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

I’m glad to have read this novel, though it feels uneven.

I enjoyed the gentle, loving daughter–father relationship, the friendships the MC Esme has with her aunts and her ‘bondmaid’, and the ways in which Esme gradually learns more about the world and herself as she grows from childhood to adulthood. I’d never say no to nerdish lexicography, either!

Confronting are overarching themes of absence – the absence of significant people, the denial of just recognition and rights – and profound loss – of loved ones and even mental capacity to cope. Confronting, yes, but with a feeling of truth in the lives lived at that time.

The attitudes of many of the characters, however, feel a bit anachronistic, more those of the liberal intelligentsia of the late 20th or early 21st century than those of the middle class of the late Victorian and Edwardian periods. The ending too feels forced, trying to draw a connection between the lexicographical efforts of 100 years or more ago in the U.K. and the efforts of the writer’s modern-day Australia to restore a healthy relationship with Aboriginal peoples.

By the end I think we are supposed to feel comforted by the progress humanity can achieve between the sexes, social classes and ethnic groups through the endeavours of individuals of honest goodwill. But what I came away from the novel with was loss, sadness and the ultimate emptiness of human striving alone.

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eleanor029's review against another edition

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emotional informative medium-paced

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

4.0

I like this book a lot. I could tell that the author did a lot of research and put a lot of effort into it. At times I lost my enthusiasm when the plot got slow, but in the end it was so worth it. Honestly, the last quarter of the book brought it all together and was the best part. I would totally recommend this to any language nerd.

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stagemanaginger's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative reflective 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? It's complicated

4.0

It’s a well written book following the life of a woman from early childhood to death surrounded by words in the late 1800s/early 1900s. The characters were enjoyable and I’ve never thought much about the erasure of words commonly spoken by women from early dictionaries before so that was an interesting rabbit hole to go down. I spent the first 2/3 of the book waiting for something big or noteworthy to happen, but it really was just the story of a woman’s life. Which was still worthwhile to read, but not as exciting as I had hoped it would be.

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