Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - The Liar's Dictionary

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The Liar's Dictionary by Eley Williams

9 reviews

mattiedancer's review

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emotional hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Writing: 4.75⭐️/5

Eley Williams writes with fascinating control and ease. I thoroughly enjoyed how our two main characters thought about and used language, given how in love with language they both were. At very small moments, I do think the writing became a bit too much, but these moments were so short and fleeting that it really didn’t matter.

Characters: 5⭐️/5

I really loved both main characters. Williams extended the depth and arcs she crafted towards her side characters as well, giving them a fullness that was wonderful to read.

Plot: 4.75⭐️/5

The plot is deceptively simple and suddenly explosive, leading up to an exciting ending that was unexpected but not unwelcome. I did feel that a portion of Peter Winceworth’s plot happened a little too quickly, as though to match the pace of Mallory’s story, which was winding to a close. I would have enjoyed a bit more time there to build to the ending.

Who Should Read This Book?

Fans of literary reads
Fans of dictionary-based fiction
Fans of learning new words and discussions about language
Someone looking for a good read with decadent language and stunning, well-developed characters.

Content Warnings?

Homophobia, lesbophobia, biphobia, fire, fire injury, injury, injury detail, ableism, sexual content, bullying, animal cruelty, medical content, infidelity, blood, outing, hate crime, emotional abuse, alcohol

Post-Reading Rating: 4.75⭐️/5

What an unexpected ending, and yet, so right.

Final Rating: 4.75⭐️/5

Content Warnings

that_boi_eliza's review against another edition

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mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

erinbrenner's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

dananana's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Content Warnings

colourfulthreads's review against another edition

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funny informative lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

A wonderful read for lives of words and dictionaries. The two main characters are lovers of words who find themselves working at a dictionary publishing house, one in 1899 and one in modern times. The story really did seem an opportunity for the author to fit in philosophical musings about dictionaries, words, their meanings and how they change over time, and the formation and capture of language. The mastery the concepts is evident in the storytelling, combined with some quirky characters, and at least one interesting plot line, make this an enjoyable vacation read.

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clarabooksit's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Content Warnings

pagesfromhome's review against another edition

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funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

It took me a long time to get through this one because it took me a long time to get invested in the characters. It's a very internal-heavy book, and I found myself sometimes thrown by how sesquipedalian it is. (Yes, that joke was on purpose because that's what most of this book feels like.) It's not inherently wrong, but if you aren't a fan of looking up words or parsing out definitions from context clues, this one isn't for you. By about halfway through the book, I really got into its groove, and it only took me a day or two to finish it from there. The characters run the gamut of quirky, dangerous, sad, and more, but you really do care for them by the end.

I really loved the connections between the two time periods, and I did find myself taking tons of notes and highlighting them throughout. These moments were sprinkled in like breadcrumbs that made me invested in keeping up through the book. I also loved how often I was highlighting perfect quotes, like:

Some things just are possible to know to be true for no good reason.

I was a person of anxieties rather than anything.

It is a colour that leads you to believe that if you were ever moved to lick the photograph it would taste of toffee and bourbon and bookshop dust.

I would recommend this to anyone who really, really loves words and is up for a slow-moving, internal-almost-monologue-like story. I think it would be a good one to read during a stuck inside kind of storm when you're in the mood for something intellectual.

Content Warnings

questingnotcoasting's review against another edition

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funny informative medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was a very strange book. There are two separate storylines, both of which move fairly slowly apart from a few absurd events. I was often reading it for the clever wordplay rather than the plot, which I didn't mind but I was expecting the storylines to come together more substantially at the end. I did enjoy having no idea what would happen next and I think it was worth reading for the language aspects alone, because some of the words featured were fascinating.

Content Warnings

chandle5's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.75

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