The Dictionary of Lost Words: A Novel

I found it hard to get into and felt it dragged on.

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

DNFed at around 43% due to lack of interest. Bland characters and a dragging storyline.

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.

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