Less Is Lost – Andrew Sean Greer

Expectation: Another imperfect but reflective travelogue with Arthur Less. 

Reality: Essentially three different stories mashed together, Greer favored slapstick over sentimental in this inconsequential and unnecessary sequel. 

My Take:

The first Arthur Less story, the 2017 Pulitzer Prize winning “Less,” is far from universally beloved — even by me. It was too inside baseball about the publishing world and portrayed the lives of successful gay men as always white and always whimsical. 

Even though some of the scenarios Arthur found himself in were far-fetched (especially within a five month span of time), I was deeply affected by his journey of reflection during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, primarily for the way Andrew Sean Greer described aging, regret and second chances as many of us were becoming reflective in the face of doubt.

The chapter set in Morocco was poignant, haunting and one of the best I read in 2020, helping to secure the novel a spot on my honorable mentions list, even though the rest of the book met, but didn't quite match, the genius of that section.

I can’t say that I had high hopes for the sequel, “Less Is Lost,” but I was excited to read it. Alas, I was disappointed. 

The novel starts promisingly enough with Arthur in personal and professional crisis.  He’s unsure of his relationship with Freddy and struggling to pinpoint his legacy after learning of the death of Robert Brownburn, his long-time lover who as an instrumental figure in his career and life (all of this covered in “Less.”)

Brownburn’s death is what propels the core plot forward, but the novel felt essentially like three different stories mashed together. The first part (about 25 percent) is akin to the first novel — contemplative, emotive and subtly humorous. 

Arthur is still ridiculous, but he’s charming and comes across as an old friend whose antics always keep you entertained while you also secretly roll your eyes. 

Then, for whatever reason, Greer thought it would be fun to morph the novel into a slapstick buddy comedy as Arthur and fellow writer H.H.H. Mandern road trip across the American Southwest and have assorted misadventures and interactions with colorful characters. 

The closest comparison I can come up with is “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” but that is doing a disservice to the film since it is far more entertaining and hilarious than what is presented here. People who liked the quirky campiness of Steven Rowley’s “The Guncle,” might appreciate this section — which is roughly 60 percent of the novel — but I was not a fan. 

Tonally it felt different from the first novel and the first section. Arthur mediates on exploring his sexuality, being perceived as a “bad gay” and doubting himself, but those moments are overshadowed by tired jokes (he thinks he can speak fluent German, but he can’t - so funny!) and tired plots (reconnecting with an absentee father, chasing dollars, etc.)

While the last few chapters recapture the magic of the first novel and the beginning of “Less Is Lost,” I was essentially ready for my adventure to be over long before the sentimental ending. In the end it was a mostly entertaining, but entirely inconsequential follow-up. 

Two interesting choices by Greer that also aided in my general indifference towards the sequel were to have it narrated by Freddy, who has little direct interaction with Arthur throughout, which made him a strange omnipresent — but sometimes first person — narrator of the action. It was confusing. 

Second, re-reading the first novel is largely essential before tackling this one. After I listened to the first hour, I had to skim the entirety of “Less” to reorient with who was who and what was what. Greer essentially followed the same characters in both, but after nearly three years I was fuzzy on all the details, and he didn’t re-introduce people and situations as effectively as other writers have done. 

Finally, the audiobook was again narrated by Robert Petkoff, who does a good job navigating the uneven plot and narrator jumping. If you don’t want to invest the time in the actual text, Petkoff will keep you entertained. I particularly enjoyed his portrayal of Mandern, and the “other” Arthur Less.   

Rating (story): 2.5/5 stars

Rating (narration): 4/5 stars

Formats: Audiobook (library loan)

Dates read: September 27 – September 29, 2022

Multi-tasking: Good to go. I mostly exercised and cooked while listening.