The Liar's Dictionary by Eley Williams - 4 stars (Subdue)

[Joy D]

The Liar's Dictionary by Eley Williams - 4* - My Review

This book contains two separate but related stories about the publisher of a dictionary. Swansby’s Encyclopedic Dictionary was assembled in the late 19th century through a painstaking and laborious effort. Taking one letter at a time, definitions were researched and written on index cards. Peter Winceworth worked at Swansby’s during this time. He got bored with this work and started making up words as a diversion, which he covertly added to the dictionary. In present-day London, Mallory is working at Swansby’s. She is asked to find Winceworth’s fabricated words before the dictionary is published online. Both characters’ personal lives come into play. Dramatic and unexpected events appear later in both storylines.

The narrative alternates between the two timeframes as the characters perform their work. It is about much more than a dictionary, though it certainly celebrates the love of words. Themes include trust, love, creativeness, communication, and identity. Throughout the book, unusual words are included, and there are many wry humorous scenes involving wordplay. I tend to enjoy books about lexicography, and I found this one inventive and fresh. Recommended to all logophiles.

If you are a fellow lover of words and dictionaries, I can also recommend:
The Great Passage
The Professor and the Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary.

[Holly R W]

Lovely review, Joy! I've read the book also, and enjoyed the two story lines of Winceworth and Mallory. I remember appreciating the author's creativity, but some of the word play was too much for me and annoyed me.

I loved the absurdity of the opening sentence. "Dave spoke at me for three minutes without realizing I had a whole egg in my mouth."

[Joy D]

Thanks, Holly! I have a high tolerance for wordplay but I can see how others might not.