The Lover's Dictionary

The Lover's Dictionary is a 2011 novel by the American author David Levithan. It is his first novel for adults. This modern love story is told entirely through dictionary entries.

Plot

A nameless narrator tells the story of a relationship through dictionary entries. These short entries provide insight into the ups and downs of their romantic relationship, revealing the couple's problems with alcoholism and infidelity. The story does not unfold in chronological order; instead, it is arranged alphabetically by dictionary entries which give glimpses into the joys and struggles the characters face over the course of their relationship.

Major themes

The Lover's Dictionary is "a story about love, in all its messy complicated reality," says Levithan.^[1]

Development history

The idea for the book was inspired by a Valentine's Day tradition in which the author writes a story for a group of family members and friends. While trying to come up with an idea for a new Valentine's Day story, the author noticed a book called Words You Need to Know sitting on his desk and became inspired. "Could I tell the story of a relationship by just randomly picking words in alphabetical order from this book and then writing entries as if it were a dictionary?" Levithan wondered. He chose the words in alphabetical order and let the story and characters reveal themselves as he wrote the dictionary entries.^[1]

Publication history

• 2011, United States, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, ISBN 978-0-374-19368-3, 4 January 2011, hardcover.

Reception

Reviews:

• 'The Lover's Dictionary': Definitions for Heartbreak, NPR, 11 January 2011.
• The Lover's Dictionary, Publishers Weekly, 11 January 2011.
• The Lover's Dictionary: A Novel by David Levithan – review, The Guardian, 13 February 2011.
• The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan, Dictionary Society of North America, 14 February 2011.

References

External links

• David Levithan website
• @loversdiction, Twitter