21st Century Literature discussion
2018 Book Discussions
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Less - Whole Book (Spoilers allowed) (Sep 2018)
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I did not read the book, but a year ago The New Yorker published an excerpt under the title "It's a Summer Day". The excerpt covers most (all?) of the section of the book where the character is in Italy for the book award. I remember at the time learning that this was based on an experience Greer actually had receiving the Fernanda Pivano Award in Italy. I found it to be rather ho hum overall - not bad but it gave me no reason to want to read more. When the novel won the Pulitzer I was surprised, but still not moved to read any more of it.
I'm up to page 98. I find some of Arthur's memories of Robert and Freddy touching and quietly engaging, but otherwise I'm just not connecting with the book. I guess ho hum is kind of how I feel also. It will be good to hear others' perspectives. Maybe I'll find a new way of thinking about it.
I enjoyed this book but hardly found it as hilarious as the reviews had led me to believe. Arthur is kind of sweet and bumbling but maybe I'm just tired of the white, male suffering scenario even when presented (somewhat) humorously.
I must be the perfect reader for Less, since I found it utterly charming and not superficial. Laughed out a loud in a few places, but hard-smiled a lot.
I read this a couple of months ago. Here's what I wrote on Goodreads about it: This is a lovely, mildly entertaining book that seems in the end to be a character study of a man named Arthur Less.
I love that through most of the book Less himself (and possibly us, the reader) think of Less as someone to have sympathy for, kind of a loser, while in the end we see him through a different lens. This taps perfectly into the thoughts many of us have that we are deficient in some, or maybe many, ways, while the ending offers us the perspective that human beings with all their foibles are each rather unique and wonderful.
Mod
Lyn, I like that take on it. It was interesting to see Less' perspective of himself, especially as he describes the little things here and there that make him anxious, as well as how others see describe him, including Carlos (in India) and various side characters, including Less' ex that he runs into in NYC, and Freddy's view, of course.
Mod
I really liked this book, perhaps because my tastes lean toward literary fiction and I'm a writer myself. I can see how it might seem a bit meandering and not particularly captivating depending on what you like. I thought the structure was brilliant and I really appreciated how the character of Less unfolded and developed through the course of the book. I was a bit surprised that the ending was as upbeat as it was, and was pleasantly surprised by it.
Mod
My expectations were so, so wrong. The book does manage to feel light-hearted, while dealing with some pretty heavy, universal issues: disappointment, mortality, aging, rejection, broken-heartedness, etc. The humor is kind of gentle/subtle in that it pokes fun at a lot of things (culture/stereotypes, the publishing industry, writers, older gay males, etc.)--so many different examples worked for me, personally: the names (Van derVander, H.H.H. Mandern--say that last one aloud... it's like it has one too many H's), the dialogue ("he'll catch up on the next camel"), the literary conferences, and his German professorship.
Amidst these comic excursions, the book is essentially about coming to terms with everyday life, with being, well, "less." Less than you'd hoped for, less that genius, less loved, less desirable, less young. Aging. But it also deals with a sort of unique perspective as Less's character is of the first "post-AIDS" generations to face aging as a largely intact group, much less one that has been allowed to live most of their life openly (I imagine, still today, this varies a lot by where one lives). Gay white male is no longer a "special minority." It's like progress will eventually lead all of us to deal with the same lingering existential crisis. Death, the great leveler, made just a wee more palatable by human love and companionship.
Suffice to say, I was impressed with the way this novel operated on a number of levels from the writing itself to the characters, the humor, deeper universal issues, etc.
Have any of you read The Confessions of Max Tivoli? A review of Less made me think I'd probably go for this one next (next being a relative term, like the next Greer book I hopefully get to before I die whenever that may be).
The challenge for me is to sift through 'warm and fuzzy' titles for those that have no fuzz whatsoever. Less is one of those books for me. Others that have done that for me are The New Yorkers and more recently The House of Broken Angels. And, whenver I get to it, I'm hoping A Gentleman in Moscow will do it too.
I also really enjoyed this one, and agree with all of Marc's comments actually.The humor was subtle, but effective. I loved the sections of poorly translated German especially. I think it worked for the same reason the romance worked. The vulnerability came through so powerfully.
I agree with Audrey that the structure was brilliant. The experiences in each country felt fresh and authentic.
I found this touching and intense and memorable, and look forward to trying The Confessions of Max Tivoli as soon as I can.
Mod
Let us know what you make of the Tivoli book if you get to it first, Kathleen.
My rating: 3.5 starsOriginally I planned to pass on this book, but picked it up on a whim at the library the other day and I'm glad I did. I thought it was clever, funny and poignant. Arthur's charm ultimately was in the fact that his deprecating self-reflection didn't match the way others saw him. While I didn't necessarily relate to Arthur's life experiences, I did respond to the themes of aging and changing through time and the mysteries of the human heart. I think it was an odd choice for a Pulitzer Prize, being a bit of a spoof on the literary world.
I LOVED it! I started out thinking nope. Not going to be for me. An amusing beginning (waiting in a lobby, fooled by a stopped clock), but that's not enough. But the more I read, the more I related to his sense of never being quite the person anyone expected. I am nothing like him really, except that I am, in so many ways. Weird!Anyway, I reviewed it here.
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
2-Stars was my rating for 'Less'.I finished 'Less' at the end of November and I did not like it at all. So much so, I rated it 2-stars and wrote a review on Amazon listing seven reasons why the novel did not work for me. Dare I also say, I did not think it warranted the Pulitzer.
By the end of the first chapter, I still had not connected with the protagonist, Arthur Less. Throughout my reading, I found him to be infantile, mopey, and forgettable. I was irked by his ostensibly whiny outlook on life, despite his commendable standing in life: he is a published author without debt, he has had several great love affairs, he has supportive friends, he has a comfortable home to go to, he has the means to travel the world on a whim -- he has all this, yet he self-pityingly laments about turning 50. This despite him admitting to himself what the alternative could be.
Additionally, I found the book itself to be dull, and fatuous, with Greer's writing coming off as forced and pseudo-intellectual. I thought the writing had no verve and it did not have qualities to captivate me. I also could not understand how the cities and countries that the main character visited are some of the most exotic and poetry-inspiring locations in the world, yet Greer did not write them in a manner that was engaging or compelling.
Lastly, the reveal of the mysterious narrator/the ending felt like a trite 1980s rom-com with second rate actors. So yeah, 'Less' did not work for me at all. I will however keep my paperback copy and attempt to read it again in 15-20 years or so, to see if my outlook on it changes when I'm older. I'm not implying that my current age is the reason why I disliked the book, but perhaps I may in the future appreciate the main character's anxiety about aging once I myself get there.
I came late to reading Less. Immediately enjoyed it. At some point I began to hear the book as read by David Sedaris.
Mod
Maggie wrote: "I came late to reading Less. Immediately enjoyed it. At some point I began to hear the book as read by David Sedaris."I requested this ILL but it came to late. Thanks for resuscitating the discussion, I might give it a go.
21st Century Literature
Books mentioned in this topic
The Confessions of Max Tivoli (other topics)The New Yorkers (other topics)
The House of Broken Angels (other topics)
A Gentleman in Moscow (other topics)
The Confessions of Max Tivoli (other topics)
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What do you think of the book? The book won the Pulitzer prize this year despite quite openly poking fun at novelists and the literary community. Did you enjoy the tone or find it funny?
I really enjoyed the book and am interested to hear why others may also have liked it or not liked it. There were moments that were so silly, others that were over the top, and others I found endearing. I especially loved Greer's writing!