Less

Arthur Less is about to turn fifty. His publisher has just turned down his most recent novel. His boyfriend of nine years just married someone else. So he decides to take a journey around the world to distract himself, going to Mexico, Berlin, Italy, Paris, Morocco, India, and Japan. Along the way he faces indignities of all stripes, but also has moments of clarity.

Less is the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Andrew Sean Greer. It was something of a surprise winner, but I found it captivating. It is so droll that at times it is arid, but I enjoy this kind of humor. Less, as his name indicates, is something of a cipher, a passive punching bag for bad luck, but ultimately he is heroic.

"No one could rival Arthur Less for his ability to exit a room while remaining inside it," Greer describes him. Though described as tall and blond, Less seems to be almost invisible, a spook wafting through his own life. He begins his journey in New York, and to lift his spirits sees a Broadway musical, which for a gay man is like getting a fix. "It is a bad musical, but, like a bad lay, a bad musical can still do its job perfectly well."

He goes on to Mexico, to be on a panel, but finds that he is the only participant, and it is in Spanish, which he doesn't speak. He does speak German, badly (Greer translates his German into English, and it's riotously funny, because Less thinks he's fluent). He then goes to Turin, where he is nominated for an award for gay novels. It's there that me is told he is a "bad gay," because his gay characters are almost depressed. "The Garden of Bad Gays. Who knew there was such a thing? Here, all this time, Less thought he was merely a bad writer. A bad lover, a bad friend, a bad son. Apparently the condition is worse; he is bad at being himself. At least, he thinks, looking across the room to where Finley is amusing the hostess, I’m not short."

In Morocco he takes a tour on a camel, and manages to make it to the end without getting sick, as the other members do. Less likens it to an Agatha Christie novel. Then he goes to a writer's retreat in India, where he manages to step on a sewing needle.

All the while we learn things about his life. He was a longtime companion of an older, famous poet, who encouraged him to start writing. He grew up Unitarian, so there are a few jokes, such as: "While the plane suffers a prolonged bout of turbulence, Less finds himself searching for an appropriate prayer. He was, however, raised Unitarian; he has only Joan Baez to turn to, and “Diamonds and Rust” gives no solace."

At one point Greer refers to him as "our gay Job," and I think that is the book in a nutshell. He is Job-like, but he also has moments of quiet triumph. He is passive, but humane. And though the book is richly comic, it's also steeped in sadness--Less manages to go around the world and doesn't get laid.

Books about writers are very common, as writers write about what they know. This book didn't go into the creative process much--I never quite believed Less was capable of writing--but it was nonetheless interesting to see how mid-list writers make their way through the world--attending conferences, teaching workshops, and writing articles for men's magazines.

I don't know what Greer plans on doing next, but I wouldn't mind another book about Less.