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Published Sep 2022
272 pages
Genre: Literary Fiction
Publication Information
In the follow-up to the "bedazzling, bewitching, and be-wonderful" (New York Times) bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning Less: A Novel, the awkward and lovable Arthur Less returns in an unforgettable road trip across America.
"Go get lost somewhere, it always does you good."
For Arthur Less, life is going surprisingly well: he is a moderately accomplished novelist in a steady relationship with his partner, Freddy Pelu. But nothing lasts: the death of an old lover and a sudden financial crisis has Less running away from his problems yet again as he accepts a series of literary gigs that send him on a zigzagging adventure across the US.
Less roves across the "Mild Mild West," through the South and to his mid-Atlantic birthplace, with an ever-changing posse of writerly characters and his trusty duo – a human-like black pug, Dolly, and a rusty camper van nicknamed Rosina. He grows a handlebar mustache, ditches his signature gray suit, and disguises himself in the bolero-and-cowboy-hat costume of a true "Unitedstatesian"... with varying levels of success, as he continues to be mistaken for either a Dutchman, the wrong writer, or, worst of all, a "bad gay."
We cannot, however, escape ourselves—even across deserts, bayous, and coastlines. From his estranged father and strained relationship with Freddy, to the reckoning he experiences in confronting his privilege, Arthur Less must eventually face his personal demons. With all of the irrepressible wit and musicality that made Less a bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning, must-read breakout book, Less Is Lost is a profound and joyous novel about the enigma of life in America, the riddle of love, and the stories we tell along the way.
"Greer follows up his Pulitzer-winning Less with another delightful road story featuring middle-aged writer Arthur Less...Though a bit overboard at times, Greer packs in plenty of humor and some nicely poignant moments. Fans will eat this up." - Publishers Weekly
"Greer does sometimes write beautifully about life and about fiction...If you loved the first one, you might love this, though it is a bit less fresh and a tad slow." - Kirkus Reviews
"Andrew Sean Greer's new novel performs an astonishing magic trick: It makes you forget the state of the world—or, more specifically, America...Less Is Lost is a love story, but it's also about how we make art—which is to say, how we make meaning: of ourselves, each other, our lives. Greer pays attention. And if it's painful for him, as it is for Less, he also transmutes it into something that may survive the next 700 years: 'the restorative tonic of a funny tale.' In times like these, that feels like a gift." - Oprah Daily
"The ending of Andrew Sean Greer's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, Less, did not demand a sequel—it ended so perfectly—but lucky us, we're getting one anyway. Beloved Arthur Less, once again fleeing his problems, accepts invitations to a bunch of literary events and heads out on the road. This time, he's traveling throughout the United States. As he proved with Less, Greer excels at pinpointing the funniest parts of the writerly life, and we expect him to return to this winning comic realm." - BookPage
"Technically accomplished, wildly entertaining...Like its predecessor, [Less Is Lost] is a feat of wit and brio, tougher than it looks...Greer's a master of the picaresque...Greer's wordplay is glorious." - Minneapolis Star-Tribune
"Only Arthur Less could be both frustratingly stuck, yet on the move. Let loose, yet totally lost. Full of wit, but without a clue. And while he runs from himself, finds himself at the same time. Put all of that on a wild road trip through a wilder America, and you end up with something hilarious, affecting, and unforgettable." - Marlon James, winner of the 2015 Booker Prize
"Excited to be reunited with our neurotic hero Arthur Less, I ripped through this sequel. It was a thrill to go on this odyssey with Less where even the most picayune comic encounters turn profound. Vulnerable and witty, Less Is Lost is a joy." - Cathy Park Hong, bestselling author of Minor Feelings
This information about Less Is Lost was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Andrew Sean Greer is the bestselling author of five works of fiction, including The Confessions of Max Tivoli, which was named a best book of 2004 by the San Francisco Chronicle and the Chicago Tribune. He is the recipient of the Northern California Book Award, the California Book Award, the New York Public Library Young Lions Award, the O Henry Award for short fiction and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York Public Library. Greer lives in San Francisco. He has traveled to all of the locations in his novel, Less, but he is only big in Italy.
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