Andrew Sean Greer

Easton Press Andrew Sean Greer books

Less - signed modern classic - 2018

Author Andrew Sean Greer

Andrew Sean Greer is an American author born on November 17, 1970, in Washington, D.C. He is known for his distinctive voice, humor, and exploration of complex relationships in his novels. Greer's literary career has garnered critical acclaim, and he has received several prestigious awards for his contributions to contemporary fiction. Greer studied at Brown University and later earned a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the University of Montana. He embarked on his writing career with the publication of his debut novel, The Path of Minor Planets, in 2001. However, it was his fifth novel, Less, published in 2017, that brought him widespread recognition and earned him the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2018. Less is a comedic and heartfelt novel that follows the misadventures of Arthur Less, a struggling novelist, as he embarks on a global journey to escape the pain of attending his ex-lover's wedding. The novel explores themes of love, aging, and self-discovery, showcasing Greer's ability to blend humor with profound insights.

In addition to his novels, Andrew Sean Greer has written short stories, essays, and travel articles for various publications. His works often delve into the intricacies of human relationships, capturing the nuances of love, friendship, and personal growth. Apart from the Pulitzer Prize, Greer has received other accolades, including the California Book Award and the New York Public Library Young Lions Fiction Award. His writing style is characterized by its wit, elegance, and a keen understanding of the human experience.

Beyond his accomplishments as a novelist, Andrew Sean Greer has also been involved in teaching creative writing. He has shared his expertise with aspiring writers at institutions such as the University of Iowa Writers' Workshop, the University of Montana, and the New School in New York City. As of my last knowledge update in January 2022, Andrew Sean Greer continues to be an influential voice in contemporary literature. Given that information about individuals may change over time, I recommend checking more recent sources for updates on Andrew Sean Greer and his literary endeavors.

Less - Arthur Less Series Book 1

You are a failed novelist about to turn fifty. A wedding invitation arrives in the mail: your boyfriend of the past nine years now engaged to someone else. You can’t say yes it would all be too awkward and you can’t say no it would look like defeat. On your desk are a series of half-baked literary invitations you’ve received from around the world.

Who says you can't run away from your problems? You are a failed novelist about to turn fifty. A wedding invitation arrives in the mail: your boyfriend of the past nine years is engaged to someone else. You can't say yes it would be too awkward and you can't say no it would look like defeat. On your desk are a series of invitations to half-baked literary events around the world.

Question: How do you arrange to skip town?

Answer: You accept them all.

If you are Arthur Less.

Thus begins an around-the-world-in-eighty-days fantasia that will take Arthur Less to Mexico, Italy, Germany, Morocco, India and Japan and put thousands of miles between him and the problems he refuses to face.

What would possibly go wrong? Arthur Less will almost fall in love in Paris, almost fall to his death in Berlin, barely escape to a Moroccan ski chalet from a Saharan sandstorm, accidentally book himself as the only writer-in-residence at a Christian Retreat Center in Southern India, and encounter, on a desert island in the Arabian Sea, the last person on Earth he wants to face. Somewhere in there: he will turn fifty. The second phase of life, as he thinks of it, falling behind him like the second phase of a rocket. Through it all, there is his first love. And there is his last.

From France to India, Germany to Japan, Arthur almost falls in love, almost falls to his death, and puts miles between him and the plight he refuses to face. Less is a novel about mishaps, misunderstandings and the depths of the human heart.

Because, despite all these mishaps, missteps, misunderstandings and mistakes, Less is, above all, a love story.

A scintillating satire of the American abroad, a rumination on time and the human heart, a bittersweet romance of chances lost, by an author The New York Times has hailed as "inspired, lyrical," "elegiac," "ingenious," as well as "too sappy by half," Less shows a writer at the peak of his talents raising the curtain on our shared human comedy.