"We are each the love of someone's life." So begins "The Confessions of Max Tivoli," a heartbreaking love story with a narrator like no other.Born with the physical appearance of an elderly man, Max grows older mentally like any child, but his body appears to age backwards, growing younger every year. And yet, his physical curse proves to be a blessing, allowing him to try to win the heart of the same woman three times as at each successive encounter she fails to recognize him, taking him for a stranger, so giving Max another chance at love.Set against the historical backdrop of San Francisco at the turn of the twentieth century," The Confessions of Max Tivoli "is a beautiful and daring feat of the imagination, questioning the very nature of love, time, and what it means to be human.NATIONAL BESTSELLER * TODAY SHOW PICK "Enchanting"--John Updike, "The New Yorker" "Devastating, heartbreaking...an astonishment."--"Esquire ""****"--"People" "Quietly dazzling...keenly affecting."--"The New York Times Book Review" "This year's break-out novel."--"Entertainment Weekly ""A devastating new writer"-Michael Cunningham "A fable of surpassing gravity and beauty."--"San Francisco Chronicle ""One of the most talented writers around."--Michael Chabon "Elegant and graceful."--"Miami Herald ""Brilliantly conceived."--"Los Angeles Times" "A breath-taking love story...a profound meditation on life."--"Salon.com ""A writer of great daring and originality."--Peter Carey "It leaves its readers ...both younger and wiser."--"Washington Post" "What's most impressive about Greer's work is the emotional intensity...and the deep beauty of his prose"--"The Atlanta Journal Constitution ""This is the kind of bookthat makes you laugh out loud, write notes in the margins and shed tears onto its pages."--Neil LaBute "Surprisingly and genuinely affecting."--"Library Journal ""Strikingly original and beautifully told."--"Bookpage ""Weird and wonderful...[a] deft new modern master."--"Elle.com ""[It] strums the heartstrings again and again...positively captivating."--"Booklist" "Mesmerizing and heartbreaking."--"Publishers Weekly" "The delights are many....old-fashioned narrative fun in a literary hall of mirrors."--"Kirkus Review ""A mythic, Proustian romance...a brilliant story."--"The Times" (London)Andrew Sean Greer is the author of the story collection "How It Was for M"e (Picador) and most recently a novel, "The Path of Minor Planets" (Picador). He lives in San Francisco.

The awkward and lovable hero of Andrew Sean Greer's bestselling and prize-winning novel Less returns in this unforgettable road trip across America. 'Wildly, painfully funny' David Sedaris 'Unforgettable' Elizabeth Day 'The joyfulness of this book is a balm' Madeline Miller 'What a joy' Katie Kitamura For Arthur Less, life is going surprisingly well: he is a moderately accomplished novelist in a steady relationship with his partner, Freddy Pelu. But nothing lasts: the death of an old lover and a sudden financial crisis has Less running away from his problems yet again as he accepts a series of literary gigs that send him on a zigzagging adventure across the US. Less roves across the 'Mild Mild West', through the South and to his mid-Atlantic birthplace, with an ever-changing posse of writerly characters and his trusty duo - a human-like black pug, Dolly, and a rusty camper van nicknamed Rosina. He grows a handlebar mustache, ditches his signature gray suit, and disguises himself in the bolero-and-cowboy-hat costume of a true 'Unitedstatesian'... with varying levels of success, as he continues to be mistaken for either a Dutchman, the wrong writer, or, worst of all, a 'bad gay'. We cannot, however, escape ourselves - even across deserts, bayous, and coastlines. From his estranged father and strained relationship with Freddy, to the reckoning he experiences in confronting his privilege, Arthur Less must eventually face his personal demons. With all of the irrepressible wit and musicality that made Less a bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning, must-read breakout book, Less Is Lost is a profound and joyous novel about the enigma of life, the riddle of love, and the stories we tell along the way.

