Reviews tagging 'Classism'

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

51 reviews

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

vaevin's review against another edition

informative reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Slow and thoughtful love letter to words and their use across ages, genders, and classes. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War and Classism

Minor: Abortion

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

rinku's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy

Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Bullying, Infertility, and Car accident

deestreet's review against another edition

emotional reflective relaxing 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Misogyny

Minor: Death of parent, War, and Classism

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

mels_reading_log's review against another edition

dark emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

“You are not the arbiter of knowledge, sir. You are its librarian… It is not for you to judge the importance of these words, simply to allow others to do so.”

I had never really given much thought to how the dictionary was written and the proof that was needed for a word to be included. This book is fictional but tells the real process of writing the Oxford English Dictionary, the amount of people involved and how many years it took to complete. The main character of Esme was fictional but she grows up with her father working on the words of the dictionary and sees how certain words are left out. Words that are used by people who are not well educated white men. So she starts to collect other words, those of the poor, uneducated and disenfranchised.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Body horror, Racism, Slavery, and Abortion

aaashtyn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.75

This book was good, but I think I was expecting a little more in terms of how the dictionary of lost words was going be put into play and make an impact on the story. The first third of the book was really good and intriguing, but then the middle felt slow and didn’t feel like it added much to the story.

I liked how Esme’s daughter finally had a purpose at the end of the book, but for the majority of the book I thought that portion of the story felt pointless.

It was good, but it felt like more needed to happen. I did also enjoy learning about the process of creating the dictionary and all the steps needed, that was interesting to learn about.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism