Reviews with content warning for War - The Dictionary of Lost Words

Reviews tagging 'War'

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

173 reviews

tiannamaher's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.75

This book is such a great representation of how words mean different things to everyone. I found it moved a little slow at parts but the plot overall is so good. Towards the end I felt all the emotions and the ending is beautiful.

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jaydeecepticon's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

3.5

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misswendy's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

This was a great one! Loved it!

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fuzzyfocus's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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rachjaki744's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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heidi_downing's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

This semi-epistolary/historical fiction novel more or less follows the bildungsroman format to tell the readers of the life of protagonist Esme. Whilst Esme is entirely a fictional creation by Williams, many characters follow true historical accuracy to real people creating an interesting insight into the past. This book has a heavy subject matter that explores life during the war but also speaks of suffrage and linguistic discrimination through the creation of the dictionary (OED). The book is most interesting in discussions of class and gender, looking at the misogynistic history of language and subsequent forgotten words. Whilst mostly slow pace, there are many moments where characters, such as townsfolk Mabel, are so deeply described that they are brought to life through the pages. This book is incredibly creative in storytelling devices, including using dictionary definitions as a plot device in heated moments to narrate. If you ever wanted to know what a 'bondmaid' is then this is the book for you.

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asienerbrown's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative medium-paced

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

4.0

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theothergrl's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.5

This is a wonderful story about womanhood. The main character feels incredibly real, not that she is a meticulously and deeply explored personality, but that she is a deeply explored woman. I think that's what made this story so heartbreaking and tearjerking, the way you find yourself in the story, how you feel deeply for every character as if they are your own dad or your own best friend. Esme leaves room for all of us within her, to experience what she does, to love and lose as she does.

The other thing I love about this book is the way it's told through the words Esme collects. Just as she's starting to explore adulthood and rebel a little, she learns vulgar words, which I loved! As we explores life -sex, love, loss, independence -we do so through the words we learn along the way, that define and make sense of our experiences. The way the story unfolds as her dictionary grows is very poignant and effective, I cried so many times reading this! This book was such a wonderful experience.

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vrg797's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

I was enthralled by the inspiration and the ideas of what words mean and sone of the early character development and relationships but later plot events, did not, for me, serve the story and left me disappointed.

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arayo's review against another edition

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informative inspiring sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

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