn't get invested in the characters.
Lisa
We just read this for our book group - the reviews were mixed and none five star, but it made for a very engaging discussion. We are a group of white middle-aged married (some second married) straight middle and upper class women, some housewives and some working outside the home, all mothers. Just for context - not a huge range here! The gay love theme wasn't even touched on, as we had a lot to discuss in the writing, why this did or didn't deserve a Pulitzer, was the story hard to follow, the locations and situations, turning 50, the other characters, Less and his personality deficits, his choices (would you or have your run away from a life situation) and on and on. And of course was Rocketman worth going to see, was it as good as Bohemian Rhapsody, and where a few new grads are going to college, too. In my experience sometimes books that not everyone adores make for better discussions.
Susan
The Odyssey. Hello.
Thomas Jr.
This answer contains spoilers…
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Marc
I was eager to hear this one discussed at a book club I attended. But I learned that a good discussion is not guaranteed. The leader needs to be well prepared.
Jo
Will be discussing it tomorrow in book club, i'm actually wondering how long it can be discussed, I was not taken by the book, or the character. The last part of the book was a little redeeming, but the rest, self absorbing, and little story. Unfortunately I didn't find it humorous, and was surprised that he had won a Pulitzer.
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