Helpful Score: 1
This deeply affecting book had me seeing the world through Esme Nicoll's eyes and thinking of words and language in a much deeper way. Williams' book made me realize how much we take for granted-- such as which words are included in a dictionary and which are not. The story of the making of the Oxford English Dictionary is extraordinary to begin with, and I love how Williams wove Esme's story into its history. (Read the Author's Note!)
I became Esme as I read The Dictionary of Lost Words. I felt what she felt. I saw the world through her eyes. The most important people in the world to her (her Da, her Aunt Ditte, her surrogate mother Lizzie, the compositor Gareth) became all-important to me, too. I don't often have this strong of an emotional response to a book, and when I do, it leaves me a bit discombobulated (in a good way).
Williams wove just enough of the actual putting-together of the Oxford English Dictionary into this book to make me feel as though I had a hand in making it, too. Esme's life spanned the women's suffrage movement and World War I, and each event in her life shaped her outlook and her dedication to rescuing "lost words".
Character. Story. Time period. The power of words to shape our world. As I read The Dictionary of Lost Words, I thought of words and phrases I'd grown up hearing all the time that are no longer commonplace. I pondered their demise... and wondered what Esme would make of it all. The world Pip Williams created made me think, and it made me feel. How marvelous!
I became Esme as I read The Dictionary of Lost Words. I felt what she felt. I saw the world through her eyes. The most important people in the world to her (her Da, her Aunt Ditte, her surrogate mother Lizzie, the compositor Gareth) became all-important to me, too. I don't often have this strong of an emotional response to a book, and when I do, it leaves me a bit discombobulated (in a good way).
Williams wove just enough of the actual putting-together of the Oxford English Dictionary into this book to make me feel as though I had a hand in making it, too. Esme's life spanned the women's suffrage movement and World War I, and each event in her life shaped her outlook and her dedication to rescuing "lost words".
Character. Story. Time period. The power of words to shape our world. As I read The Dictionary of Lost Words, I thought of words and phrases I'd grown up hearing all the time that are no longer commonplace. I pondered their demise... and wondered what Esme would make of it all. The world Pip Williams created made me think, and it made me feel. How marvelous!
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