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Dona asked this question about The Dictionary of Lost Words:
Why did I waste 8 hours of reading just to be hit with very obscene language? Beautiful cover, great story idea completely wasted. I could be reading many authors who do not rely on this shock factor to sell their books. Please could someone have a rating system to let readers know what to expect? I would be so grateful.
George There is no obscenity here. There is a little--very little, compared to the novel's length--ribaldry. There are indeed taboo words, at least one quite…moreThere is no obscenity here. There is a little--very little, compared to the novel's length--ribaldry. There are indeed taboo words, at least one quite important to the main female protagonist. All handled with care but without reticence.

And all of this occurring much sooner than 8 hours into the book, if Audible's report of 11 hrs 11 min for the whole is accurate. I cannot conceive what could be characterized as "very obscene language" anywhere near the 2/3 mark.

If you think that this modest amount of adult language constitutes a shock factor that is calculated to sell copies, you have a very warped concept of how bookselling works. And if you find that it means the novel is completely wasted on you, I am very sorry indeed for your hypersensitivity.

The only rating service I know of that you might access are the Talking
Book Topics catalogs from the Library of Congress's National Library Service for the Blind. You can find individual reviews therefrom online from your local library for the blind and physically handicapped--or the one in Utah, if you can't find one closer. They faithfully list "(Some) Strong Language", "(Some) Violence", and/or "(Some) (Explicit) Descriptions of Sex" as relevant.

Unfortunately, nowhere near all books are recorded, and these become available as a rule only about a year after initial publication, when the paperback is succeeding the hardback.(less)
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The Dictionary of Lost Words
by Pip Williams
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