History Literature / Less

* AllegoricalCharacter: Less is an affectionate pastiche of the typical “clumsy American” abroad, and serves as a vehicle for the novel’s exploration of this trope. His journey around the world is complicated by recurring travel issues, like abrupt flight changes, language and cultural barriers, and run-ins with border officers.

* MeaningfulName: Arthur. Sounds like “author.”

--> '''TheNarrator:''' Because he is afraid of everything, nothing is harder than anything else. Taking a trip around the world is no more terrifying than buying a stick of gum. The daily dose of courage.

Less himself (scorchingly described by a poet as being [[SensitiveGuy "like a man without skin"]]) serves as both a satire of a [[FunnyForeigner somewhat hapless]] American abroad, and as a deeply relatable figure no matter what one's background is. As the story follows Arthur's journey across the world, he tries to avoid dealing with the heartbreak that sent him on the trip to begin with, and instead deals with the passing of time, the coming and going of love, and what it means to be the fool of your own narrative.

!!This novel contains examples of:

* YourCheatingHeart: How Robert and Arthur first get together.

-->[after a woman hugs Arthur and apologizes for "whatever happened to him" that made him weep at a play]
-->'''Arthur:''' ''Nothing happened to me,'' he wanted to say to her. ''Nothing happened to me. I'm just a homosexual at a Broadway show.''

--> '''Finley:''' It's not because you're a bad author. It's because you're a bad gay. It is our duty to show something beautiful from our world. The gay world. But in your books, you make the characters suffer without reward. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were Republican.
--> '''Arthur:''' *StunnedSilence*
--> '''Arthur:''' ...A bad gay?

-->'''The narrator''', describing [[TheProtagonist Arthur Less]]

* SociallyAwkwardHero: Arthur. He constantly second-guesses himself in almost everything he does (wearing a leather jacket to a Parisian party, commenting on a conversation, not asking Freddy to stay with him), gets tongue-tied easily, and often lets politeness get in the way of his needs.

* SurvivorsGuilt: Arthur, for surviving AIDS when so many men he knew didn't.