1. LESS IS LOST picks up nine years after LESS, with Arthur Less and Freddy Pelu now well into their middle age. If you’ve read LESS, what is the experience like encountering these characters again at a different stage in their lives? What has changed for them? What hasn’t?

2. Less’ former “great love” is Robert Brownburn. Previously, Less was the younger, more naïve figure, and Brownburn was the older, poetic “genius” of the couple. In what ways does Less and Brownburn’s previous relationship mirror Freddy and Less’ current one in LESS IS LOST? How do their relationships differ?

3. A central theme in LESS IS LOST is processing grief through the death of Less’ previous partner. How is grief portrayed through Less and Freddy, and how does each of them struggle to cope? How can grieving a former lover affect one’s current relationship?

4. LESS IS LOST follows Less’ expansive cross-country road trip, from Palm Springs and Santa Fe to stops in Mississippi, Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and all over Delaware. What are some of your favorite descriptions of America (ex: food, setting, the locals) in the book?

5. Less’ steadfast travelling companions become a black pug, Dolly, and a camper van nicknamed Rosina. How does Greer examine the loneliness one experiences when travelling or being away from home? Have you yourself ever stumbled into an unlikely friendship or unknown territory, and what was that experience like?

6. Greer examines writerly success and financial instability through Less as a “Minor American Novelist.” What does success in your career mean to you, and does it align in any way with Greer’s perspective?

7. What were some instances when Less was confronted with questions about heritage, race and his own privilege during his road trip? How does Greer specifically challenge the theme of belonging through Less’ relationship with his father?

8. As he did in LESS, Greer explores the idea that we cannot escape ourselves in LESS IS LOST through his runaway protagonist, Arthur Less. In what ways does Less’ road trip give him clarity on his relationships, age and career? What are some questions left unanswered?

9. How did you feel reading the reveal of Freddy’s own journey at the end?

10. What are some moments or lines in the book that made you laugh out loud?