David Levithan
The Lover’s Dictionary
211 pages
Publication Date: January 4, 2011
Publisher: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux
Source: Library
Exacerbate, v
I believe your exact words were: “You’re getting too emotional.”
The Lover’s Dictionary is a book I’ve wanted to read for months before I was finally able to get my hands on it. I first heard about it last year through a few bloggers. I placed it on my TBR list and waited for what felt like forever to get a copy. Luckily my library came through for me.
The book is the story of two unnamed lovers, how they met, and their relationship through the years. Told through dictionary-like entries, The Lover’s Dictionary is really a breath of fresh air from what readers are used to when it comes to novels and their structures.
There’s so much to enjoy about this book. First there are the little entries that make up this couple’s relationship. At just 211 pages long, the author is able to tell us just enough about this couple to keep us satisfied. I love how readers don’t get to know their names, ages, or even what they look like. That’s up to our imaginations. In one of the reviews I read about this book, the blogger loved how even the gender of this couple could be questioned. We don’t know really know if this couple is a same-sex or not. I imagined them as a being a guy and a girl because of a fight that’s mentioned in the book.
One of my favorite entries in the book:
Qualm, n
There is no reason to make fun of me for flossing twice a day.
I highly recommend this book. If you haven’t read Nick and Norah’s Playlist which is also another great book written by Leviathan which he co-authored with Rachel Coh, I suggest you add that to your tbr list too.