Book Club Discussion Questions
Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
-
Less Is Lost picks up nine years after Less, with Arthur Less and Freddy Pelu now well into their middle age. If you've read Less, what is the experience like encountering these characters again at a different stage in their lives? What has changed for them? What hasn't?
-
Less's former "great love" is Robert Brownburn. Previously, Less was the younger, more naïve figure and Brownburn was the older, poetic "genius" of the couple. In what ways does Less and Brownburn's previous relationship mirror Freddy and Less's current one in Less Is Lost? How do their relationships differ?
-
A central theme in Less Is Lost is processing grief through the death of Less's
previous partner. How is grief portrayed through Less and Freddy, and how does each
of them struggle to cope? How can grieving a former lover affect one's current relationship?
-
Less Is Lost follows Less's expansive cross-country road trip, from Palm Springs and Santa Fe to stops in Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia, and all over
Delaware. What are some of your favorite descriptions of America (ex: food, setting,
the locals) in the book?
-
Less's steadfast travelling companions become a black pug, Dolly, and a camper van
nicknamed Rosina. How does Greer examine the loneliness one experiences when
travelling or being away from home? Have you yourself ever stumbled into an unlikely
friendship or unknown territory, and what was that experience like?
-
Greer examines writerly success and financial instability through Less as a "Minor
American Novelist." What does success in your career mean to you, and does it align in
any way with Greer's perspective?
Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Little Brown & Company. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.
.png)
