Less (Winner of the Pulitzer Prize): A Novel (The Arthur Less Books Book 1)

Arthur Less, a struggling novelist approaching fifty, receives a wedding invitation from his ex-boyfriend of nine years, who is now engaged to someone else. Unable to accept or decline without awkwardness, Less decides to accept a series of literary event invitations around the world to avoid the wedding. His journey takes him through Paris, Berlin, Morocco, Southern India, and the Arabian Sea, where he nearly falls in love, almost falls to his death, barely escapes a sandstorm, and unexpectedly encounters someone from his past. Throughout these travels and mishaps, Less turns fifty. The novel is structured as a satire of Americans abroad and a meditation on time and the human heart. It explores themes of lost chances and romance, while ultimately functioning as a love story that examines shared human experience and comedy.