(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Thursday Morning Open Thread - Reading Less [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2023-08-31

<drnick> Hi, everybody! </drnick>

Morning Open Thread is a daily, copyrighted post from a host of editors and guest writers. We support our community, invite and share ideas, and encourage thoughtful, respectful dialogue in an open forum. Join us, please.

Today, I’m writing about the Pulitzer Prize-winning book Less, by Andrew Sean Greer. As a First World Problems novel, it is a different sort of literary experience, but I think the social dynamics it depicts and the delicacy of the romance presented are worth a closer look.

The basic structure of the novel is an omniscient travelogue of a middle-aged gay author who is attempting to ignore his long-time lover inviting him to his marriage to another man. The author’s journey spans several continents, an awards ceremony, an effort to write a new book, illness, and strange coincidence.

I suspect that there may be a generation gap with this book having to do with the extent to which the whims of fate and cosmic coincidence play central parts in the storytelling of a novel that is itself the narration of a writer retooling a finished novel. This may seem unbearably meta to some, but to me it has some of the air of Midnight’s Children, though its plot is much less fraught and complex. If you’re not interested in reading the description of a panic attack during an awards ceremony, this book will hold little interest to you.

I found the complexity of the main character compelling, the travel adventures held my interest, the closing chapter (set in Japan) felt exceedingly well-structured and paced, and the ending was touching and beautiful. The process of exploring, for example, the slow decline and ultimate ceasing of his efforts to use his exercise equipment during the course of his journey conveyed the emotional struggle of self-improvement amidst material prosperity quite well, and is the sort of set piece that conveys insight no matter at what life experience you read it.

I am quite skeptical about the benefits of traveling the world, but this book did a good job of persuading me that there would be value to seeing the world and empathizing with people living their normal lives in a different way than us.

Anyway — ladies, gentlemen, and others: have at it. Enjoy your beverage of choice!

Nena — 99 Luftballons

Culture Club — Karma Chameleon

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/31/2190327/-Thursday-Morning-Open-Thread-Reading-Less

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/