I greatly enjoyed this sequel to Less. We once again find ourselves following the adventures of Arthur Less as he finds himself in one predicament after another. The droll narration is still engaging and will have you waiting for another book in the series.

I enjoyed the humor of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Less, so I was eager to dive into the followup that has Arthur Less on a cross-country adventure. After the death of a former lover, Less is having a financial crisis and books a series of literary gigs to make up the shortfall. Along the way, he meets a series of colorful characters and encounters repeated confusion over another author who shares his name.

Unfortunately, I don’t think the audio format of this book was right for me; my mind kept wandering and I missed a lot of the subtle humor. When I picked up on it, it was great, but I kept losing the thread of the story. The meandering stories of Less are worth the read, but for me, they need to be in print.

Less Is Lost is the sequel to Pulitzer-winning novel, Less. The audio version is narrated by Robert Petkoff. It’s when Less and Freddy have been together nine months, our favourite Minor American Novelist has completed his first novel and is on his way to give a lecture when two calls derail his day: his agent has lined up a paying gig he doesn’t want to take; and a long-time rival for certain affections brings sad news. The sad news includes a funeral, and notification of a huge debt that Less naively never anticipated. Homelessness is on the horizon.

During all this, Freddy is in Maine, on a course, and receiving detailed daily calls that allow him to chronicle for the reader this upheaval in his partner’s (and his) life. Less decides to throw himself into the gigs he flatly rejected earlier, to cover the debt and save his beloved Shack on the Vulcan Steps: interview and profile sci-fi author, H.H.H. Mandern; part of a jury for a literary prize; a personal appearance with the theatre troupe performing one of his short stories, and anything else that comes up.

Mandern, however, throws a wrinkle into his ambitious plans, and Less finds he has inexplicably agreed to drive the author from Pams Springs to Santa Fe in an antique converted live-in van called Rosina, accompanied by a sleek black pug called Dolly. It’s not until they are well underway that Mandern reveals their mission.

Even more surprised is he to be driving Rosina further across the country, with Dolly as his faithful companion, and the daunting prospect of reconnecting with someone from his past looming. Mandern tells him: “You may not know it, Arthur Less, but you’re full of adventure. You’re a reckless man.”

Greer’s protagonist might remind some readers of those that David Nicholls creates: inept, accident-prone, awkward, sometimes graceless, and his ineptitude is often a source of humour: his woeful German language skills, his rogue moustache razor, blueberries that aren’t, an unintentional flood, a donkey ride, becoming an RVer, surviving a hurricane.
This unbiased review is from an advance listening copy provided by NetGalley and Hachette Audio.

Indeed, Less bumbles his way through encounters with communes, Navajo guides, beertenders, propositioning campers, and his alter-ego. He regularly makes a fool of himself, yet things seem to fall into place for him somehow. Freddy expands quite a bit on what the reader already knows about him, Less and Robert Brownburn, making it hard not to fall even harder for this middle-aged gay white novelist. Greer’s plot, characters and prose are entertaining and enjoyable and more of this cast will be most welcome.

really enjoyed this sequal. it was so interesting and i really liked how the narrator talked to the reader. it felt more real and made less and the rest of the characters more relatable

I didn’t have time to listen to the pre-release due to starting my MBA program, but I had pre-ordered both the audiobook and a hard copy which arrived. I finished both after my midterm exams and purchased two more as gifts. Greer is a favorite and I gave 10 copies of LESS out three christmases ago, and am currently hoarding LESS IS LOST as I think it’s going to be my Christmas gift this year to my tight group of friends.

Dry, hilarious, human.

I loved the first book and was excited when I saw this one available. It was a pleasant read, although an unnecessary sequel. Felt like a lot of the same. Loved the narrator.

Outstanding audio of the fabulous Less is Lost. The story is topnotch and the narrator excellent.


Please see my review of the book.

Thank you Netgalley and Little Brown and Co.

Arthur Less is back! He’s on the road, again. He’s trying to get his life back together, again. He is running into all the humiliating and life-affirming obstacles a 50ish, not successful novelist could hope for, again.

I thoroughly enjoyed the first book, Less, and while I enjoyed this one just as much it mostly felt like more of the same. It’s full of wit and wisdom just like the first. It didn’t really expand too much on the established characters. The only appreciable difference being Arthur’s travels are set in the United States this time. I think my one complaint is that the snippet of interaction Arthur has with his father was too brief considering how much time was spent building that reunion up.

Definitely worth the time if you enjoyed the first one!

Thanks to @netgalley and @littlebrown for a copy of this audiobook.

Maybe I was struggling to remember the first installment and that's why the first half of the book failed to draw me in. I'll blame it on myself. The second half finally felt like seeing an old friend.

Less is Lost is a fun sequel to the funny 1st book in the series, Less. This road trip across the USA was very enjoyable, but still heavy, as Less reflected on some of his more challenging relationships.

More of Less.

