Less Character List 📖
‘Less’ is one of those unusual novels where the protagonist is gay, quirky, and a struggling writer. Take a closer look at Arthur Less and other characters in this comedy.
'Less' is a 2017 satirical novel by Andrew Sean Greer about a middle-aged American man who travels around the world to escape the humiliation of watching his lover marry someone else.
‘Less’ by Andrew Sean Greer is a comic novel about a quirky novelist who decides to take up obscure literary gigs across the world in a bid to escape the awkward position of being present at the wedding of his lover to another.
The story of ‘Less’ is Andrew Sean Greer’s sixth book and fifth novel. Andrew Sean Greer won the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for his novel ‘Less.’ Greer said he had started writing ‘Less’ as a serious novel about being gay and aging but had changed his initial plans and decided that the best way to write about such a serious theme was to make it something to laugh about. He claims the idea to change the novel’s tone from serious to comic came to him while swimming.
Greer said he reflected part of himself in the protagonist of ‘Less’ —a middle-aged white American gay. According to Greer, his ability to write ‘Less’ is an indication of how much progress has been made in society’s acceptance of homosexuality. Greer said twenty years earlier, he may not have been able to write a novel about being gay and that even if he did, it might not have been mainstreamed as it is today.
About the numerous destinations that comprised the setting of ‘Less,’ Greer said his ability to capture those destinations was from his experience and notes as a travel writer in the past. The details of the places in ‘Less’ were from his travel notes, and he said he put in some effort to avoid projecting stereotypes about those destinations in ‘Less.’
In addition to the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, ‘Less’ has also earned Andrew Sean Greer numerous awards and recognition, including the 2018 Northern California Book Award and the 2019 Australian Industry Award for International Book of the year. Greer said he wrote ‘Less’ for himself because he wanted to read a story with a happy ending for a gay man and did not expect the recognition and acclaim he got for the novel.
Probably encouraged by the success of ‘Less,’ Andrew Sean Greer has written a sequel to ‘Less,’ it is titled ‘Less is Lost,’ and is to be officially published in September 2022.
‘Less’ has sparked controversies since its publication. The reactions to the novel are mixed with both good and bad reviews. It sparked controversies about white male privilege when it won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in the year 2018. On the other hand, the majority of the LGBTQ community lauded it for mainstreaming homosexuality, as all the major characters in ‘Less‘ are openly gay.
‘Less’ by Andrew Sean Greer has 45 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list. It was listed by many literary bodies like the Paris Review and the American Library Association as one of the best books of the year 2017. The novel has also inspired a sequel by the same author. The sequel, titled ‘Less Is Lost’ by Andrew Sean Greer, was released on September 20, 2022.
Yet, given that ‘Less’ is still a recent novel, there is ample time in the decades to come to measure its lasting impact.
‘Less’ is one of those unusual novels where the protagonist is gay, quirky, and a struggling writer. Take a closer look at Arthur Less and other characters in this comedy.
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‘Less’ is the story of a heartbroken novelist who decides to trot around the globe to avoid the humiliation of attending the wedding of his lover.
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