Less by Andrew Sean Greer

This is a great book - which of course it would be as it won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2018. It's very much an American book with the kind of style that follows in the footsteps of twentieth century American humourists such as Garrison Keillor and James Thurber. You probably won't find yourself laughing out loud, but there will be many times when a clever turn of phrase will bring a smile to your face.

Arthur Less is a writer who is about to turn fifty, and he is being forced to consider where his life is going as his long term boyfriend has left him to marry someone else. Less has been invited to the wedding, but he simply can't bear to go, although he doesn't want to cause offence by simply declining. He has to find a pressing reason to be abroad at the time of the ceremony, so he mines through a discarded pile of other invitations that request his company to speak or teach or write reviews in all manner of different countries. Before he knows it, he has arranged a tour that will take him right around the world and provide enough distraction to keep his mind off both his birthday and the wedding.

Less is a likeable chap who ambles through life making friends and taking lovers as he goes. He has a distinctive appearance with his mop of blond hair and trademark blue suit, and people find themselves drawn to him. The book is written in the style of a narrator telling us the story of Arthur Less, and I thought it worked well as we, the readers, feel engaged in a private conversation and it brings an intimacy to the account.

The Pulitzer Prize for fiction certainly doesn't allow itself to get into a rut as the winners over the last few years have very different styles of writing, but they do show a consistent level of excellence. If you ever need something good to read a Pulitzer winner is a very safe bet. I don't think I ever read one that I didn't appreciate.

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