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Less

by Andrew Sean Greer

★★★★☆ 3.62 (226 044 ratings)
2017 · 261 pages · ~4h 21m read · Fiction

Arthur Less is a failing novelist on the precipice of his fiftieth birthday. When he receives a wedding invitation from an ex-boyfriend of nine years, he decides he cannot attend. Instead, he accepts every obscure literary invitation around the world to avoid the event. This Pulitzer Prize-winning novel is a satirical yet poignant journey through several countries, exploring the anxieties of aging, the nature of love, and the absurdity of the human condition. It is a beautifully written, hilarious, and deeply moving odyssey.

A popular book with millions of readers worldwide.

Atmosphere: Real WorldVibe: LightPacing: Relaxing
humorromancefriendship

Notable Quotes

"He kisses—how do I explain it? Like someone in love. Like he has nothing to lose. Like someone who has just learned a foreign language and can use only the present tense and only the second person. Only now, only you. There are some men who have never been kissed like that. There are some men who discover, after Arthur Less, that they never will be again."
"Strange to be almost fifty, no? I feel like I just understood how to be young." "Yes! It's like the last day in a foreign country. You finally figure out where to get coffee, and drinks, and a good steak. And then you have to leave. And you won't ever be back."
"Twenty years of joy and support and friendship, that’s a success. Twenty years of anything with another person is a success. If a band stays together twenty years, it’s a miracle. If a comedy duo stays together twenty years, they’re a triumph. Is this night a failure because it will end in an hour? Is the sun a failure because it’s going to end in a billion years? No, it’s the fucking sun. Why does a marriage not count? It isn’t in us, it isn’t in human beings, to be tied to one person forever."

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