The awkward and lovable hero of Andrew Sean Greer's bestselling and prize-winning novel Less returns in this unforgettable road trip across America. 'Wildly, painfully funny' David Sedaris 'Unforgettable' Elizabeth Day 'The joyfulness of this book is a balm' Madeline Miller 'What a joy' Katie Kitamura For Arthur Less, life is going surprisingly well: he is a moderately accomplished novelist in a steady relationship with his partner, Freddy Pelu. But nothing lasts: the death of an old lover and a sudden financial crisis has Less running away from his problems yet again as he accepts a series of literary gigs that send him on a zigzagging adventure across the US. Less roves across the 'Mild Mild West', through the South and to his mid-Atlantic birthplace, with an ever-changing posse of writerly characters and his trusty duo - a human-like black pug, Dolly, and a rusty camper van nicknamed Rosina. He grows a handlebar mustache, ditches his signature gray suit, and disguises himself in the bolero-and-cowboy-hat costume of a true 'Unitedstatesian'... with varying levels of success, as he continues to be mistaken for either a Dutchman, the wrong writer, or, worst of all, a 'bad gay'. We cannot, however, escape ourselves - even across deserts, bayous, and coastlines. From his estranged father and strained relationship with Freddy, to the reckoning he experiences in confronting his privilege, Arthur Less must eventually face his personal demons. With all of the irrepressible wit and musicality that made Less a bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning, must-read breakout book, Less Is Lost is a profound and joyous novel about the enigma of life, the riddle of love, and the stories we tell along the way.

In the follow-up to the bestselling and Pulitzer Prize-winning Less, the awkward and lovable Arthur Less returns in an unforgettable road trip across America.

For Arthur Less, life is going surprisingly well: he is a moderately accomplished novelist in a steady relationship with his partner, Freddy Pelu. But nothing lasts: the death of an old lover and a sudden financial crisis has Less running away from his problems yet again as he accepts a series of literary gigs that send him on a zigzagging adventure across the US.

Less roves across the 'Mild Mild West', through the South and to his mid-Atlantic birthplace, with an ever-changing posse of writerly characters and his trusty duo - a human-like black pug, Dolly, and a rusty camper van nicknamed Rosina. He grows a handlebar mustache, ditches his signature gray suit, and disguises himself in the boleroand- cowboy-hat costume of a true 'Unitedstatesian'... with varying levels of success, as he continues to be mistaken for either a Dutchman, the wrong writer, or, worst of all, a 'bad gay'.

We cannot, however, escape ourselves - even across deserts, bayous, and coastlines. From his estranged father and strained relationship with Freddy, to the reckoning he experiences in confronting his privilege, Arthur Less must eventually face his personal demons. With all of the irrepressible wit and musicality that made Less a bestselling, Pulitzer Prize-winning, must-read breakout book, Less Is Lost is a profound and joyous novel about the enigma of life in America, the riddle of love, and the stories we tell along the way.

WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION 2018

'You will sob little tears of joy' Nell Zink

'I recommend it with my whole heart' Ann Patchett

'I adore this book' Armistead Maupin

'Charming, languid and incredibly funny, I absolutely adored Arthur' Jenny Colgan

'Marvellously, endearingly, unexpectedly funny' Gary Shteyngart

'Bedazzling, bewitching and be-wonderful' New York Times Book Review

'A fast and rocketing read . . . a wonderful, wonderful book!' Karen Joy Fowler

'Hilarious, and wise, and abundantly funny' Adam Haslett

WHO SAYS YOU CAN'T RUN AWAY FROM YOUR PROBLEMS?

Arthur Less is a failed novelist about to turn fifty. A wedding invitation arrives in the post: it is from an ex-boyfriend of nine years who is engaged to someone else. Arthur can't say yes - it would be too awkward; he can't say no - it would look like defeat. So, he begins to accept the invitations on his desk to half-baked literary events around the world.

From France to India, Germany to Japan, Arthur almost falls in love, almost falls to his death, and puts miles between him and the plight he refuses to face. Less is a novel about mishaps, misunderstandings and the depths of the human heart.

After the death of her beloved twin brother, Felix, and the breakup with her longtime lover, Nathan, Greta Wells embarks on a radical psychiatric treatment to alleviate her suffocating depression. But the treatment has unexpected effects, and the Greta of 1985 finds herself transported to remarkably similar lives in different eras--as a bohemian and adulteress in 1918, and a devoted wife and mother in 1941--fraught with familiar tensions and difficult choices.

Traveling through time, the modern Greta learns that each reality has its own losses and rewards, and that her alternate selves are unpredictable, driven by their own desires and needs. And as the final treatment looms, one of these other selves could change everything.

Magically atmospheric, achingly romantic, The Impossible Lives of Greta Wells beautifully imagines "what if" and wondrously wrestles with the impossibility of what could be.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less. 'Here is a writer of great daring and originality . . . Max Tivoli may even make you cry.' Peter Carey Max Tivoli is writing the story of his life. He is nearly seventy years old, but he looks as if he is only seven - for Max is ageing backwards. The tragedy of Max's life was to fall in love at seventeen with Alice, a girl his own age - but to her, Max looks like an unappealingly middle-aged man. But when Max reaches the age of thirty-five, with an appearance to match, he has his second chance at love. But happiness eludes this star-crossed couple, and desperate measures are required.

