Reviews

Less by Andrew Sean Greer

jisnthome's review against another edition

5.0

This book took me awhile to get through, simply because I had to keep re-reading through such incredibly written paragraphs to make sure I fully understood just how meaningful each one was. It’s witty and it’s wise and it depicts the grief and heartache of being in love in a way that’s so accurate it’s unsettling. I savored every page.

sara_cornelia's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Spoiler

Tenía muchísimas ganas de leer este libro desde hace ya un buen rato, y no sé porqué no se me hizo hasta ahorita. No me arrepiento, pero en parte siento que no fue el mejor momento, pero eso lo explicaré más adelante.

El libro me encantó. Desde el comienzo vi el potencial para 5 estrellas. Es un libro muy bien escrito, con una historia profunda y personajes bien pensados. Es inteligente, retrospectivo, existencial y gracioso. Claro que absolutamente me encantó. Arthur Less, el protagonista de este libro es un personaje como ningún otro, y su peculiaridad e inocencia es lo que lo hace tan entrañable.

En el libro lo vemos dar la vuelta por el mundo, visitando varios países con cualquier excusa solo para no tener que estar presente en la boda de su ex. Y con cada país que visita, hay algún inconveniente, algún imprevisto que le ocurre, pero a pesar de eso Less continúa con su vida, y creo que de eso se trata el libro. Que a pesar de estar envejeciendo, de que rechazaron su nuevo libro y que su novio lo dejó para casarse con otro, su vida no está tan mal. Solo se trata de seguir avanzando y encontrar confort en lo cotidiano, reírse de las tragedias y esperar lo mejor. Y creo que ese es lo que representa Athur Less.

El libro también tiene personajes secundarios que también están muy bien desarrollados, Robert, un gran y reconocido escritor, que también fue el primer gran amor de la vida de Less. Carlos, el "enemigo" de Less y padre de Freddie, el ex novio que se va a casar con otro. Y claro Freddie, a quien conocemos por breves menciones a lo largo del libro y que al final descubrimos que fue el narrador todo el tiempo.

El libro toca muchos temas interesantes sobre la adultez, el éxito, las relaciones, tanto de amistades como amorosas y sobre crecer y envejecer. A continuación algunas de mis frases favoritas del libro.

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, it’s a miracle. If a comedy duo 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.

She told me she met the love of her life,” Zohra says at last, still staring out the window. “You read poems about it, you hear stories about it, you hear Sicilians talk about being struck by lightning. We know there’s no love of your life. Love isn’t terrifying like that. It’s walking the fucking dog so the other one can sleep in, it’s doing taxes, it’s cleaning the bathroom without hard feelings. It’s having an ally in life. It’s not fire, it’s not lightning. It’s what she always had with me. Isn’t it? But what if she’s right, Arthur? What if the Sicilians are right? That it’s this earth-shattering thing she felt? Something I’ve never felt. Have you?

I look at you, and you’re young. You’ll always be that way for me. But not for anyone else. Arthur, people who meet you now will never be able to imagine you young.

Spoiler

El libro me gustó porque por un lado está espectacularmente escrito, y por el otro, los temas que toca son temas que te mueven, y la manera en la que se abordan a pesar de mostrar cierta cotidianidad es muy emotiva, con un personaje que es perfecto para este tipo de reflexiones, con una inocencia que conmueve y una determinación que te hace amarlo más con cada página.

Creo que decir que este libro es una historia de amor sería reducirlo en cierto modo, pero al mismo tiempo creo que es necesario aclarar que efectivamente esta es una historia de amor. De cómo a pesar de todo lo que le ocurre a Arthur Less, a pesar de parecer una broma de escritor que se acerca cada vez más al final de su vida, a pesar de que Freddie lo dejó para casarse con alguien más, la realidad es que lo ama a él y hay cierto encanto en poder haber conocido a Arthur Less a través de los ojos de alguien que lo ama.

En fin... es un libro excelente, un libro que me veo releyendo y encontrando confort en el nuevamente, sin embargo, la razón por la que no le puse 5 estrellas, es que cómo dije al principio, tal vez leerlo cuando lo hice no fue el mejor momento, y es que a la par estaba leyendo otros dos libros que me tenían atrapadísima, libros super adictivos que no podía soltar (The blood of Olympus y Wolfsong) entonces me causó algo de conflicto que comenzaba a leer uno y ya no lo podía soltar y medio abandonaba los otros para concentrarme en uno solo, por lo general eso no me pasa, pero justo estaba leyendo puros libros increíbles, que me hicieron olvidarme por momentos de este en particular, y esa es la única razón por la cual no tiene 5 estrellas. Creo que se las merece, pero yo califico los libros como me hacen sentir, y con este creo que el momento no fue el más indicado porque no pude prestarle la atención que merece. Las 5 estrellas las reservo para esas ocasiones en donde todo es perfecto, el libro, el momento, todo. Y pues a este libro le faltó el momento. Pero aún así excelente libro.

mapscitiesandsongs's review against another edition

Note to self: Stop reading Pullitzer Price winners or runner-ups.

I enjoyed the first two chapter, but during the third one the book lost me. It was just a dude rambling about his life and after some time it just felt repetitive and pointless. Ultimately I didn‘t really care anymore. 

ashleygracew's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

ernquita's review against another edition

2.0

Just hear me out. I get that this is a finely written, Pulitzer Prize winning novel. I’m sure it deserves it. It’s just not for me. Lacks plot. Lacks structure. The main character was boring which is disappointing for someone who is literally traveling the world. Why doesn’t he have more interesting adventures to share? Just meh.

27chickpeas's review against another edition

3.0

Parts of the book were poetic and moving. While other times I just wanted the story and adventure to end. I don’t know- I wish I had liked this more than I had. I think the authors writing style was just too wordy and all over the place. The story jumped so much it was difficult to stay invested in the different characters.

emilyreadsitall's review against another edition

adventurous funny fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

gsroney's review against another edition

4.0

“Berlin is all around them, the Fernsehturm rising high in the east like the Times Square New Year’s ball, the lights of Charlottenburg Palace glowing faintly in the west, and all around the glorious junkyard of the city: abandoned warehouses and chic new lofts and boats all done in fairy lights, concrete Honecker residential blocks imitating the old nineteenth-century buildings, the black parks hiding Soviet war memorials, the little candles somebody lights each night before the doors where Jews were dragged from their houses. The old dance halls where elderly couples, still wearing the beige of their Communist lives, still telling secrets in the learned whisper of a lifetime of wiretapping, dance polkas to live bands in rooms decorated in silver Mylar curtains. The basements where American drag queens sell tickets for British expats to listen to French DJs, in rooms where water flows freely down the walls and old gasoline jugs hang from the ceiling, lit from within. The Currywurst stands where Turks sift sneezing powder onto fried hot dogs, the subterranean bakeries where the same hot dogs are baked into croissants, the raclette stands where Tyroleans scrape melting cheese onto the bread and ham, decorating it with pickles. The markets already setting up in local squares to sell cheap socks, stolen bicycles, and plastic lamps. The sex dens with stoplights signaling which clothing to remove, the dungeons of men in superhero costumes of black vinyl with their names embroidered on them, the dark rooms and back alleys where everything possible is happening. And the clubs everywhere, only just getting started, where even middle-aged married folk are sniffing lines of ketamine off black bathroom tile, and teenagers are dosing each other’s drinks. In the club, as he later recalls, a woman gets onto the dance floor and really lets go during a Madonna song, really takes over the floor, and people are clapping, hooting, she’s losing her mind out there, and her friends are calling her name: “Peter Pan! Peter Pan!” Actually, it isn’t a woman; it’s Arthur Less. Yes, even old American writers are dancing like it is still the eighties in San Francisco, like the sexual revolution has been won, like the war is over and Berlin has been liberated, one’s own self has been liberated; and what the Bavarian in his arms is whispering is true, and everyone, everyone—even Arthur Less—is loved.”

wyliem's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

booksnworms's review against another edition

slow-paced

1.0