Our hapless protagonist is back, this time on a road trip across America. Arthur Less suddenly finds himself owing 10 years of back rent and so once again is saying yes to every literary gig that comes his way.

The irreverent tone remains, but this book seemed to have a bit more gravity than its predecessor (perhaps by virtue of a painful loss, tension with his romantic partner, and a strained relationship with his dying father). While this novel stands alone, I'm not sure why you'd want to read it without first having read the Pulitzer-winning Less -- though I daresay reading the two back-to-back might be too much Less at once.

The audiobook is deftly narrated by Robert Petkoff (as was Less). You might also recognize his voice from Bad City, Hollow Kingdom, or Before the Fall.

Love me some Arthur Less. His foibles are his charm. Awkward, but lovable. What are you going to do with him? Read another book about him, I guess.

Less really was lost...⁣
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I read Less at the beginning of the month and had time this month to listen to the audio aaaaaand I was disappointed.⁣
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Less #1 meandered but it worked as we followed Arthur Less around the world. Less is Lost meandered too much...I don't know, something was just missing. I didn't find this one nearly as humorous or witty either.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette Audio for sending me an ARC of Less Is Lost in exchange for an honest review.

Less Is Lost takes place a few years after Less. Arthur Less is still with Freddie, but there’s a strain in their relationship. When Arthur needs to raise some cash very quickly in order to cover back taxes on the house where they’ve been living, he accepts several invitations that require him to travel around the American West, South, and mid-Atlantic.

So, as with Less, the story revolves around Less going on an extended road trip, meeting some amusing characters, getting into some comic situations, and grappling with his current crisis. These secondary characters, such as HHH Mandern, a famous sci-fi writer who’s a cross between George RR Martin and Ernest Hemingway, provide much of the story’s comedy. Interestingly, I thought the road trip around America concept was underwhelming. The description made it sound like there might be Borat-style takedowns of different sections of the country. Instead, other than a very few sections about “America” that feel forced, the locales are largely extraneous to the story’s laser focus on Less.

I enjoyed Less, but when I heard there would be a sequel, I wasn’t sure what new ground there would be to cover. In Less, Arthur was processing turning fifty in the aftermath of a breakup. In Less Is Lost, he is dealing with his thoughts about the death of his former lover, his dying father, and the uncertainty in his relationship with Freddie. And I suppose there were some new ideas discussed: the idea of good gays versus bad gays, is it worth it being a writer, and what do we want from the past? But the novel primarily covers a lot of the same themes as Less: gay relationships, aging and death, family, regrets, and forgiveness.

Less Is Lost is a perfectly pleasant novel. I listened to the audiobook, and the narrator gave a good performance. If you enjoyed Less, you’ll probably like this book too. But it covers familiar ground, and ultimately doesn’t add much to the story of Arthur Less.

Thank you Netgalley for this audio edition of Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer.

I hurried to read the original Less in preparation for this book. This is such a goofy series! It has humor that reminds me of Catch-22, awkward and lovable characters, and a messy travelogue feel.

So, I really want to like these books, and I do...but I did unfortunately find myself zoning out a lot. Have you ever hung out with someone that has no problem completely occupying the conversation, leaving you with the privilege of zoning in and out when you catch interesting snippets? That's what I was doing a lot. Chuckling at silly moments, and keeping a vague idea of where Less was, but like, I'm not too worried about the particulars. I don't know that I would rush to read the third if there were to be one, but I did get enjoyment out of these.

It took me 4 years to read Less and when I finally did I found myself enamored with the writing style and with Arthur less. And this sequel makes me love Less even more, flaws and all. He is a disaster and chaos just follows him wherever he goes. Some chaos is directly caused by him but some other just happen because he is Arthur Less and his life is a whirlwind of events.
After the end of Less, we know that the narrator of this story is Freddy, Arthur's friend with benefits who was in reality much more than that. Their relationships needs help and help comes in the shape of a random tour around the US for Arthur and a retreat for Freddy. We have more Freddy chapters and I liked hearing his side of the story, of the events he himself ends up narrating.
The story is magical in the way Less was. And the narrator was really good at portraying the characters and the story.

“Less” was undoubtedly one of my favorite books I read in 2020 - I was late to the party then, but the Pulitzer prize-winning book still was unputdownable. As such, I was sooo excited when I saw this sequel (published last week!).

The narrative style is interesting; it is told in first person by Freddy Pelu, Less’ partner, detailing Less’ travels. In order to pay unexpected back rent owed, Less says yes to gigs that have him traveling in a van all throughout the American south.

I think Andrew Sean Greer set out to show commentary on America from the lens of our well-loved, middle-aged, gay protagonist, but for me it was just a series of funny / quirky “Lessian” vignettes. I’m not sure if it was because I listened to the audio, but I kept waiting for and missing the “aha” moment with the big takeaway about each place.

