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Lover's Dictionary

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Lover's Dictionary Cover

ISBN13: 9780374193683
ISBN10: 0374193681
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Synopses & Reviews

Publisher Comments:

A sweet and touching modern love story, told through dictionary entries

basis, n.

There has to be a moment at the beginning when you wonder whether you're in love with the person or in love with the feeling of love itself.

If the moment doesn't pass, thats it you're done. And if the moment does pass, it never goes that far. It stands in the distance, ready for whenever you want it back. Sometimes its even there when you thought you were searching for something else, like an escape route, or your lovers face.

How does one talk about love? Do we even have the right words to describe something that can be both utterly mundane and completely transcendent, pulling us out of our everyday lives and making us feel a part of something greater than ourselves? Taking a unique approach to this problem, the nameless narrator of David Levithans The Lovers Dictionary has constructed the story of his relationship as a dictionary. Through these short entries, he provides an intimate window into the great events and quotidian trifles of being within a couple, giving us an indelible and deeply moving portrait of love in our time.

Review:

"This cute 'novel' by YA author Levithan consists of a series of words and their definitions, each evoking a phase or theme about a fledgling romance. (e.g., fledgling: 'Part of the reason I preferred reading to sex was that I at least knew I could read well'). The entries do gradually unravel a love story: the narrator has met a woman ('you') through an online dating site (aberrant: ' â€˜I don't normally do this kind of thing,' you said. ‘Neither do I,' I assured you'). He endures all the writhings of new love, by turns eager, reserved, and hopeful about their evolving relationship, and transported by the joy of mutual exploration, the two move in together (balk: 'If it all went wrong, the last thing I'd care about was who was to blame for moving in together') and are eventually undone (livid: 'You went and broke our lives'). Levithan attains some heartbreaking moments as well as pitches of hilarity with his concise, polished writing. Inherent in such an endeavor (that just happens to hit shelves around Valentine's Day) is an adorableness thankfully grounded by Levithan's wit. (Feb.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright PWyxz LLC)

Synopsis:

basis, n.

There has to be a moment at the beginning when you wonder whether youre in love with the person or in love with the feeling of love itself.

If the moment doesnt pass, thats it—youre done. And if the moment does pass, it never goes that far. It stands in the distance, ready for whenever you want it back. Sometimes its even there when you thought you were searching for something else, like an escape route, or your lovers face.

How does one talk about love? Do we even have the right words to describe something that can be both utterly mundane and completely transcendent, pulling us out of our everyday lives and making us feel a part of something greater than ourselves? Taking a unique approach to this problem, the nameless narrator of David Levithans The Lovers Dictionary has constructed the story of his relationship as a dictionary. Through these short entries, he provides an intimate window into the great events and quotidian trifles of being within a couple, giving us an indelible and deeply moving portrait of love in our time.

Synopsis:

How does one talk about love? Is it even possible to describe something at once utterly mundane and wholly transcendent, that has the power to consume our lives completely, while making us feel part of something infinitely larger than ourselves? Taking a unique approach to this age-old problem, the nameless narrator of David Levithans The Lovers Dictionary constructs the story of a relationship as a dictionary. Through these sharp entries, he provides an intimate window into the great events and quotidian trifles of coupledom, giving us an indelible and deeply moving portrait of love in our time.
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About the Author

David Levithan is the author of many acclaimed young-adult novels, including the New York Times bestselling Nick & Norahs Infinite Playlist (with Rachel Cohn), which was adapted into a popular movie. He is also an editorial director at Scholastic.
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What Our Readers Are Saying

