The Dictionary of Lost Words: A Novel

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VIEW DISCUSSION GUIDE

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - REESE'S BOOK CLUB PICK - "Delightful . . . [a] captivating and slyly subversive fictional paean to the real women whose work on the Oxford English Dictionary went largely unheralded."--The New York Times Book Review

"A marvelous fiction about the power of language to elevate or repress."--Geraldine Brooks, New York Tim...show more

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416 pages

Average rating: 7.28

729 RATINGS

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29 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

Silvercloud
Nov 24, 2023
5/10 stars
I found it hard to get into and felt it dragged on.
Anonymous
Oct 30, 2023
10/10 stars
I initially picked this book up because I was in research mode about memory loss. I have started loosing words - I know them, but can't say them - especially when thinking about them. It's been a slow process that started after a stroke, and continues to get worse with each Lupus and/or Rheumatoid Arthritis flare. But I digress.

The book made me have feelings. I have taught myself not to feel, nor react to feelings. Otherwise everyone would ...read more
Kris O.
Sep 12, 2023
2/10 stars
DNFed at around 43% due to lack of interest. Bland characters and a dragging storyline.
Ostarling
Aug 08, 2023
6/10 stars
I feel as though the “aha” moments were thrown together at the last minute and were an after thought to the story overall. Overuse of foreshadowing with failure to deliver on a well put together plot twist.
Anonymous
Aug 01, 2023
8/10 stars
Esme received her introduction to language literally at the feet of the men putting together the Oxford English Dictionary. Her father was one of them, and as a child, she would hide under their worktable and play with the word slips that fell to the ground. She starts her own collection of forgotten slips, and begins to notice that many of them deal with things that refer only to women. As she grows, she starts to deliberately seek out words ...read more

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