My review of Less, the 2018 winner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction #MondayBlogs #PulitzerPrize #PulitzerPrizeChallenge #AmReading #BookReview
Iβm back from my vacation (boo!) during which I managed to read two Pulitzer Prize winning novels (Less and The Road). Long flights are ideal reading time β at least to me β the hubby likes to watch movie after movie unless heβs wrapped up like a mummy sleeping. I finished Less on my flight to the U.S. Although Iβve had nearly three weeks to think about this review, Iβm still unsure about how I would rate the novel.
Less is a difficult novel for me to review as Iβd never have picked this novel up if it werenβt for my Pulitzer Prize Challenge. The description didnβt interest me much. Hereβs the blurb direct from Amazon:
As a woman approaching fifty at the speed of light and a writer who has yet to meet success, Iβm not interested in reading about someone else having the same sort of problems I am. Frankly, it sounds rather depressing. But reviewers better than myself have promised Iβll find the novel βbedazzlingβ, βhilariousβ, βunexpectedly funnyβ, and all other sorts of glowing descriptions. While I didnβt hate Less, I certainly wasnβt bedazzled.
Letβs start with Arthur Less himself. I donβt dislike Less, but I canβt say I liked him either, because it feels as if thereβs nothing there. Heβs just bumbling around as if he doesnβt know his own mind. Somehow, amidst this bumbling, he always lands in someoneβs bed. It doesnβt appear as if he needs to make any efforts whatsoever to find a bed buddy. This typifies Arthurβs character. He doesnβt actually plan anything, and somehow just ends up in a different place. For someone who sets an alarm to make sure sheβs never late for an appointment, Less was a baffling man.
My sense of humor may need an update as well, as I didnβt find the novel hilarious or funny. There were a few scenes when he was in Berlin, which did cause me to snicker a bit. I enjoyed the witty remarks about Arthurβs proficiency in German (spoiler alert: he wasnβt proficient at all). My most common response to the novel was not a snicker but a sigh as Less found himself in another unexpected but somehow predictable situation. *Sigh*
My biggest issue with the novel was the point of view. It was rather disruptive. At times, the narrator would tell us insights about Less, and then the narrator would disappear for a few chapters β only to reappear when Iβd forgotten about him. I found it annoying. We donβt learn who the narrator is until the end of the novel (although itβs not exactly a surprise).
At some point, I did find myself reading faster and faster as I needed Lessβs situation to be resolved. He couldnβt continue to flounce around the world forever! He couldnβt re-write his novel until the end of time! Luckily, Less is resolved at the end with a neat little bow.
Next week, Iβll be reviewing The Road from Cormac McCarthy.
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