i read the lover's dictionary back in 2012, but i never blogged about it. i meant to play catch up and wanted to post for all those books i had read, but it never happened. i absolutely loved the lover's dictionary. after seeing it on strand books' instagram for valentine's day, i decided to reread it for valentine's day.
the lover's dictionary was exactly that a dictionary, each definition shared an incident or a character trait of the protangonist and his partner. i say partner, because the sex of the partner is never disclosed. the first time i read it, i had assumed the partner was a woman, however, after reading levithan's work, it could be a man. i tried to look for an indication of the gender, but other than a mention of a need to buy shoes, everything was gender neutral. (it is also sexist to think that only women splurge on shoes, see: sneakerheads.) back to the definitions, they are very clever and there is wonderful wordplay which makes this book even more delightful.
through the definitions, a love story is revealed, the definitions past back and forth through time revealing how love was found, betrayed and in the end, lost. the definitions about falling in love and realizing one is in love, bring joy. the ones about fights and losing are sad yet beautiful. the epiphanies brought on by heartache were my favorite parts, but i am a big fan of sad love songs so this makes sense.
there were a handful of definitions that stopped me and caused me to reflect on my life and love and isn't that the markings of a great book? i really need to buy a copy for my personal library. i will keep it next to an actual dictionary.
but here are some of my favorite definitions:
I, n.
Me without anyone else.
only, adj.
That's the dilemma, isn't it? When you're single, there's the sadness and joy of only me. And when you're paired, there's the sadness of joy of only you.
punctuate, v.
Cue the imaginary interviewer:
Q: So when all is said and done, what you learned here?
A: The key to a successful relationship isn't just in the words, it's in the choice of punctuation. When you're in love with someone, a well-placed questions mark can be the difference between bliss and disaster, and a deeply respected period or a cleverly inserted ellipsis can prevent all kind of exclamations.
oh and i have to add, the definition for meander made me smile. it discussed how to kill a mockingbird had no follow-up so was essentially a literary one-hit wonder, but that will be changing soon!
lovely right? oh and i have to add this book is even better because i learned on amazon that valentine's day played a role in the start of this book!
