Less book review

Less is usually more, but that’s not always the situation.

First of all, I love the cover of the book. It tells you so much about the story just from the cover alone. There’s a guy falling out of the sky wearing this gorgeous cobalt, cerulean, whatever shade of blue you want to call it. I think it’s more of a true navy. But this suit is such a big deal in the entire book.

One of the quotes that I really love from the book is:

“It’s a funny thing to be almost 50. I feel like I just learned how to be young.”

That quote really resonates with me because, for one, I am 38 years old. I don’t look 38 years old. I don’t feel 38 years old. How am I 38 years old?

I get it, I’ve been around the sun 38 times. But I feel 18. I feel 24. I feel like I could do anything.

When I talk to nieces, nephews, and cousins who are younger than me, I’m always saying being in your 30s is having all the energy of your 20s, you just have more money. So I kind of understand why people say your 30s are your new 20s because I feel incredible.

I can’t believe I’m two years from 40 and still learning new things, still trying new things, like starting a YouTube channel. So for him to say, “I’m almost 50, but I still feel so young,” felt so on point to me.

Your mind is young, especially if you keep it sharp. Your body might start to get a little sluggish, but mentally you still feel like yourself.

So I actually read this book twice.

The first time I tried to pick it up and read it, it felt a little slow for me at the time. I think I was just too busy doing other things. The second time, I got the audiobook and loved it.

The narrator of the audiobook is fantastic. The story started coming alive to me in a completely different way.

Less Moroccan. Less Cancun. Less this. I finally got it.

I think hearing a male narrator changed the experience for me because when I’m physically reading, I’m reading in the sound of my own voice. I’m reading it as a 38-year-old woman. Hearing the narrator helped me understand Les better.

I was like, “I see where you’re coming from, Les. I get what you’re doing.”

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Another reason this quote stood out to me is because there’s a section in the book talking about time machines. No matter what time you go back to, you can never see someone before the age you met them.

So if I met you at 25, I can never picture you younger than 25. Even my fondest memories of you start there and continue through the rest of your life.

I thought that was such a good point.

This book definitely took two tries for me, but I’m really glad I stuck with it because Less was exceptional. I was cheering for Les the entire time. I was rooting for him the whole book.

And then at the end, when the father of his boyfriend has that conversation with him, you’re just sitting there thinking, “Dang, what’s going to happen with Freddie?”

So would I reread this book?

Absolutely.

My criteria for whether a book is re-readable is simple: Do I miss the characters? Do I wonder what they’re doing now? Do I think about how I’ll experience the book differently when I’m older?

With this one, absolutely yes.

I want to know what Les is doing next year. I want to know what he’s doing in ten years. I want updates on the couple that agreed to stay together for ten years and then reevaluate. I need the receipts.

That’s how I know a book stays with me.

So yes, I would definitely reread Less. The audiobook especially made the story hit differently for me the second time around.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sER-ahcBYCY

Until the next book review, 

Kyla