Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

5 reviews

purplepenning's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, War, and Classism

Moderate: Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Death, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Alcohol, Child abuse, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Cursing, and Forced institutionalization

friendly_neighborhood_grandma's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I loved this so much. This book follows the life of Esme Nicoll, and her connection yo words, people and especially women and their experiences. This book is incredibly detailed, canning and engrossing. I loved every minute of it. I would recommend this to anyone who is interested in words and their direct and hidden meanings, and would like to feel what it's like to live in victorian times as an ordinary woman. Amazing book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Grief, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexism, Death, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Ableism, Abandonment, Classism, Cursing, and Slavery

Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Alcohol, Body horror, Police brutality, Sexual content, and Cursing

joshuamartinsen's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-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

5.0

This book is PERFECT. It does exactly what it says in the blurb, but so much more. The author is SO intentional about which words are used and when- carefully choosing which details of the protagonists life to gloss over and which to explore in painstaking detail based on their significance to her at each point in her life. The use of time skips was so thoughtful, and i found they always fast-tracked me to exactly where I wanted to be. Can’t recommend this book enough, and the attention to detail and care that the author put into it is obvious in every word, paragraph, page, and chapter. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Classism, Cursing, and Death

Minor: Forced institutionalization, Blood, Child abuse, and Police brutality

jhbandcats's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

When I finish a really good book I feel wiped out. I've been absorbed by the story and I’ve made friends with the characters and it's hard to say goodbye. Well, that's how I feel right now. This was SUCH a good book. It was gentle and intriguing, with lovable, flawed characters who were burdened by grief and sexism and classism. 

I have always loved words so I identified with Esme, the main character, the one who, starting as a child, begins to collect the words that men don’t feel are appropriate for their dictionary. She keeps her secret stash of words in a trunk hidden under her friend Lizzie’s bed. But Lizzie isn’t an ordinary friend, she’s a servant who’s tasked with taking care of Esme, a classist situation that bewilders Esme as she learns women’s places in the world of Victorian England. 

I found the relationship between these two, and Esme’s relationship with her beloved father and her adored godmother, to be the backbone of the story. There was so much love in this book, love of family and friends and, above all, words. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Sexism, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and War

mattiedancer's review against another edition

hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

Writing: 5⭐️/5 

Genuinely some of the most beautiful writing I’ve read in a bit. Part of the reason the writing felt so gorgeous was definitely the focus on words and their definitions, and yet a lot of the writing was thoroughly developed in a way that did much to show without telling. While being slow-paced, I never felt bored or confused. 

Characters: 5⭐️/5

While I didn’t love every character, they all felt real. People who annoyed our MC, Esme, weren’t forced to annoy us in contrived ways. Instead, their characters grated against hers in a natural way. Characters who our MC loved were given consistent personalities and were thrown into situations in which they were required to react. 

Plot: 5⭐️/5 

It’s a simple story: a young girl grows up watching her father help build the dictionary and chooses that life for herself. And yet, the depth in which Williams is able to apply other themes and subplots into such a simple story is masterfully done. The inclusion of the rise of feminism, the faults of new movements, the coming-of-age aspects from a woman’s perspective, and the harsh realities of life and death were adeptly handled.  

Post-Reading Rating:  5⭐️/5

Oh, how sad and wonderful. 

Who Should Read This? 

• Fans of historical fiction
• Word-lovers and feminists
• Those looking for a slow coming-of-age story that evolves into a story about life in general

CW: Pregnancy, adoption, death, war, violence, trauma, abuse, misogyny, classism 

Final Rating: 5⭐️/5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Death, Bullying, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Sexism, Death of parent, Child death, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Blood, Misogyny, Classism, and Abortion

Moderate: Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Self harm