Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams

136 reviews

katharina90's review against another edition

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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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ect625's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad tense 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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anjh's review against another edition

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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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avisreadsandreads's review against another edition

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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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questingnotcoasting's review

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

4.0

This book was so much sadder than I thought it would be. I thought it would be a light-hearted read about making the Oxford English Dictionary but actually the themes of the First World War and various other personal traumas played a big part in the plot. It was very slow moving, as we follow Esme's whole life and I can't say I ever felt particularly attached to her as a character but the book was compelling nevertheless. 
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rinku's review against another edition

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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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deestreet's review against another edition

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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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taybee10's review against another edition

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was triggering for me at the time 
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dwager's review against another edition

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informative

4.5

I really enjoyed this historical novel that centered around the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. I thought it incorporated the real-life characters well and took an interesting perspective on gender issues in the early 20th century.
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teacupsandfirereads's review against another edition

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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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