Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

116 reviews

liesthemoontells's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective relaxing sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

This was competent, enjoyable historical fiction. The main character was flawed but endearing, and the interweaving of real historical events into her life, especially suffragism, was particularly well done.

I found the second half of this book

after the MC gives away her baby

far more compelling than the first half. This was the point where the book stopped treading water in historical accuracy about the creation of the dictionary, and allowed the MC high-stakes, emotional resonance beyond the historical framing.

I thought the author was successful in depicting a range of women's experiences across different classes, and I have respect for her ability to not get bogged down in her research and prevent it from letting her characters engage in her world building. She gave her characters engaging and believable personalities and allowed their actions space to impact the setting.

The long timeline of the book meant that it felt very jumpy, and it was hard to keep up with the sudden shifts in age. I also found the ending strange - rushed, abrupt, and not entirely earned.

Overall this was a decent book, but it didn't leave much of an impact on me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

dr_al_mal's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

The ending made me so angry I had to stop reading for a few weeks. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Death, Misogyny, Death of parent, and Classism

aesarctic's review against another edition

informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Sexism, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Classism

Moderate: Infertility, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Abortion, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Miscarriage and Car accident

katharina90's review against another edition

informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

2.5

This novel conveyed a love for words and language while exploring the creation of the first Oxford English Dictionary.

I enjoyed this historical backdrop and was excited by the premise of a fictional companion dictionary of "lost words" aka entries rejected mostly for sexist and classist reasons.

What fell felt for me was the plot and characters. Everyone was fairly one-dimensional and relationships superficial. The plot was slow moving for the most part, but oddly rushed at times that feel crucial. 

Ultimately I think what bothered me the most was that the many tragic developments towards the end didn't serve a purpose that was satisfying to me, so the heartbreak felt pointless or at least unnecessary. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Sexism, Death of parent, War, and Classism

Minor: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Colonisation

anjh's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective relaxing sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

wow. although i’d describe this book as historical-fiction which isn’t a genre i find myself interested in very often i really enjoyed this and felt it was very lighthearted and story like to read, as if i were being read a book at bedtime as a child. 

i listened to the audiobook on borrowbox for this while reading which, i’ll be honest, made the experience so much better especially with the different voices for the characters and the beautiful piano music played in the section between each part. 

it’s difficult to describe how beautiful this concept is for a novel, and i would strongly encourage anyone interested in literature and words to read it. i absolutely love how the story focuses on the women whose voices were ignored and dismissed during the creation and publishing of the Oxford English dictionary.

i also love that the hardships for women and gender expectations of the book’s era are well represented, including an absence of women’s rights, the suffragette movement in England and the expectation for women to get married and have children. 

i took off one star just because i found it a bit confusing to keep up with all the characters in the book lol but i genuinely really enjoyed it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Car accident

avisreadsandreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Grief, and Classism

Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Minor: Infertility, Police brutality, Car accident, and Abortion

katiebannasch's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and War

taybee10's review against another edition

was triggering for me at the time 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment

teacupsandfirereads's review against another edition

informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

The idea behind this story is interesting, which is what prompted me to pick it up. This story was slow and took me over a week to finish, but it is not necessarily a big book. It covered many topic, both personal and regarding society, which was interesting. This also made it feel like too much was going on. What stuck with me is how we each look at and understand words differently based on our life and it's context. It is a book that will be for some and not for others.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Death of parent, Abandonment, War, and Classism

acasiamae's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Misogyny, Violence, Grief, and War

Minor: Child abuse, Abortion, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail