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The Lover Dictionary A Novel David Levithan 9780374193683 Books

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The Lover Dictionary A Novel David Levithan 9780374193683 Books

I just finished David Levithan's THE LOVER'S DICTIONARY and thrust it into the hands of the nearest person I saw, so they could love it, too. (Don't worry, I knew them, so it's okay. But I'd still probably give this book out to random people...) I don't usually post Amazon reviews but I had to talk about this book. Like, yesterday. Now, I'm familiar with David's young adult books, NICK AND NORAH, WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON, etc., and, as a children's book professional, was very curious to see how his writing would flow for the adult market. As he said at the ALA conference this past weekend, there's absolutely no difference: his are all just words in the service of a story. And the story in THE LOVER'S DICTIONARY is a great one.

Told in dictionary entries, topped by words that set the tone, DICTIONARY is about two people, one self-conscious, the other sometimes painfully not, and the course of their relationship and cohabitation in New York City. Some entries are poignant, some hilarious, some coy, some painful. From these snatches of memory and thought and feeling, a rich tapestry begins to emerge. It charts very accurately the swell of love, the pangs of betrayal, the small mishaps of the unexciting everyday moments, the lonely and numbing void left behind when feelings, and people, change.

My favorite thing a writer can do is something David did literally dozens of times in DICTIONARY. It's when a character has a thought or does something or feels a certain way...and it's so close to one of my thoughts or feelings or actions...that I have to look over my shoulder, because I swear the author has somehow reached into my head to grab a very private piece of me. Maybe it's the fact that, like his characters, I'm twentysomething and have marked my relationship status "It's Complicated" a few too many times on Facebook...maybe he's just a damn good writer...but THE LOVER'S DICTIONARY is one of those rare gems that threaten to keep me up all night, deep in thought.

Young adult author Mitali Perkins likes to talk about good books being both mirrors and windows. Mirrors, because they show you parts of yourself, something for you to relate to. They're also windows that show a reader another world or slice of life or outlook on the world. THE LOVER'S DICTIONARY was both window and mirror (but not a full-length mirror...read the book to find out...), and I give it my highest praise. My only criticism is that it was too short. I would've kept reading, with pleasure, if it had been the length of a real dictionary.


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The Lover Dictionary A Novel David Levithan 9780374193683 Books Reviews

I read this beautiful little book a few years ago. It affected me then. And I never forgot it. I recently read it again for one of my book clubs. And, this time, it literally changed me.

This time I had a basis — a groundwork of relativity — because, this time, I understood each word from the author’s perspective. This time, I had a deeper understanding of heartbreak because, since my last reading of the book, I understood love. Each page filled me with the same simplistic beauty as before but, now, I grasped the fragility of that beauty.

Tonight, as I turned that last page, I close the book on my last relationship. Not with anger, but with understanding. Not with regret, but with gratitude. I close that book having experienced my own definitions of love, and I’m reminded of that beauty because of David Levithan.
3.5 rating

If you want/need to read a book in an hour or two, this is the book for you. The sections of the book are broken up just like that of a dictionary. Each word is a different memory or fragmented story of the relationship between the narrator and his significant other, K (we are not told her name, just that it starts with that letter).

They are not all happy, and they are not all sad--just like any average relationship that has ever existed for the history of time. It is in this aspect that I both love and dislike the text. It properly mirrors the sometimes basic truths of all relationships sincerity, amorous desire, lust, deception, and sheer annoyance. All are present, always. It is in this trait that I find the book relatable, endearing even. However, I find myself reaching more for relationship texts that show me what is possible; those that show not that these annoyances are commonplace but rather that there is transcendence beyond those petty emotional responses. This dislike is an individual desire, so I do not wish to put any person off from reading this book.

There are several definitions that reminded me of relationship quirks that I could have sworn only I have shared with those I've been with. But isn't that the nature of our egoism? To think we're the only ones with quirks? Because the text showed so many aspects like this, it almost felt comforting to know we're all just as weird as everyone else. )

Overall, I found this book quite enjoyable. The vocabulary was divine, that is to say it was at my level but just enough above that I had to look up a couple of words... my favorite! It was also a mighty quick read, as I'm sure you can imagine a book of such format to be. I recommend it!
I just finished David Levithan's THE LOVER'S DICTIONARY and thrust it into the hands of the nearest person I saw, so they could love it, too. (Don't worry, I knew them, so it's okay. But I'd still probably give this book out to random people...) I don't usually post reviews but I had to talk about this book. Like, yesterday. Now, I'm familiar with David's young adult books, NICK AND NORAH, WILL GRAYSON, WILL GRAYSON, etc., and, as a children's book professional, was very curious to see how his writing would flow for the adult market. As he said at the ALA conference this past weekend, there's absolutely no difference his are all just words in the service of a story. And the story in THE LOVER'S DICTIONARY is a great one.

Told in dictionary entries, topped by words that set the tone, DICTIONARY is about two people, one self-conscious, the other sometimes painfully not, and the course of their relationship and cohabitation in New York City. Some entries are poignant, some hilarious, some coy, some painful. From these snatches of memory and thought and feeling, a rich tapestry begins to emerge. It charts very accurately the swell of love, the pangs of betrayal, the small mishaps of the unexciting everyday moments, the lonely and numbing void left behind when feelings, and people, change.

My favorite thing a writer can do is something David did literally dozens of times in DICTIONARY. It's when a character has a thought or does something or feels a certain way...and it's so close to one of my thoughts or feelings or actions...that I have to look over my shoulder, because I swear the author has somehow reached into my head to grab a very private piece of me. Maybe it's the fact that, like his characters, I'm twentysomething and have marked my relationship status "It's Complicated" a few too many times on Facebook...maybe he's just a damn good writer...but THE LOVER'S DICTIONARY is one of those rare gems that threaten to keep me up all night, deep in thought.

Young adult author Mitali Perkins likes to talk about good books being both mirrors and windows. Mirrors, because they show you parts of yourself, something for you to relate to. They're also windows that show a reader another world or slice of life or outlook on the world. THE LOVER'S DICTIONARY was both window and mirror (but not a full-length mirror...read the book to find out...), and I give it my highest praise. My only criticism is that it was too short. I would've kept reading, with pleasure, if it had been the length of a real dictionary.