There are some more serious scenes here involving death + forgiveness, yet in his typical fashion, ASG is able to make them tragically comedic (thinking of Less trying to pull his RV up to his long-lost father’s house & getting stymied). I really like the way he writes, tying themes and threads together throughout the book (cough, cough, the twist at the end) - his writing voice is so unique.

Sadly, however, I had the overall feeling of “it was just fine” at the end of this book. I think no matter what type of sequel ASG wrote, it would be hard to follow #1. I actually listened to a few podcasts that ASG was on talking about this book, and he is a TOTAL gem. I also think Less is still one of the best-formed characters I’ve read — I just personally wasn’t as obsessed with his further adventures as I would’ve liked.

Less is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer is the follow-up to the Pulitzer Prize-winning Less. A sequel is always risky, right (particularly when the ending of the first book was perfection)? Thankfully, Greer gets it right and all of the things I loved about Arthur Less the first time, were there again (especially Arthur’s wonderfully bad German).

In Less, Arthur (a mediocre novelist) traveled around the world to avoid his ex’s wedding. When we meet Arthur in Less is Lost, he is a moderately accomplished novelist in a steady relationship with his partner, Freddy. However, it’s not quite happily-ever-after, and circumstances force Arthur to accept a series of literary gigs that send him zigzagging across America.

Like the first installment, Less is Lost is an episodic comedy-of-errors, and a few repeated elements (a pug, a camper van, a musical and mistaken identities) tie the stories from Arthur’s past and present together.

…all that is left is Arthur Less and the stage. He is transported to his childhood when, taken to a show by a neighbor, he watched in awe and thought, as he thought when he first saw the Rocky Mountains, why did no one tell me life could be this? …instead of Puritan hard work and failed get-rich schemes, promises broken and pointless battles waged, life could be sequins and song. He felt he’d been lied to from the Pilgrims on down. The secret had been kept from him like a mad aunt locked in the basement, and now a neighbor had innocently set her loose and she was wonderful. He understood everyone was wrong about life and if they were wrong about that, then they could be wrong about him. It seemed possible, only for those two hours, that he as well, somewhere inside could be sequins and song.

Greer strikes the ideal balance between humour and examining the big themes – this time the focus is on identity, family and ageing. The dialogue between Arthur and his sister is a highlight, and the relationship between Arthur and his father provides intrigue.

I’m not as familiar with the places that Arthur visits in America as I was when he was touring European cities, so some of the humour and fine detail may have been lost on me (this also applies to Greer’s attempts to bring elements of US race history and race relations into the story – again, I’m not across the specifics). Nevertheless, his adventures through the ‘Mild Mild West’ and the South gave Greer the opportunity for some excellent writing about deserts, bayous, and what the heart wants. Was it a successful exploration of identity? Perhaps not so much, as some parts felt clumsy but overall, Less is Lost is entertaining.

I received an audio copy of Less is Lost from the publisher, Hachette Audio, via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

3.5/5 Could be read as a standalone novel, but I suggest start with Less.

Oh I hate to say it, but this one did not live up to my expectations at all. I loved Less and was so excited to see this had been released. I could not wait to catch back up with the adorable Arthur Less and see how he had fared over the last few years. But alas, it was just lacking. It was nice to check in and to read about him, and there were some quite poignant moments in the story, but overall it was just 'nice".

Something about the narrator made me drift off in my mind and then tune back in to realise I had missed parts and did not know how we had gotten to where we were in the story. I switched to the physical book for the end part and I did prefer this, although I still found myself tuning out and having to reread parts. It could just be my brain at the moment - it has been feeling especially fried recently.

Overall, I would not recommend it as a stand alone, or if you read Less and felt impartial. But if you loved Less and love road trip stories, then it is worth checking in, but just don't get your hopes up too high beforehand.

Thank you @netgalley for the gifted audiobook, and then also @hachetteaus for sending through the physical copy.

What do you get when you take a white gay guy from the West Coast (but originally from Delaware) in a pressed shirt and suit and transport him to the South? Meandering through the south, through communes and quirky bars ? What you get is a lot of hilarious moments that are kind of based on his general uneasiness and feeling of inadequacy.

Less getting lost with a camper van with personality is narrated by Less’ lover (who is NOT on the trip with Less), which was an interesting choice. But it definitely works because it had you feeling for Arthur Less and rooting for him without identifying with his worries or feelings of second hand embarassment.

The book starts with Less burying the lover of his twenties and even though he is middle aged by now he suddenly feels quite old, he also finds himself in sudden financial woes so he takes the opportunities as they come.

I loved the cast of characters and the general feel of the story - his constant doubting but also the way Andrew Greer made the story come full circle. I loved the Pulitzer Prize winning Less a couple of years ago and was happy to revisit some of the characters now and go on another trip with Less !

I listened to the audio version narrated by Robert Petkoff. He did an amazing job - the book was a joy to listen to and I found myself laughing out loud at times!

Thanks to Hachette Audio and NetGalley for the eALC in exchange for an honest review.