Friday, February 4, 2011

Book Review: "The Lover's Dictionary" by David Levithan



Boy, did I love this book. It really made me sad when I finished it, although I raced through it like crazy. Written as dictionary entries, each definition unfurls a little bit about the story of a relationship (although not in chronological order) that has its ups and downs. For example:

autonomy, n.
"'I want my books to have their own shelves,' you said, and that's how I knew it would be okay to live together."

This is funny, poignant, thought-provoking and tremendously intriguing. I wanted to know more about this couple because the dictionary entries only paint part of the picture. I felt like I had so much information at my disposal but yet yearned for more, which is a testament to David Levithan's incredible writing talent and his use of language.

In thinking about this book, I was struck by Levithan's own words from the book: "Trying to write about love is ultimately like trying to have a dictionary represent life. No matter how many words there are, there will never be enough."

There certainly weren't enough words in this book for me. It is a fantastically creative and quirky book. Read it.

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