Books › Less
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2018
Less
352 pages
A sparkling, globe-trotting comedy of errors about outrunning heartbreak and accidentally stumbling into grace.
What it feels like
Reading this book feels like sipping a perfectly mixed cocktail on a sunlit terrace while listening to a brilliant, slightly neurotic friend recount their most embarrassing and poignant misadventures. It is a masterclass in tone, balancing sharp, satirical observations about the literary world with a deep, abiding tenderness for its deeply flawed protagonist. The prose sparkles with wit and elegant turns of phrase, carrying you briskly across continents on a wave of gentle absurdity. Beneath the farcical travelogue lies a surprisingly profound meditation on aging, mediocrity, and the terrifying vulnerability of opening yourself up to love. It will utterly delight anyone who appreciates a smart, warm-hearted comedy of manners that leaves you with a lingering sense of joyful optimism.
- Mood
- bittersweet
- whimsical
- sun-drenched
- gently melancholic
- Tone
- wry
- tender
- self-deprecating
- satirical
- Pace
- brisk
- Themes
- aging and irrelevance · the absurdity of love · running away from problems · the writing life · finding joy in middle age
- The writing
- Elegant, sparkling, and effortlessly witty, balancing sharp comedic timing with moments of profound lyrical beauty.
- The arc
- From a place of mild despair and frantic avoidance to a surprising, warm-hearted acceptance of love and self.
- Who it's for
- Readers who love smart, character-driven comedies of manners and tender explorations of aging and vulnerability.
Content notes
- aging anxieties
- alcohol consumption
About the book
Receiving an invitation to his ex-boyfriend's wedding, Arthur, a failed novelist on the eve of his fiftieth birthday, embarks on an international journey that finds him falling in love, risking his life, reinventing himself, and making connections with the past.
Description from Open Library.
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