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Average customer rating based on 2 comments:
rrludman, April 12, 2011 (view all comments by rrludman)
"The Lover's Dictionary" probably isn't for everyone, but I fell in love with this novel immediately. Presented as a series of words that are defined by the prose of the novel itself, the story is immediately mysterious yet riveting. Nouns, verbs, adjectives each move the plot along in a non-chronological way. The characters are unnamed and pronouns are rarely used. One is unsure whether the narrator is male or female and the same with the narrator's lover. The book reads quickly. Some definitions consist of a word or sentence. Others continue for paragraphs. Accordingly, there is a lot of "white space" which makes this novel easy to read. In some ways the chronology is confusing, but not enough where one won't be able to follow along. This novel didn't feel like a typical romance novel. The prose is more fluid and blurs the line between a straightforward novel and epic poetry. A times the story feels shallow. One doesn't have the luxury of long descriptions, the slow building of suspense, the grounding of a setting, or the camaraderie of characters. Yet, these definitions are intense, emotional and universal. The characters are shells that envelope the role of reader and lover. The characters could be anyone. The strength of this novel is to convey emotion in such an interesting way it's difficult not to devour it in one sitting. The writing itself is beautiful. The sentences and dialogue are precise, neat and layered with depth of emotion. The word choice is perfect. There are so many romance stories available. This is a simple story in an unconventional way that will flood it's readers with emotion.
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Jackie Blem, January 2, 2011 (view all comments by Jackie Blem)
This is an amazing book. It truly is told in the style of a dictionary--a word and then a short explanation of that word as it relates to the unnamed male narrator and his unnamed girlfriend. The "definitions" are sometimes a single sentence, other times a paragraph, a few are a page long. They are spare and poignant. I teared up at some, laughed at others, and experienced vivid memories about being in similar situations and having similar emotions. I re-read a lot of them because I loved the way he was able to describe an emotion or a moment--he really cuts to the heart of something with just a few words. The story in not chronological, which makes it a sort of puzzle to put together--a delightful puzzle. This isn't a happy story, nor is it a sad story--it's the story of two people in a relationship with ALL of its emotional currents. It's moving, brilliant, and a book I could not recommend more sincerely.
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Product Details

ISBN:
9780374193683
Author:
Levithan, David
Publisher:
Farrar Straus Giroux
Subject:
Love stories
Subject:
Vocabulary
Subject:
General
Subject:
Literary
Subject:
Literature-A to Z
Edition Description:
Trade paper
Publication Date:
20110131
Binding:
HARDCOVER
Grade Level:
General/trade
Language:
English
Pages:
224
Dimensions:
7.50 x 5.00 in
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Related Subjects

Featured Titles » General
Fiction and Poetry » Literature » A to Z

Lover's Dictionary New Hardcover
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Product details 224 pages Farrar Straus Giroux - English 9780374193683 Reviews:
"Publishers Weekly Review" by , "This cute 'novel' by YA author Levithan consists of a series of words and their definitions, each evoking a phase or theme about a fledgling romance. (e.g., fledgling: 'Part of the reason I preferred reading to sex was that I at least knew I could read well'). The entries do gradually unravel a love story: the narrator has met a woman ('you') through an online dating site (aberrant: ' â€˜I don't normally do this kind of thing,' you said. ‘Neither do I,' I assured you'). He endures all the writhings of new love, by turns eager, reserved, and hopeful about their evolving relationship, and transported by the joy of mutual exploration, the two move in together (balk: 'If it all went wrong, the last thing I'd care about was who was to blame for moving in together') and are eventually undone (livid: 'You went and broke our lives'). Levithan attains some heartbreaking moments as well as pitches of hilarity with his concise, polished writing. Inherent in such an endeavor (that just happens to hit shelves around Valentine's Day) is an adorableness thankfully grounded by Levithan's wit. (Feb.)" Publishers Weekly (Copyright PWyxz LLC)
"Synopsis" by ,
basis, n.

There has to be a moment at the beginning when you wonder whether youre in love with the person or in love with the feeling of love itself.

If the moment doesnt pass, thats it—youre done. And if the moment does pass, it never goes that far. It stands in the distance, ready for whenever you want it back. Sometimes its even there when you thought you were searching for something else, like an escape route, or your lovers face.

How does one talk about love? Do we even have the right words to describe something that can be both utterly mundane and completely transcendent, pulling us out of our everyday lives and making us feel a part of something greater than ourselves? Taking a unique approach to this problem, the nameless narrator of David Levithans The Lovers Dictionary has constructed the story of his relationship as a dictionary. Through these short entries, he provides an intimate window into the great events and quotidian trifles of being within a couple, giving us an indelible and deeply moving portrait of love in our time.
"Synopsis" by ,
How does one talk about love? Is it even possible to describe something at once utterly mundane and wholly transcendent, that has the power to consume our lives completely, while making us feel part of something infinitely larger than ourselves? Taking a unique approach to this age-old problem, the nameless narrator of David Levithans The Lovers Dictionary constructs the story of a relationship as a dictionary. Through these sharp entries, he provides an intimate window into the great events and quotidian trifles of coupledom, giving us an indelible and deeply moving portrait of love in our time.
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