Less is a Pulitzer prize winning, slow burn of a novel, with a blindspot to the world in which it was published. It teeters on the edge of becoming a gay man's rendition of Eat, Pray, Love, as it wrestles with themes of identity, love, and fulfillment. However, Arthur Less, our protagonist, isn't engaged in soul-searching; rather, he actively avoids change throughout the entirety of the narrative.

Structured as a series of episodic failures and missteps across the globe, the novel is written from the perspective of our mysterious narrator, whom longingly forgives his transgressions, and in turn so do we. The anticipation builds until the climactic revelation: the identity of the narrator.

Which reveals the real goal of this novel a simple but effective love story.

Is Arthur Less a character we needed to have immortalized into the fabric of American literature by way of the Pulitzer? – No. But I’m glad to have read this book and enjoyed the ride the story took me on.