Less

I described this book in a way I've never described another novel.

It was lovely.

Does that make me sound like an old British lady? Maybe. But, it's fitting for this story of a man traveling the world to outrun the problems in his life. It's sweet, funny, touching and thoroughly enjoyable. And, it won a damn Pulitzer Prize.

Less is actually Arthur Less, a mediocre novelist about to turn 50 who was also just invited to his ex-boyfriend's wedding. He needs to escape. So, he combines a bunch of random adventures into a trip around the world, all the while thinking about all he's left behind back home.

"I am fear of the old. I am fear of the lonely."

That line, in Arthur's badly translated German, sums up the crisis in which Less is knee-deep. He feels his best years are behind him. He knows he screwed up a chance at lasting love. Yet, through his trips to Mexico, Germany, India and Morocco, Less gets what he didn't know he's been searching for: perspective.

This book is funny in a very sweet way. I found myself initially annoyed with Less and the way he feels so sorry for himself. But, his adventurous misadventures only endear you to him. By the end, you're desperate for Less to find happiness - or at least for him to realize that it's been all around him all along.

It was a surprisingly quick read and a thoughtful tale of youth and what happens when you finally realize what Billy Joel made clear in a song all those years ago. "The good ol' days weren't always good and tomorrow ain't as bad as it seems."

I finished this book with a warm feeling and a smile, as Less makes it back home. He has a clear Dorothy Gale moment, after his epic trip abroad. "If I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I'll look no further than my own backyard," Dorothy said. "Because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with."

See what I mean? Simply lovely.