Less [Andrew Sean Greer]

Summary: A writer attends various events across the globe in order to avoid attending his ex-lover’s wedding.

Rating & Review: 3/5; recommend for a light read

Review: This was a disappointment.

I felt like the premise and the narration were a gimmick from the start [spoiler alert: I was right], sort of like if someone took Eat Pray Love and poorly mated it with Stranger Than Fiction. I absolutely hated the jilted style of writing, and I only managed to finish it because it’s a short book. I found it neither clever nor comical, and I genuinely wonder about who is awarding Pulitzer Prizes and why.

I’m pretty sure writing about a marginalized group or a controversial topic doesn’t automatically make for exceptional writing. This was in fact daring and sprawling for a relatively short book, and it represents the underrepresented in literature, but I never felt for the characters or for the adventure. All of the “symbolism” was really heavy handed, which I think eliminates the point of symbolism in the first place. Maybe it’s just poor execution of a viable plan. Plainly put, I was bored. Either this completely went over my head or there’s a conspiracy afoot to dupe the greater public with the shiny Pulitzer seal of approval.

This marks the last time I read something because of the hype. I’ve been conned too many times!

#lgbtq #pulitzerwinner