Less Is Lost

Less Is Lost by Andrew Sean Greer (2022) 257 pages

Learning about Greer's newest book was like coming across a friend I had never expected to see again! Arthur Less's mentor and longtime former lover, Robert Brownburn has died. The twist is that although Brownburn seems to have given to Less the one bedroom bungalow in San Francisco that he and Less lived in, Less learns that he must pay for a decade's worth of back rent within a month, or he loses the bungalow forever. 

Thus starts off our quirky hero Less on a frenetic search for enough cash ‒ tasks which include bringing an author to an-out-town onstage event to interview him, being part of a prize committee, and traveling in the South with a troupe who has made a play out of one of Less's own books.

Meanwhile, Less's lover, Freddy, is in Maine, teaching (and later hibernating on an island), trying to make sense of his and Less's lives. We also learn more about Less's family history, his relationships with his mother, sister and mostly absentee father. And about other people named Arthur Less.

I recommend that one read the first book, Less, before reading this one, just to appreciate it all the more. Enjoyed this tremendously, and expect to reread soon, to pull out even more of the rich tidbits packaged inside so well.