Less: A Novel (The Arthur Books, 1) (The Arthur Less Books, 1)

Jill

It's a bit too long winded and while it won the Pulitzer Prize, I don't fully understand why. It went into a big circle where the protagonist, Arthur Less goes from feeling like a loser to coming home and still feeling melancholy but at least he doesn't feel like all is life, he's a loser. He's a lucky guy who has things working out for him but he just has to open his eyes to see it. That's great in all but his adventures were painful until maybe about 70% into it and that's when it picks up. (Hint: Less in Morocco.) Okay, on with the spoilers...

Less is an aging writer who had a boyfriend and his name is Freddy. Freddy is getting married and has invited Less to the wedding. Freddy and Tommy will be wedded at X church at X place. We cordially invite you to join us in our celebration. You would think for a man who constantly said to his young lover, "don't get attached to me," he would follow suit. Unfortunately, Less feels very sad for he is soon turning 50 years of age and he is still single. Does he want to go to the wedding? Ummm, let's go through Less' drawers and accept every teaching, interviewing, giving a sci-fi seminar opportunity to avoid going to Freddy's wedding. And so that is exactly what Less does. He faces coming to terms with ageism, self discovery and learning to be more carefree through his many travels...

Less feels sorry for himself. His own agent dubs him as a "maleficent spoonie." He doesn't know what that means but he knows it's bad. His agent finally tells him, his book has been passed by the publishers and he's not a good gay writer. Nobody cares about his characters...not even the gay community. He accepts all opportunities to go from Mexico, Italy, Germany, France, Morocco, India and Japan in fulfilling his commitments. Along the way, he's trying to find the meaning of love and why things don't work out for him.

However, things always do work out for him. He goes to Germany and while his German is the shits, his TA has a friend (Bastian) who keeps him warm and shows him around Germany. When people around him get sick and later Less gets sick, Bastian takes care of him. As they go dancing and he hears 80's music, he is the hit of the party. Upon his leave, his next stop is to go to Paris. He sees a sign but doesn't know what it says but thinks it's for him and as he stumbles into a bus, he wonders, "did I get on the right bus?" It turns out it is and when he arrives a day earlier, the hotel happens to have a room for him and he spends the day in Paris and almost falls in love with a man who shows him how lovable and fun he really is. Sure he's a bit melancholy but he has his striking blue suit and he wears it with love and it gives him confidence.

Along his trip, he even runs into one of his former and older lovers. Shockingly, he can't for the life of him, remember who that guys who keeps hugging him is. Finally Less realizes, they both grew old and god all mighty does this guy let himself go. Less didn't for he still has his blond hair and is fairly slim. "Now what is his name?" wonders Less. It's not until his former lover tells his new lover to take their photo with his camera when he directs his lover, "no, higher! No higher!" that Less finally remembers, oh god, it's you, the man who can't be fully satisfied sexually unless it's his way. What's worst is he had a relationship with him for several years and he hadn't remembered his name.

All the while, his mind wanders in and out, thinking of the two men that have meant the most to him: Robert Bronburn and Freddy (Carlos - Less's frenemy's son). Robert Bronburn, as it turns out has had heart problems and is in poor health. Robert Bronburn is a poet and a Pulitzer Prize recipient. He was married to Marian when Less first met Robert. Robert was separated from Marian and he fell in love with Less. After Robert's divorce, Less and Robert were together for about 15 years. Less fell out of love with Robert and later fell for an attractive and much younger man named Freddy. Freddy is Carlos' son who happens to be Less' "oldest friend" but in reality, they are frenemies. Less and Freddy cohabitated and Freddy came in and out of Less' apartment like a cat. He always had a place to stay but Less always told him, "don't fall in love with me." Less wanted to be emotionally distant because he cheated on Robert when Less fell out of love with Robert.

Less's travel all brings him to question, "what is love?" and "how do you know it," and "is it worth it?" His trip to Morocco proves to be his aha moment with first Zohra shows him how she can give up love and it's nothing and he starts to argue, it's worth it.

“You know what I’ve decided,” she says sternly as if calling a meeting to order. “About turning fifty. Two things. The first is: fuck love.”...the second is Get Fat.” ~ Zohra (Less: Morocco) Turning Fifty

His second aha moment comes the following night when he hears his favorite and idolized gay couple, Lewis and Clark who turns out will be breaking up and Clark is getting married and Lewis is the guest speaker and toaster at his formers wedding. Lewis tells Less:
“But you broke up with him. Something’s wrong. Something failed.” ~ Less
“No! No, Arthur, no, it’s the opposite! I’m saying it’s a success. Twenty years of joy and support and friendship, that’s a success. Twenty years of anything with another person is a success. If a band stays together twenty years, they’re a triumph. Is this night a failure because it will end in an hour? Is the sun a failure because it’s going to end in a billion years? No, it’s the fucking sun. Why does a marriage not count? It isn’t in us, it isn’t in human beings, to be tied to one person forever...Twenty years and one last happy road trip. And I thought, Well, that was nice. Let’s end on success.”
~Lewis on his break up with his lover of the last 20 years, Clark.

This is when Less starts to realize what he and Freddy had which was 9 years together, and that while it was he who told Freddy to go if he wished, their relationship was still a success.

His final break down is when he hears his old frenemy, Carlos tell him in a drunken state that Arthur Less was the luckiest clown he’s ever met and he’s not even aware of how lucky he is. Things always worked out for him and Carlos never quite understood how or why. As Carlos wanted all of Less’ love letters from Robert to be given to Carlos so he could put it into a published memoir and receive full credit, Less mustered the strength to say, “no” because Carlos took away Freddy but not the memories or mementos of Robert for Carlos’ personal gain. That just isn’t right.

Meanwhile, over and after the wedding, Freddy realizes he still loves Less. He’s crying and Tommy, his new husband comes in and just one look and he knows everything. Tommy swears, as his duty as Freddy’s new husband, he will take care of Freddy and doesn’t care and will honor Freddy. Freddy tearfully says goodbye and an uncharacteristic move by Carlos, Carlos calls his son up and tells Freddy which flight and arrival time, Less’ plane will land back to his home. Freddy goes back and waits for Less. When Less comes home, he is pleasantly greeted by Freddy and they both realized how much they have grown and overcome. This is where they both belong and with whom.

“Be in love, you will be happy.”
~ Freddy

I really liked reading about all the different countries the protagonist, Arthur Less, went to in this book and was surprised at the narrator reveal at the end too! Also, did not realize there was a sequel until it popped up when I searched for this book to review lol :)

Arthur Less is a slightly awkward gay man, mildly successful writer, on the cusp of turning 50. Oh, and his former lover is about to get married and [gasp!] he's invited to the wedding! No! He cannot go and suffer the pain and humiliation. As a writer, he gets invited to literary festivals, to speaking engagements, to teach weeks-long courses, all of which he usually turns down or ignores. He decides to say yes, to EVERYTHING, so it will keep him far away from this wedding. It sets him on a nonstop course from his home in San Francisco to NYC, to Mexico City, to Paris, to Berlin (where his "fluency" in German leads to some big laughs), Morocco, and finally India, to a supposed writer's retreat. It's basically a story about a man who travels the world to finally find himself, but that doesn't seem adequate to describe this book. You'll end up falling in love with Arthur in spite of, or maybe because of, his silly, awkward way of dealing with what life throws at him.

This was so boring! I read for about two hours (and I’m a fast reader) but nothing happened. I gave up.