Book Review of
The Dictionary of Lost Words
Lynn's Review
The Dictionary of Lost Words by Pip Williams was published in 2021. It is a historical fiction book set during WWI.
The Dictionary of Lost Words is a book about books, but it is about so much more than that. It is about language, dictionaries, and the power of words that shouldn’t be forgotten.
I have mixed thoughts on this book. I loved the first half, struggled with the middle part, and then fell in love with it again towards the end.
At first, I felt like the middle part of the book was out of place, with too many issues being forced into one book, but by the end, I totally understood why the author did what she did. She was making a point. Words matter. People matter.
I plan to read the second book by the author.
I will say that it was a bit too PG-13 in parts for me.
I just finished the book. I found it really fascinating. If something is based (even loosely) on real events, even if I find myself disagreeing, or uncomfortable with some parts, I will give it a shot because, that was how it was in those times, or in this case, certain words etc..I also never thought about how long it would take to create a dictionary, to put all those words together, etc. I suppose I never thought that a word could mean different things to a man vs. a woman, I know words mean different things in different countries/languages, but from person to person, demographically, gender, etc. I just never really thought of it. I did save a few quotes from the book that I thought were really good.
I agree. I had never thought about what went into putting together a dictionary. It would be interesting to compare it with how they do it today.
Yes..how they choose what words go in, etc…and what words are even being created. Hmm…I admit it’s been years since I’ve picked up an actual dictionary