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ndizz87's review against another edition
3.0
This year has not been my year with sequels. That’s a hard pill to swallow. You read the first book and fall in love with the story, characters, technique, etc.. It’s electric; 10s across the board. It’s like a romantic fling. When it’s over it’s left you lovelorn and bereft. Then when you hear that you’ll once again be reunited with that requisite love, those giddy feelings of possibility set in all over again but then you realize lightning in a bottle is hard to replicate. Something has changed, or in the case of Less is Lost, some things have stayed exactly the same.
I love and am Arthur Less. This much needs to be stated. An aging, white, cisgendered gay man with imposter syndrome in life’s journey of listlessness. We need our representation, too. When I first met him on his whirlwind journey across the globe in Less I certainly was along for the ride. In Less is Lost, the formula hasn’t been tampered with and I get that. If the first one wins you one of the biggest prizes in literature, why go switching things up? There’s an argument that can be made for that logic as I myself am certainly a creature of comfort. It’s sort of that archetypal story of a directionless character who reluctantly answers the journey’s call, meeting quirky characters along the way through cringey or comical situations while skirting the real existential issues of his life. Many people’s careers have been made off of these stories, the author of Less included.
While I can appreciate the story and the characters that people it, this second time around felt all too underwhelming. It’s hard to go from the vastness of the first novel’s globetrotting expedition to a simple cross-country journey. Indeed, everything felt much smaller in this novel and not just from a geographical perspective. In the first novel Less is dealing with his own mortality after turning fifty and finding himself alone after many years with his lover, Robert. The story was personal because when Less was running around the world he was really trying to find himself. In Less is Lost, it’s a similar situation but one that doesn’t pack quite the same puch. In it he’s dealing with everyone else’s mortality be it Robert or his father. However, the most impactful of those (the former) happens too early on in the story and is handled so amusingly that it doesn’t have much resonance with the reader. The latter, both literally and metaphorically, doesn’t even matter. It’s an emotional flatline by the end and you feel like you’re left holding the bag.
Andrew Sean Greer is a good writer, let me make that clear. Less is Lost is an expertly written novel. I enjoyed his construction of sentences and paragraphs much more so than the plot itself. I particularly enjoyed the meta-quality of the writing and found quite a few passages that gave me echoes of not just Vonnegutiam writing but also of a similar gallows humor and humanist philosophy that I really do identify with and enjoy. While I reserve the right to harp on some of the other aspects of the novel, one thing I cannot is how lovely the author’s arrangement of words on a page really is.
Andrew Sean Greer is also very good at peopling his stories. While I didn’t think that they were superior to Less, I still enjoyed them. I found HHH Mandern hilarious as an elderly amalgamation of George RR Martin and Hunter S. Thompson, though the relationship forged from their escapades never really amounts to much. I also loved the cringey relationship between the prize jury and Less. I wish that I had been able to get more of those interactions.
I suppose there is some new ground when it comes to what Less is Lost wants to say, though it’s largely a retread of themes that were evident in the first novel. Aside from things like relationships, aging, death, and regrets we get some new things to think about. I thought the idea of a good gay vs. a bad gay was particularly interesting, even if it’s only a few passing superficial mentions. That idea wasn’t the only one that we come across, but don’t really wrestle with on the page. It wanted a greater understanding of Less’ fear that he’s become his father and how our father figures (or lack thereof) affect us. Sometimes it felt Less wasn’t the only thing lost in the novel.
I will probably always pick up the next Arthur Less novel because he’s such a tragically funny character to spend some time with on the page. The page itself is constructed of beautiful sentences, eccentric characters, cringey comical situations, and a fun sense of existential dread. I hope whatever life has in store for Arthur in the future decides to deviate from the formulaic restrictions that seem to have been placed on him in this sequel. Arthur proves his best when he’s forced into unforseeen circumstance he can’t hope to navigate and just sort of lets the current take him. I think Arthur needs to be freed from the formula and allow the structure of the story to breathe. Who knows what hilarity might ensue if that should happen.
