The Dictionary of Lost Words: Reese's Book Club: A Novel Paperback – May 3, 2022

This is by far the best piece of literature, the best book i have ever read ! It will stay with me all the days of my life. It touched me as no other book has. Left footprints on my heart and merged with my soul. The writing was just amazing and i found I forgot i was even reading and became a part of the story, the emotions, the love, the pain, the bravery so alive. The Author truly made words come to life.

4⭐️Overall this book was really thought-provoking and really emotionally developed. The authors relationship with words was surprisingly whimsical and so well thought-out that it enhanced the reading experience. It’s made me think about my own relationship with words and how they continue to have different meanings in contexts that may or may not be able to be clearly defined or preserved over time.The prologue was short but told a really compelling story, so I was immediately drawn in. “Some words are more important than others - I learned this growing up in the Scriptorium. But it took me a long time to understand why.”I really enjoyed the authors use of words as the links of the chains that comprised Esme’s life. Her relationship with words and her need to learn new words in response to challenges was woven seamlessly into the story and showed Esme’s rational problem-solving characteristics. The authors use of words, or lack thereof, was able to perfectly describe how Esme was feeling, because words were her safe space. The link between language and her character development was really well written, and really smart to embed so deeply into the story.It was a whirlwind of emotions - I cried on page 68 and laughed on page 70. I found that the emotions calmed down a bit further into the book as the pacing slowed. I will say that there was a lot of tragedy embedded in this book, and maybe that was intentional, but I felt like some of it was a bit overwhelming, and some of the tragedies later on in the book could have been removed without changing the impact of the story.My biggest issue with the book was the pacing, because some of it was slower paced than other parts. Understandably, this makes sense given the storyline and the time it takes to make the Dictionary, but some sections felt unnecessary or overwritten. This may also be a personal preference, as I’m not a big Historical Fiction fan. With that said though, the pacing of the story is very realistic with the timeline of the Dictionary, so it’s understandable and forgiven. Some of the narrative and plot of the story feels a little disjointed in the second half of the book, like the story lost its way from the original trajectory, so that also threw me off a bit. I resonated a lot more with the first half than the second.I like that each part started with the section of the dictionary that was completed while the plot was taking place alongside the years in which the section occurred. Part 1 started with “Batten - Distrustful”, Part 2 started with “Distrustfully - Kyx”, Part 3 started with “Lap - Nywe”, Part 4 started with “Polygenous - Sorrow”, Part 5 was “Speech - Sullen” and Part 6 is “Wise - Wyzen”. The Dictionary took a LONG time to complete, so noting the story not only by years but by the progress of the Dictionary was really inventive.“Words are our tools of resurrection” - pg 24“It was a mistake for any of us to assume the Scriptorium was not a suitable place to grow and learn. Our thinking was limited by convention (the most subtle but oppressive dictator). Please forgive our lack of imagination.” - pg 97“All words are not equal (and as I write this, I think I see your concern more clearly: if the words of one group are considered worthier of preservation than those of another … well, you have given me pause for thought).” - pg 97“She couldn’t be defined by any of the words I found, and eventually I stopped looking.” - pg 188

📚Esme’s life which her Godmother aptly points out as being ‘anything but ordinary’ practically revolved around the Scriptorium and luckily for her, the Scrippy felt “magical”- despite having spent most of her childhood under the table waiting for a slips to get to her. Growing up with her dad, who was devoted to the Scriptorium, it’s “slips” and words, he strived to be both a mother and father to her, according to Ditte, Esme’s wise and worldly godmother.📚Ditte was not only a counsel to Esme over the years but was also a confidante to Esme’s dad. She was also a great believer of his unconventional parenting. Did you know Ditte was based on a real person, Edith Thompson who was involved since the first word was published to the last one in 1928?📚Esme’s unlikely friendship with Lizzie, the maid, and the many deep conversations with her are thought provoking. One particular thought that struck me was Lizzie’s insights that words mean different things to different people. Esme held on to “bondmaid” as a word that was derogatory but to Lizzie, it was a matter of great joy- to be a bondmaid to Esme.📚the book describes the period between 1887 and 1928, poignantly capturing the various milestones and celebrations along the way, in completing the arduous task of publishing the 20 volumes of the Oxford Dictionary. Pip Williams beautifully weaves key events such as the women’s suffrage movement and WW1 during this time.📚Reading the book also led me to do my own research on the history of the dictionary. It has come a long way since Samuel Johnson first published his back in 1755. The dissatisfaction in the dictionaries to date, the quest for obsolete and less common words and quotations and lack of consistency in definitions and synonyms led the Philological society to compile a comprehensive dictionary, telling the history of each and every word in the language📚I have been amazed by the sheer magnitude of the task, the contribution by thousands of people sending in quotations and words, the jobs of the many staff sorting through these “slips” diligently and finding common ground📚While crediting the invaluable contribution made by the Dictionary’s editors starting with Dr James Murray as it’s 1st editor and his incredible teams over the years, the author in portraying Esme’s journey, draws attention to the fact that the dictionary as we know it was mainly the perspective of educated white men, (despite the valuable contribution of women) thereby making Esme’s pursuit for words spoken by women and the marginalised members of society so critical📚the book aptly points out that not only do words mean different things to different people-(brought out in the use of the words bondmaid and “mother”) but also that Of some experiences, the Dictionary would only ever provide an approximation such as sorrow📚the dictionary like the English language is evolving with the second edition having been published in 1989 and the third having commenced in 2000!

What more can I say? The story of Esme and her life with words. Brilliantly written and explored. A joy to read and an experience not to be forgotten. Pip Williams is a genius. Thank you.

I will start by saying love books with outstanding vocabulary. I did enjoy the vocabulary of part of this book. But not all.I was left saddened by the ending of this story. In fact I feel terrible need to cry for the main characters throughout the story. I often felt that someone needed to jump into the story to save the characters from many of the troubles we as readers can see.

This book made me, for the first time in my life, really look at and think about words on a much more meaningful level. I, too, was sent to the dictionary quite often when I was a child. I never looked at them as I now do since reading this fascinating, fictionalized historical account of the OED. The only area I feel cheated the reader was how quickly Esme’s role ended in the story. I felt it was short-changed, that her story was no longer important. But I do understand the need to transition the narrative and the “lost words” into new hands. I GREATLY APPRECIATED the attention given to spelling and grammar in this book!

Loved the historical events, I use a dictionary a lot, never considered how it was written. Characters were engaging and lively.