In Defense of the Comic Novel: Andrew Sean Greer Talks “Less is Lost”

In Defense of the Comic Novel: Andrew Sean Greer Talks “Less is Lost”

Arthur Less is a novelist—a “minor American novelist,” to be precise. He’s a man whose biggest talent seems to be taking a problem and making it five times worse. And he’s the hero of Andrew Sean Greer’s novel “Less,” which won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, an especially rare feat for a comic novel.

Andrew Sean Greer is now out with a sequel, “Less Is Lost,” which takes Arthur on a road trip across the U.S. He talks with the staff writer Parul Sehgal.

Plus, for thirty years, the poet Ellen Bass has taken the same walk almost every day, on West Cliff Drive, a road along the ocean in Santa Cruz, California. Friends and family have teased her for being stuck in her ways, so she wrote the poem “Ode to Repetition,” about taking the same walk, listening to the same songs, and doing the same daily tasks, as life marches toward its end. (This segment originally aired May 26, 2017.)

New Yorker Radio Hour listeners, we want to hear from you. We have a few questions about the show and how you listen to it. The survey takes about twenty minutes, and your feedback will help us make our podcast better. Take the survey here.

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Episode 29: The Missing Boater, and Robert Glasper

Episode 29: The Missing Boater, and Robert Glasper

On shows as varied as “Jessica Jones,” “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” and “Game of Thrones,” characters are confronting sexual violence in ways never shown before on television. Emily Nussbaum, The New ...

6 Maj 201655min

Episode 28: Annie Dillard, Anohni’s New Sound, and Torture in a Florida Prison

Episode 28: Annie Dillard, Anohni’s New Sound, and Torture in a Florida Prison

A former prison counsellor discusses the abuse and torture of mentally ill inmates she suspected inside a Florida correctional institution—and the emotional price she paid for staying silent. Plus, An...

29 Apr 201655min

Episode 27: Who Will Care for Our Parents, and the Election According to Teens

Episode 27: Who Will Care for Our Parents, and the Election According to Teens

In this week’s episode, the activist Ai-jen Poo envisions a happier, more affordable alternative to nursing homes, and we meet a home health aide who’s formed a remarkable bond of friendship with her ...

22 Apr 201655min

Episode 26: Syrian War Crimes, Country Music, and a Central Park Salad

Episode 26: Syrian War Crimes, Country Music, and a Central Park Salad

On this week’s show, Ben Taub shares his reporting on a group that’s gathering top-secret documents tying Bashar al-Assad’s regime to mass torture and killings, and David Remnick talks with a war-crim...

15 Apr 201655min

Episode 25:  The Ballad of a Trump Fan, and the Little Mermaid Gets Dumped

Episode 25: The Ballad of a Trump Fan, and the Little Mermaid Gets Dumped

This week, we look into the lives and careers of two giants of soul—Aretha Franklin and the late James Brown. From the campaign trail, Michael Friedman’s musical ode to a South Carolinian Trump suppor...

8 Apr 201655min

Episode 24:  Larry David, Amy Poehler, and Randy Newman

Episode 24: Larry David, Amy Poehler, and Randy Newman

This week, three highlights from The New Yorker Festival: Larry David explains why he envies his sociopathic alter ego on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” Amy Poehler describes the joys of doing comedy while n...

1 Apr 201655min

Episode 23: The Birth of Instagram, and Tunisia’s Jihadis

Episode 23: The Birth of Instagram, and Tunisia’s Jihadis

This week: Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger talks about how Instagram took over the world; the New Yorker’s cartoon editor, Bob Mankoff, shares his three favorite jokes; and George Packer reports fro...

25 Mars 201655min

Episode 22: Nate Silver on Trump Versus Cruz, and Roz Chast’s Horses

Episode 22: Nate Silver on Trump Versus Cruz, and Roz Chast’s Horses

This week: Three great political minds talk to David Remnick about the 2016 election, Roz Chast is visited by a young cartoonist who is following in her footsteps, and Hilton Als sits down with Cynthi...

18 Mars 201655min

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