I love and am Arthur Less. This much needs to be stated. An aging, white, cisgendered gay man with imposter syndrome in life’s journey of listlessness. We need our representation, too. When I first met him on his whirlwind journey across the globe in Less I certainly was along for the ride. In Less is Lost, the formula hasn’t been tampered with and I get that. If the first one wins you one of the biggest prizes in literature, why go switching things up? There’s an argument that can be made for that logic as I myself am certainly a creature of comfort. It’s sort of that archetypal story of a directionless character who reluctantly answers the journey’s call, meeting quirky characters along the way through cringey or comical situations while skirting the real existential issues of his life. Many people’s careers have been made off of these stories, the author of Less included.
While I can appreciate the story and the characters that people it, this second time around felt all too underwhelming. It’s hard to go from the vastness of the first novel’s globetrotting expedition to a simple cross-country journey. Indeed, everything felt much smaller in this novel and not just from a geographical perspective. In the first novel Less is dealing with his own mortality after turning fifty and finding himself alone after many years with his lover, Robert. The story was personal because when Less was running around the world he was really trying to find himself. In Less is Lost, it’s a similar situation but one that doesn’t pack quite the same puch. In it he’s dealing with everyone else’s mortality be it Robert or his father. However, the most impactful of those (the former) happens too early on in the story and is handled so amusingly that it doesn’t have much resonance with the reader. The latter, both literally and metaphorically, doesn’t even matter. It’s an emotional flatline by the end and you feel like you’re left holding the bag.
Andrew Sean Greer is a good writer, let me make that clear. Less is Lost is an expertly written novel. I enjoyed his construction of sentences and paragraphs much more so than the plot itself. I particularly enjoyed the meta-quality of the writing and found quite a few passages that gave me echoes of not just Vonnegutiam writing but also of a similar gallows humor and humanist philosophy that I really do identify with and enjoy. While I reserve the right to harp on some of the other aspects of the novel, one thing I cannot is how lovely the author’s arrangement of words on a page really is.
Andrew Sean Greer is also very good at peopling his stories. While I didn’t think that they were superior to Less, I still enjoyed them. I found HHH Mandern hilarious as an elderly amalgamation of George RR Martin and Hunter S. Thompson, though the relationship forged from their escapades never really amounts to much. I also loved the cringey relationship between the prize jury and Less. I wish that I had been able to get more of those interactions.
I suppose there is some new ground when it comes to what Less is Lost wants to say, though it’s largely a retread of themes that were evident in the first novel. Aside from things like relationships, aging, death, and regrets we get some new things to think about. I thought the idea of a good gay vs. a bad gay was particularly interesting, even if it’s only a few passing superficial mentions. That idea wasn’t the only one that we come across, but don’t really wrestle with on the page. It wanted a greater understanding of Less’ fear that he’s become his father and how our father figures (or lack thereof) affect us. Sometimes it felt Less wasn’t the only thing lost in the novel.
I will probably always pick up the next Arthur Less novel because he’s such a tragically funny character to spend some time with on the page. The page itself is constructed of beautiful sentences, eccentric characters, cringey comical situations, and a fun sense of existential dread. I hope whatever life has in store for Arthur in the future decides to deviate from the formulaic restrictions that seem to have been placed on him in this sequel. Arthur proves his best when he’s forced into unforseeen circumstance he can’t hope to navigate and just sort of lets the current take him. I think Arthur needs to be freed from the formula and allow the structure of the story to breathe. Who knows what hilarity might ensue if that should happen.
rowangazdewich's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
m_brannen's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved this book more than the first. There are some lines/observations that really made me stop and think.
A beautiful ode to life and love, that i’ll be thinking about for a while to come.
A beautiful ode to life and love, that i’ll be thinking about for a while to come.
netflix_and_lil's review against another edition
4.0
An unnecessary sequel maybe, but a welcomed one. I read Less last year and was delighted at every turn, and while this turn felt a little repetitive, following Less on another 'yes, and...' tour (this time of America's south), the humour and writing talents of Andrew Sean Greer shines through once again. If a book can make me laugh out loud, it's doing something right, and in that respect Less is Lost does a lot of things right. Everything felt neatly wrapped up at the end, and while I felt the book was too short for it's own good, I was glad to revisit the Lessiverse again.
annabunce's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
fragilemasc's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
kristy's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
casspom's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
3.25
There wasn’t really a point to the story like the first one? We still don’t see him with his partner and he’s just going on strange adventures for a writer. Quirky but aimless?
jazzlovestoread's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5