Less Is Lost

Greer suggests that it’s imperative to accept who we really are, and that it’s never too late to learn this crucial lesson.

Arthur feels out of place everywhere he goes. Even in his home country, he feels like a foreigner. America is so wide and diverse that it’s easy to experience each state as its own subculture of codes and styles. Arthur believes himself uniquely out of place, more so because he is socially uncomfortable and shy, and sees America like a foreign country that he needs to learn to be a part of. Greer highlights that adaptation is not about assimilation, but about feeling comfortable in one’s own skin, regardless of the setting. Arthur is a transplant to California. San Francisco became his home, mostly because of the people there and the treasured shack that informs his sense of self and stability. Arthur refused to stay where he was brought up and is constantly in search of a version of himself that feels like home.

Although Arthur has long accepted and embraced his identity as a gay man, he worries about being exposed in different settings. This speaks to society’s homophobia. Arthur doesn’t feel comfortable in new places because he doesn’t know if people will accept his sexuality or revile him. Arthur disguises himself as a caricature of straight masculinity while touring the South, but this only makes his sexuality more obvious to people. In this way, Greer demonstrates that it’s important to be yourself—anything else is inauthentic.

Arthur grapples with self-doubt. We see this when Finley accuses Arthur of being a “bad gay.” Rather than dismiss Finley, Arthur feels self-conscious. It’s obvious to Arthur that something about him strikes others as obviously different. What could this be? And ultimately, does it matter? These are questions that Greer poses to his readers, encouraging them to see the absurdity in allowing others to question the things we most intimately know about ourselves.

Greer suggests that we also must accept others for who they are. Though decades have passed since his father’s abandonment, Arthur still struggles to understand why and how he left the family. Now that Lawrence wants to be back in Arthur’s life, Arthur must extend some grace and accept him for who he is, even though Lawrence has hurt him. Arthur can’t change Lawrence, and Greer suggests he shouldn’t. Forgiveness comes from acceptance; Arthur must accept who Lawrence is so he can forgive him and move on with his life.

The title of the novel, Less Is Lost, suggests both physical and spiritual struggle. Arthur is lost on a journey, but he is also lost within himself. Ultimately, Arthur is happiest when he is loved in return. His reunion with Freddy indicates that he has found himself again.