Reviews

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

kmanhart's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.75

I so badly want to give this book a 5⭐️ because I think it was a wonderful cozy read. However; there are some things that I think (for me) are going to deter me from giving it a full 5. 
1. The pacing was a little all over the place, I recognize that this book spans decades but some parts were so drawn out where other MAJOR parts were glossed over so quickly . 
2. A few times there would be a multiple day, or 3 week time jump right in the middle of the page. No page break, just one paragraph to the next sometimes in the middle of a paragraph and it was very confusing.
3. I felt the women’s suffrage movement was a little heavy handed at times and became a bit overkill.
4. We were introduced to characters throughout the book
BILL!!!
who had major parts and then went away and were never heard from again.
I know we get updated that he had a wife and a child but I would have liked him to re-enter the story at some point and learn about his daughter with Esme

That being said I know this will not be a book for everyone but it hit for me at the right time and I loved spending time in this book. It was very atmospheric and had a heavy academic theme which I really enjoyed, and I learned a lot about the dictionary and the lexicographers during the 1880’s-1930’s.

leftyjonesq's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

5.0

maddiecfield's review against another edition

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4.75

every time i settled into this book some awful/tragic thing would happen - but definitely a great read! 

vickibicky's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful informative reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

mrsmeryhew's review

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reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.5

kgimm29's review

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

1.0

katy_heath's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful informative reflective 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? No

4.5

I loved this book from cover to cover! It never occurred to me to wonder how the first dictionaries were complied. I love to think of the men and women who sent in their words, and how they came across them. 
I just don’t feel like Gareth needed to die to make the story worth it

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

miriam_berg99's review against another edition

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informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious relaxing medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

montsegc90's review against another edition

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5.0

Hace años que no lloraba con un libro y creo que contadas veces había llorado tanto. Lloré y lloré cuando murió Gareth y después me dolió tanto su carta, y lloré pq la guerra sigue siendo tan presente como hace 100 malditos años!!!! Es increíble que se siga experimentando aún tanto dolor a causa de ese monstruo sin rostro.

Pero bueno, el libro, increíble, que me despertara tantos sentimientos, que me moviera tanto y que todo fuera en un marco historico tan bien estudiado fue poético. Fue genial ver crecer a Esme y ser testigo del cambio en la narrativa del libro conforme ella fue creciendo. Lo recomendaría mil millones de veces!

helloimolivia's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? No

4.5