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A review by ssuprnova
Less by Andrew Sean Greer
5.0
how do you produce a book thats simultaneously this light and this dense?
i loved so much about it. which maybe you wouldnt think, because it took me a good seven days to finish, because every time i picked it up (i read almost exclusively before bed, or else i get nothing done), i was put to sleep. its not action packed or very plot-driven: arthur less goes on a trip around the world to avoid attending his ex's wedding. thats it. thats the plot. as he travels, he reflects on his past and his present, and a little bit of the future.
its very calm and understated but aldo unexpectedly emotional? at its core, its a book about mediocrity. arthur thinks nothing of himselff, is doing well, but he's not very remarkable. he's simply existing. and the book challenges this idea, but in a really subtle way. who's to say there's nothing remarkable about mediocrity? who's to say it's not enough?
i really fell for less as a character, and for every side character in the whole book. everybody is so flawed and so loveable and so human. there's facets to them, there are layers. nobody is just one thing. things are complicated, relationships are complicated. at times, its maybe a bit too idealistic, but it fits the vibe and makes for a compelling, full circle story, so i cant complain.
what stood out most to me was the narration. it's very... a lot. its intricate, i would say (for some, perhaps unnecessarily so), but in a very special way where it's also really simple. long sentences, long paragraphs, simple vocabulary and a lot to unpack. that's why i was advancing slowly: its very lyrical, it was super relaxing to read. prose, for me, can make or break a book, and in this case it definitely made it. it was also very interesting that from the beggining, the narrator presented itself as a character, who personally knows arthur, but we don't know who it is until the end. we can guess, i suppose, but i know i didnt.
the book is packed with a myriad of reflections on what its like to go through life, about the human experience, but in a way that doesn't feel... you know when a book tries to be wise and instead they just recite the same lines that have been going around mom-facebook for ten years? well. very NOT that. they're actually clever and interesting and, at times, genuinely breath-taking. i often found myself going back a few lines to reread and process.
its also funny in the way of the absurd, and it makes the whole book a lot lighter and more nuanced. its sweet, in that you can almost touch all the *clenches fist* yearning. its a little sad, a little melancholic, though not enough to make all of the good bitter. i love so so much about it. i see why people would find it to be a flawed book, but to me, much like with the characters, that is exactly what makes it so loveable.
"Let's have champagne before we go. I know it's noon. I need you to do my bow tie. I forget how because you never will. Prizes aren't love, but this is love. What Frank wrote: It's a summer day, and I want to be loved more than anything in the world."
i loved so much about it. which maybe you wouldnt think, because it took me a good seven days to finish, because every time i picked it up (i read almost exclusively before bed, or else i get nothing done), i was put to sleep. its not action packed or very plot-driven: arthur less goes on a trip around the world to avoid attending his ex's wedding. thats it. thats the plot. as he travels, he reflects on his past and his present, and a little bit of the future.
its very calm and understated but aldo unexpectedly emotional? at its core, its a book about mediocrity. arthur thinks nothing of himselff, is doing well, but he's not very remarkable. he's simply existing. and the book challenges this idea, but in a really subtle way. who's to say there's nothing remarkable about mediocrity? who's to say it's not enough?
i really fell for less as a character, and for every side character in the whole book. everybody is so flawed and so loveable and so human. there's facets to them, there are layers. nobody is just one thing. things are complicated, relationships are complicated. at times, its maybe a bit too idealistic, but it fits the vibe and makes for a compelling, full circle story, so i cant complain.
what stood out most to me was the narration. it's very... a lot. its intricate, i would say (for some, perhaps unnecessarily so), but in a very special way where it's also really simple. long sentences, long paragraphs, simple vocabulary and a lot to unpack. that's why i was advancing slowly: its very lyrical, it was super relaxing to read. prose, for me, can make or break a book, and in this case it definitely made it. it was also very interesting that from the beggining, the narrator presented itself as a character, who personally knows arthur, but we don't know who it is until the end. we can guess, i suppose, but i know i didnt.
the book is packed with a myriad of reflections on what its like to go through life, about the human experience, but in a way that doesn't feel... you know when a book tries to be wise and instead they just recite the same lines that have been going around mom-facebook for ten years? well. very NOT that. they're actually clever and interesting and, at times, genuinely breath-taking. i often found myself going back a few lines to reread and process.
its also funny in the way of the absurd, and it makes the whole book a lot lighter and more nuanced. its sweet, in that you can almost touch all the *clenches fist* yearning. its a little sad, a little melancholic, though not enough to make all of the good bitter. i love so so much about it. i see why people would find it to be a flawed book, but to me, much like with the characters, that is exactly what makes it so loveable.
"Let's have champagne before we go. I know it's noon. I need you to do my bow tie. I forget how because you never will. Prizes aren't love, but this is love. What Frank wrote: It's a summer day, and I want to be loved more than anything in the world."