Scan barcode
beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
As the title suggests, this is a book about words, more specifically those words that are not considered important enough to be compiled into the first-ever edition of the Oxford English Dictionary (OED). Since the task of compiling the OED is largely left to older white men, inevitably their ingrained biases ensure that the dictionary is skewed towards a male view of the world, and this is writ large when it comes to the male attitude to women.
In the year 1901, one of the OED's loyal fans discovered that the word "bondmaid" was missing from the dictionary. It is from this factual nugget that Pip Williams has constructed the fictional character and heroine of the novel, Esme Nicoll. The story of the novel is the story of Esme's life, covering late Victorian-era Great Britain to the First World War.
The novel was written almost entirely (
In terms of other characters, I most liked Harry, Esme's widowed father, Edith "Ditte" Thompson, Esme's mentor and mother figure, and Lizzie, a serving maid at Murray household where Esme spends her childhood and whom Esme eventually
I also had some issues with the novel's structure and pacing, which seemed uneven to me. Even though the beginning of each chapter stated the year and the month in which it was set, the time jumps could be hours, days, weeks, or even months at a time. These jumps were not always consistent, leaving me confused as to just how much time had passed between the beginning and end of a chapter. It kind of felt a bit lumpy.
Ultimately, it was the themes of this novel that I most strongly resonated with - the way certain words were defined to degrade not only by gender but by social status, the way words could come to mean more than one thing, the development of slang and curse words, and most poignantly, the inadequacy of words to describe the human experience.
This is a novel that, to me, asks two fundamental questions: Whose words matter? And almost more importantly, who gets to decide?
A moving, thought-provoking read.
Graphic: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, War, Sexism, and Grief
Moderate: Colonisation, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Sexual content, Confinement, Bullying, Blood, and Physical abuse
Minor: Alcohol, Slavery, Racism, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment
This novel takes place during the rise of the first wave of feminism in the early 20th century. It includes a discussion and descriptions ofwaytoomanybooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Classism, Medical content, War, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Abortion, and Sexism
Minor: Car accident
zombiezami's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Grief, War, Death, Gore, Police brutality, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Blood, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Medical content, and Confinement
Minor: Slavery, Abortion, Child death, Infertility, Mental illness, Colonisation, and Rape
acebooknerd_07's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Sexism, War, Death, and Mental illness
jodar's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
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.
Graphic: War, Medical trauma, and Mental illness
Moderate: Death of parent, Classism, Death, and Misogyny
bookswithsara8's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Sexism, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, War, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Classism and Abortion
thumbeleia's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Car accident, Classism, Terminal illness, War, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Confinement, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, and Child death
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual content
friendly_neighborhood_grandma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
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
mo_loves_books's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Medical content, Pregnancy, and War
st61826's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Grief, Death, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Pregnancy and Sexism
Minor: Abortion, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury