The dusty files of a venerable dictionary publisher . . . a hidden cache of coded clues . . . a story written by a phantom author . . . an unsolved...
read full description
reviews
Dec 17, 2010
Emily
rated it: 
Ok, but not great. Mostly, I didn't like the voice of the main male character. It's one of the most commonly made mistakes in writing from the viewpoint of the opposite sex and in this case it was really obvious. If the author had made the main character female instead of trying to force a false male voice out of the narrative, maybe it would have given her a few extra points over all.
The book itself--eh. The plot sounds intriguing enough, two people find a hidden story among their More...
The book itself--eh. The plot sounds intriguing enough, two people find a hidden story among their More...
0 comments
like
(8 people liked it)
Apr 18, 2010
Jim
rated it: 
Here’s a mystery story by a first-time author that adds a new twist to the genre—a mystery that unfolds at a dictionary publishing company. (With its deep delving into the quotidian workings of lexicography, it was a little reminiscent of a story that I imagined as a teenager: Murder at the Cereal Factory, by Agatha Krispie.) The book plods on for a while at a slow pace, but eventually it gathers force and reaches a satisfying conclusion, in which the resolution is revealing of character and so
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Dec 28, 2011
AgnesPink
rated it: 
Emily Arsenault’s debut book was dreamy, dark and dreary. Just like In Search of Rose Notes, which I have read, loved and reviewed here on my blog
I love the 3 D’s and I immensely enjoyed this book.
As emotionally satisfying as In search of rose notes, this book had a bonus delight.
It centred on words.
The mystery, the plot and the setting were all about words.
Set in Samuelson Company, a dictionary publisher’s office, the book follows College graduate Billy Webb as h More...
I love the 3 D’s and I immensely enjoyed this book.
As emotionally satisfying as In search of rose notes, this book had a bonus delight.
It centred on words.
The mystery, the plot and the setting were all about words.
Set in Samuelson Company, a dictionary publisher’s office, the book follows College graduate Billy Webb as h More...
Oct 25, 2011
Mary
rated it: 
This is a literary novel about a young college graduate who begins to work at a dictionary company and makes friends with a female coworker that he imagines he could have more of a relationship with. The story and the friendship comes to life thanks to finding citations from a non-existent book that slowly weave an amazing tale.
Arsenault creates characters in her story that feel real. She tells us the story from first person point of view, richly expanding characterization of Billy and More...
Arsenault creates characters in her story that feel real. She tells us the story from first person point of view, richly expanding characterization of Billy and More...
Oct 06, 2011
Heather
rated it:
The Broken Teaglass is a beautifully written and quirky mystery by Emily Arsenault
In the stifling boredom of a dictionary publishing house, Billy and Mona find snippets of what appears to be either a confession, evidence of a crime or a work of fiction dotted through the otherwise dry citation files – small snippets of text which put the words into context in sentences.
With little else to entertain themselves they begin unearthing and piecing together the Broken Teaglass cita More...
In the stifling boredom of a dictionary publishing house, Billy and Mona find snippets of what appears to be either a confession, evidence of a crime or a work of fiction dotted through the otherwise dry citation files – small snippets of text which put the words into context in sentences.
With little else to entertain themselves they begin unearthing and piecing together the Broken Teaglass cita More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 09, 2011
Sarah
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Jul 29, 2010
Noni
rated it:
An off beat mystery that will keep one glued to the end. The author presents the reader with a real gem. This isn't your typical whodunit where one can often determine the guilty party long before the author intended. Set in a small New England town, Billy (the recent college grad who majored in philosophy) considers himself fortunate to land a position with the Samuelson Dictionary Company. Readers are given an insight into the world of the lexigrapher as Billy spends his beginning time i
More...
Jul 20, 2010
Patricia
rated it:
I loved this book from debut author, Emily Arsenault. Ms. Arsenault is indeed a "word-smith" as are her main characters, Billy Ward and Mona Minot who are trying to solve the intriguing mystery they have discovered among the thousands of citations at Samuelson Dictionary, their employer. It appears that a murder has taken place and someone has intentionally left behind puzzle pieces in the form of random dictionary citations but just as compelling are the clues into the very make-up
More...