From the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Less. 'A riveting and fascinating novel full of stunning observations and brilliant moments of truth and sympathy.' Colm Toibin It is 1953, and in San Francisco Pearlie, a dutiful housewife, finds herself caring for both her husband's fragile health and her polio-afflicted son. Then one morning someone from her husband's past appears on their doorstep. His arrival throws all the certainties by which Pearlie has lived into doubt, and is brought face to face with the desperate measures people are prepared to take to escape the confines of their lives.

It is 1985, and Greta Wells wishes she lived in any time but this one: she has lost her brother to AIDS, her lover Nathan to another woman, and can not seem to go on alone. To ease her sadness, her doctor suggest an unusual procedure, one that opens doors of insight into the relationships in her life, her conflicting affections, and the limitations put on a woman's life. Throughout, Greta glimpses versions of war, history, herself, and the people she loves, and as the procedures come to an end, she realizes she must make a choice: one which will close every door but one, forever.

In 1965, on a small island in the South Pacific, a group of astronomers gather to witness the passing of a comet, but when a young boy dies during a meteor shower, the lives of the scientists and their loved ones change in subtle yet profound ways. Denise struggles for respect in her professional life, married Eli becomes increasingly attracted to Denise and her quixotic mind, and young Lydia attempts to escape the scientists' long-casting shadows. Andrew Sean Greer's remarkable and sweeping first novel is an exploration of chances taken and lost, of love found and broken, and of time's subtle gravitational pull on the lives of everyday and extraordinary people.

A collection of the year's best short stories, selected by Pulitzer Prize winner Andrew Sean Greer and series editor Heidi Pitlor. Andrew Sean Greer, "an exceptionally lovely writer, capable of mingling humor with sharp poignancy" (Washington Post), selects twenty stories out of thousands that represent the best examples of the form published the previous year.

"A "Today Show "Summer Reads Pick"

A "Washington Post "Book of the Year
"We think we know the ones we love." So Pearlie Cook begins her indirect, and devastating exploration of the mystery at the heart of every relationship--how we can ever truly know another person.

It is 1953 and Pearlie, a dutiful young housewife, finds herself living in the Sunset District in San Francisco, caring not only for her husband's fragile health, but also for her son, who is afflicted with polio. Then, one Saturday morning, a stranger appears on her doorstep, and everything changes. Lyrical, and surprising, "The Story of a Marriage" is, in the words of Khaled Housseini, "a book about love, and it is a marvel to watch Greer probe the mysteries of love to such devastating effect." Andrew Sean Greer is the bestselling author of "The Confessions of Max Tivoli," the story collection "How It Was for Me," and the novel "The Path of Minor Planets." He lives in San Francisco, California. Longlisted for the International IMPAC Literary AwardA "Financial Times" Best Book of the YearA "San Francisco Chronicle" Best Book of the Year
"We think we know the ones we love." So Pearlie Cook begins her indirect and devastating exploration of the mystery at the heart of every relationship--how we can ever truly know another person.
It is 1953 and Pearlie, a dutiful young housewife, lives in the Sunset district of San Francisco, caring not only for her older husband in his fragile health but also for her son, who is afflicted with polio. Then, on a Saturday morning, a stranger comes to her doorstep and offers her $100,000 if she will leave her marriage, her family, and her life behind. All the certainties by which Pearlie has lived are thrown into doubt. For six months in 1953, young Pearlie Cook struggles to understand the world around her, most especially her husband, Holland.
Pearlie's story is a meditation not only on love but also on the effects of war--with one war just over and another one in Korea coming to a close. Set in a climate of fear and repression--political, sexual, and racial--"The Story of a Marriage" portrays three people trapped by the confines of their era, and the desperate measures they are prepared to take to escape it. Lyrical and surprising, "The Story of a Marriage" looks back at a period that we tend to misremember as one of innocence and simplicity.

