Less

With so many writers competing for the limelight, literature is deployed metaphorically as a way of accrediting perspectives or diminishing characters. For instance, Less’s first stop involves interviewing a sci-fi author whose work he considers beneath him. Though the man’s work is not as respected as Robert’s, Mandern has an army of fans and is far more financially successful than Less. Likewise, Dwyer and Lancett are both more famous than Less, but they come across as drunks or imbeciles. Despite their literary successes, they have not achieved the respect of their peers. Less uses their work to diminish their character while using the work of men like Robert to justify the high esteem in which he is held.

Less’s own identity is inextricably linked to literature. He considers himself a writer and has achieved some success in this field. As such, book sales and published novels are easy metrics by which Less can evaluate his professional successes. His first novel was well received and profitable, but each novel since has seen diminishing returns, and his publisher declines to publish his latest book. Less uses others’ works to measure their worth, and he applies this metric to himself. No one wants to read his books, ergo he is not a success, and he should not be able to identify as a writer. Even when he receives an award for his second novel, he cannot help but credit the translator. It is only when Less reevaluates himself and rewrites his latest novel that he can consider himself a success in literary terms. Though it is never revealed whether his revised novel is published, it does not matter. Less is satisfied with the rewrite’s symbolic meaning and how it affects his own self-identification.

Another important part of the literature symbol is the book itself. Less is narrated by Freddy, which introduces an interesting metatextual dimension to Less’s character. He is examined as a literary figure and treated as a protagonist, but he has a personal relationship with the narrator. The narrator is not objective and employs literary devices (namely, the novel itself) to demonstrate his affection for the protagonist. Freddy downplays the flaws for which Less is criticized; he treats Less as a sympathetic fool rather than a bleak tragic hero. Less exists both in the interior and the exterior of the novel, and the literary interplay between the real and the imagined versions of the character force the reader to question which identity is real and whether it really matters.