Jun 05, 2010
Steve
rated it:
I liked this book much more than I expected to. The premise is intriguing, and reminds me a little of Possession by A. S. Byatt back in the nineties. For me, the book's strength was that it never went over the top and kept a fairly steady pace. Arsenault took her time getting into the story and the conflict instead of beginning with a big blast like so many recent books are compelled to do.
The prose was solid and the humor never got broad.
I wish the characters were a l More...
The prose was solid and the humor never got broad.
I wish the characters were a l More...
Feb 22, 2010
Ruby
rated it: 
An intriguing story for any "word person" as the narrator, fresh from getting a philosophy degree, gets a job in a dictionary publishing house. His job is to look for unusual words or usage of words and write up the "citations" for the editors to consider for the next edition. Currently of course the "cits" are on the computer, but there are voluminous paper files of all the pre-computer cits. He and coworker Mona discover in the old files, a series of cryptic ci
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 10, 2010
Dinyah
rated it:
Tahukah Anda bahwa ada sebuah profesi bernama Lexicographer? Jika tidak, berarti Anda sama dengan saya dan semoga Tuhan mengampuni kekhilafan kita ini. Memang rasanya profesi ini tidak popular dan kedengarannya cenderung mengada-ada. Apalagi kita tinggal di sebuah negeri seperti Indonesia, negeri yang sejarah modernnya tidak mendorong rakyatnya mengakrabi bentuk-bentuk dokumentasi tertulis, apalagi kamus. Leksikografer adalah penyusun kamus, orang yang berkutat mencari definisi kata. Kata-kata y
More...
Jan 03, 2010
Andrea
rated it:
I think I may be giving a higher rating than it deserves, but I really really enjoyed reading this book. Arsenault's novel deals with the life of a lexicographer and how he tries to solve a "mystery" that really isn't a mystery in order to make his life bearable and less lonely. I know this sounds a bit off putting, but, for whatever reason, this book touched me a on personal level.
I think everyone (literally everyone) goes through a point in their lives where there is a stand s More...
I think everyone (literally everyone) goes through a point in their lives where there is a stand s More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Oct 20, 2009
Melissa
rated it:
I really wasn't sure what I was going to find inside this book. The concept is intriguing in a unique kind of way. I mean how could a book about dictionaries be interesting? The story is described as a mystery. A mystery told through definitions, or at least the citations that the lexicographers write their definitions on and file them away. It's a puzzle...with a murder..maybe. It starts off as kind of a joke, at least to Billy but turns into a murder mystery that spans decades!
This More...
This More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Oct 19, 2009
Cheryl
rated it:
Young Billy Webb has just started a new job. He will be working as a editorial assistant for Samuelson Company. He quickly becomes friends with one of his co-workers, Mona Minot. It helps to make a friend for such a boring job or not so boring job as Billy and Mona soon discover.
One day Mona discovers the word “Editrix”. It is used in the following example:
Mrs. Hopkins was one of the only editrixes at the journal, but she was one of the most valuable members on staff. Sh More...
One day Mona discovers the word “Editrix”. It is used in the following example:
Mrs. Hopkins was one of the only editrixes at the journal, but she was one of the most valuable members on staff. Sh More...
Aug 17, 2009
Eric
rated it:
I usually read sci/fi and fantasy with a smattering of classic mystery and the occasional modern novel if highly recommended. This one isn't out yet but was passed along by a friend in publishing.
I was delighted by the book. The writing is funny, smart, literate, and respectful of the reader.
Briefly, the novel is set at a dictionary publishing house where the young main characters, Billy and Mona, stumble upon what seems to be a mystery, or evidence of a crime, or is More...
I was delighted by the book. The writing is funny, smart, literate, and respectful of the reader.
Briefly, the novel is set at a dictionary publishing house where the young main characters, Billy and Mona, stumble upon what seems to be a mystery, or evidence of a crime, or is More...