""The Story of a Marriage" is just that, the chronicle of one marriage, closely and elegantly examined . . . a plot that deepens as surprises explode unexpectedly and terrifyingly . . . It's thoughtful, complex and exquisitely written."--Carolyn See, "The Washington Post
""A timeless story of conflicting loyalties, "The Story of a Marriage" has roots in the fiction of Poe's era, but, fittingly enough, its plot is firmly anchored in the vividly described America of the early 1950s--a seemingly serene era whose submerged social, racial and political tensions would soon create their own disruptions and upheavals."--Maggie Scarf, "The New York Times Book Review
""From the beginning of this inspired, lyrical novel, the reader is pulled along by the attentive voice of Pearlie, a young African-American woman who travels west to San Francisco in search of a better life after growing up in a rural Kentucky town . . . Mr. Greer's considerable gifts as a storyteller ascend to the heights of masters like Marilynne Robinson and William Trevor. In the hands of a lesser writer this narrative might have stumbled into a literary derivation of Annie Proulx's now famous short story 'Brokeback Mountain.' But instead Mr. Greer creates a moving story that is all his own via an intimate view of Pearlie's world, which has spun off its axis . . . Mr. Greer seamlessly choreographs an intricate narrative that speaks authentically to the longings and desires of his characters."--S. Kirk Walsh, "The New York Times
""'We think we know the ones we love, ' begins Andrew Sean Greer's bewitching third novel, "The Story of a Marriage," a book whose linguistic prowess and raw storytelling power is almost disruptive to the reader. It's too good to put down and yet each passage is also too good to leave behind . . . Greer's short novel feels admirably worked over--like a long-simmered sauce. He near-brilliantly juxtaposes the nuances of love, sexual awakening and the sometimes suffocating sacrifices marriage demands against broader cultural observations about political turmoil, the physical and emotional effects of war, sexual repression and racism . . . His book is a perfect mix of what we seek from literature--captivating storytelling; a complex, finely tuned structure; stunning language; and astute observations about both the mundane intricacies of everyday relationships and society as a whole. Indeed, "The Story of a Marriage" is as much a war story as it is a love story."--Deborah Vankin, "Los Angeles"" Times Book Review
""The cleverest aspect of "The Story of a Marriage" is the way Greer uses the little dramas of private individuals to enact and embody the abstract political and social concerns of the country at large. In Greer's novel, the lack of understanding between individuals, and our failure to grasp that very lack of understanding--the idea that, as Pearlie states more than once, 'We think we know the ones we love'--is made to stand for the lack of understanding between different communities within American society. The idea that 'what we love turns out to be a poor translation, ' for instance, is later brought back in a very different and much broader context . . . "The Story of a Marriage" is the story of an entire country of people who cannot speak to or hear one another. Pearlie's husband, Holland, remains an enigma not only to her but also to the reader. Indeed, he rarely appears in the book, and when he is onstage, he does little. One comes to believe that he is one of those people whose presence is so minimal that one is never certain whether he is even in the room. He is, in a sense, the center of the book, the one whose actions set everything in motion, yet we never witness those actions directly and instead only hear about them, and the center feels like a hollow void. And Pearlie, too, seems somehow absent, as if, despite her role as first-person narrator, her real conversation with herself is taking place on a level to which we have no real access. (Though then again, perhaps it is Pearlie herself who has no access to her real thoughts and feelings.) . . . Greer's focus in this novel is on those members of that generation who stayed on these shores, many of whom in their various ways suffered tremendously, sufferings that, in keeping with the book's overall theme, frequently proved incomprehensible to others. Wives and girlfriends, mothers and fathers, draft dodgers, conscientious objectors (referred to in the slang of the day as 'conchies'), all of these had their own particular stories of misery, heartbreak, isolation and occasionally madness. But these stories were often too painful, too terrible to tell. And even when their bearers managed to find the strength of will to articulate them, what they all too often found was that there was no one who would listen."--Troy Jollimore, "San Francisco Chronicle
""You could say that Andrew Sean Greer is back at it again, cleverly telling tales with his elegant sleight-of-hand. His last novel

In 1965, on a small island in the South Pacific, a group of astronomers gather to witness the passing of a comet, but when a young boy dies during a meteor shower, the lives of the scientists and their loved ones change in subtle yet profound ways. Denise struggles for respect in her professional life, married Eli becomes increasingly attracted to Denise and her quixotic mind, and young Lydia attempts to escape the scientists’ long-casting shadows. Andrew Sean Greer’s remarkable and sweeping first novel is an exploration of chances taken and lost, of love found and broken, and of time’s subtle gravitational pull on the lives of everyday and extraordinary people.

In the title story of this collection, neighborhood boys crouch in a backyard toolshed, and conspire to prove their piano teachers to be witches. In "Cannibal Kings," a disillusioned young man accompanies a troubled boy on a tour of prep schools through the Pacific Northwest, only to realize that he has lost his way in life. And in "Come Live With Me And Be My Love," a middle-aged gentleman looks back at his mannered early life as a Ivy Leaguer, married to a vivacious woman but silently yearning for his best friend -- and the sacrifices that each made to uphold their compromising bargain.

With a classic storyteller's gift for nuance and understanding, and a poet's grace for language, Andrew Sean Greer makes a remarkable debut with How It Was For Me.