Mar 22, 2010
Kristin
rated it:
I always get a kick out of books that are written in non-traditional formats, such as those written in letter form like The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society or Ella Minnow Pea where letters vanish from use as the novel progresses. Emily Arsenault's The Broken Teaglass employs a non-traditional format as well.
The story takes place in the offices of a dictionary company. Billy is sucked in to a mystery discovered by fellow lexicographer, Mona. Together the two unr More...
The story takes place in the offices of a dictionary company. Billy is sucked in to a mystery discovered by fellow lexicographer, Mona. Together the two unr More...
Sep 10, 2011
Yvann
rated it:
"How does a clod like me end up in training to be a lexicographer?"
Billy has landed a job at Samuelson Dictionary Company, researching new words, defining a few for the annual Supplement, and answering letters and phone calls that come in from inquiring patrons. He stumbles upon a mystery in the reference files, and slowly, with help from the petite lexicographical prodigy Mona Minot, puts it together.
There are two very distinct elements to this book. One is the lif More...
Billy has landed a job at Samuelson Dictionary Company, researching new words, defining a few for the annual Supplement, and answering letters and phone calls that come in from inquiring patrons. He stumbles upon a mystery in the reference files, and slowly, with help from the petite lexicographical prodigy Mona Minot, puts it together.
There are two very distinct elements to this book. One is the lif More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jun 10, 2010
Reading Sarah
rated it:
Billy Webb has just taken a position at the largest dictionary company in the US. Unfortunately the company is in the armpit of Massachusetts, but Billy is gung-ho about his first job out of college. The job is about as exciting as one might expect. His first day of training consists of reading all of the "front matter" of the dictionary. His coworkers field phone calls about Scrabble fights, and none of them talks to any other lexicographer much, until Mona talks to him. Mona is about
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Oct 19, 2009
Chris
rated it:
I feel like a complete heel. I won this book though a Goodreads giveaway. A two paragraph review in this weekend's New York Times Book Review liked this book. All the reviews here seem positive.
I couldn't finish it.
To be fair, I don't think it is Arsenault's fault. In fact, I would be willing to give her next book a try. I think it comes down to bad editing.
The premise behind the book is interesting. Two workers at a dictionary publishing house discover More...
I couldn't finish it.
To be fair, I don't think it is Arsenault's fault. In fact, I would be willing to give her next book a try. I think it comes down to bad editing.
The premise behind the book is interesting. Two workers at a dictionary publishing house discover More...
5 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
Dec 18, 2010
Catherine
rated it:
This is a quiet little book that grew on me. The protagonist is very lovable. He reminded me so much of Ian from Ann Tyler's "Saint Maybe." Both are friendly, gentle men trying to find their way in life. As a murder mystery, this book far exceeds many in its genre. It probes into a mystery far greater than that of an unknown murder. And that is the mystery of what do we want from life, how do we find our way. It twines quite beautifully in and out of the plot and comes to a deeply sati
More...
Jan 24, 2010
Ryan
rated it:
Billy, fresh out of college with his philosophy degree, gets a job at the oldest dictionary company in the country. No one trains to be a lexicographer, of course, but at least he is making his own way in the world. Billy has despair and ennui riding him, but we don't find out why until later.
Along with the petite and excitable Mona, Billy uncovers citations in the archives that refer to a book they can't find anywhere. It soon becomes clear that the author of these cits--as they are More...
Along with the petite and excitable Mona, Billy uncovers citations in the archives that refer to a book they can't find anywhere. It soon becomes clear that the author of these cits--as they are More...
Mar 14, 2010
Laura
rated it:
Billy Webb is starting his first "real" job as an editorial assistant for The Samuelson Company, publishers of an English dictionary. At work his days are filled with answering letters from members of the public and researching unusual or new words and documenting their usage. At home, he struggles to find meaning in his life and to keep himself occupied. The discovery of some unusual citations in the company's old files leads him to join with a co-worker in attempting to solve a myste
More...
0 comments
like
(2 people liked it)
Oct 10, 2011
Suzanne
rated it:
Initially, I thought I was going to be raving about this work, but by the time I finished it, my enthusiasm had waned. The setting is certainly unusual, and that is probably what held my attention in the beginning. I could not help but compare lexicographers and the lexicographical process and setting with librarians and libraries. However, the story-within-a-story detective plot was clearly influenced (not to say inspired) by "Possession," and ultimately, it just felt derivative. The
More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Mar 17, 2010
Marlyn
rated it:
There's been a lot of discussion about whether or not this book is a mystery. I don't think it really matters how it's classified, but readers looking for a traditionally constructed mystery novel won't find it here.
What they will find is an extremely well-written story about a young man named Billy Webb, recently graduated from university with a degree in philosophy, who takes a position as an editorial assistant at a dictionary publishing house.
One of his tasks is to re More...
What they will find is an extremely well-written story about a young man named Billy Webb, recently graduated from university with a degree in philosophy, who takes a position as an editorial assistant at a dictionary publishing house.
One of his tasks is to re More...
0 comments
like
(1 person liked it)
Jan 19, 2010
Connie
rated it:
Mona and Billy aren't really friends but they aren't exactly boyfriend/girlfriend, either. They are intellectual coworkers who spend their free time with each other piecing together an unlikely mysterious cold case with dated lexicography citations. Their time spent together isn't romantic or hilarious or rowdy, but is instead peaceful and provocative and intelligent and amusing.
Emily Arsenault brilliantly wrote Billy and Mona as young twenty-somethings who are thoroughly lovely. I More...
Emily Arsenault brilliantly wrote Billy and Mona as young twenty-somethings who are thoroughly lovely. I More...
Jan 12, 2010
Doug
rated it:
This was a marvelous little book that contains a mystery, one that was suggested to me by a friend. It is the story of Billy Webb who graduates college only to move to Massachusetts and get a job working for one of the most revered publishers known for putting together dictionaries. He meets a fellow kindred spirit in Mona and knuckles down to work, and the reader learns what it takes to put together this giant book of knowledge. One thing that is needed is that the the employees must read
More...
Oct 21, 2009
Karen
rated it:
This is a fun little book. Part mystery, part puzzle. Clever (but not too clever for its own good, a direction it could have easily gone)and witty. I laughed out loud a few times (not something I'm prone to do while reading). Definitely recommended for a light read.
I wonder, did I win this book because I recently read the book about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary? Having recently read that book made this book all the more fun (especially because that other book was dry More...
I wonder, did I win this book because I recently read the book about the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary? Having recently read that book made this book all the more fun (especially because that other book was dry More...
Feb 06, 2012
Agatha
rated it:
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
To view it, click here
Sep 16, 2011
Vivian
rated it:
It's difficult to imagine that work at a dictionary company and word definitions and citations could be mysterious. But these are the elements that Emily Arsenault quite artfully combines in THE BROKEN TEAGLASS.
Billy Webb is a new hire at Samuelson Company, an esteemed dictionary publisher in New England. Billy recently graduated from college and is now working as an editor. Parts of his responsibilities include obtaining new citations or "cits" for word usage, as well as che More...
Billy Webb is a new hire at Samuelson Company, an esteemed dictionary publisher in New England. Billy recently graduated from college and is now working as an editor. Parts of his responsibilities include obtaining new citations or "cits" for word usage, as well as che More...
Oct 26, 2009
Angie
rated it:
There will be spoilers here, but I will mark them with a warning.
This is a pretty good debut novel. It'd make a great gift for lovers of words, although the whole "mystery" thing in it felt a little lacking. It'd also make a great gift for a recent college grad, since that is the age of the two main characters.
In that sense, while I felt like I could relate to the characters, I also felt the characters weren't realistic enough, although I did like Mona's charact More...
This is a pretty good debut novel. It'd make a great gift for lovers of words, although the whole "mystery" thing in it felt a little lacking. It'd also make a great gift for a recent college grad, since that is the age of the two main characters.
In that sense, while I felt like I could relate to the characters, I also felt the characters weren't realistic enough, although I did like Mona's charact More...
2 comments
like
(3 people liked it)
