Just finished The Dictionary of Lost Words…wow!

Submitted by TPau7 t3_yukcdy in books

Has anyone else read it? I thought she did such a wonderful job of re-creating the world in which the Oxford English Dictionary was developed over many years.

The generational, gender and family dynamics were very interesting. Each character reflected the times in which they lived, yet we also saw something of their internal lives.

This book has elements that are relevant to events that are occurring in our own time, reflecting universal themes.

I highly recommend it if you haven’t read it. Has anyone else here read and enjoyed it?

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bc6619 t1_iwa1f7d wrote

Wow, never thought I would run across someone else who read this. I got it as a gift from my daughter last Christmas, and ended up liking it way more than I anticipated. I liked it on so many levels. The process they used to create the dictionary. Esme's relationship with her father. And how her legacy carried on. Not a dry eye at the end. Beautifully told.

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FiggyStars t1_iwai0gq wrote

You’ll be excited to know then it’s being adapted for screen!

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TPau7 OP t1_iwezz3j wrote

I saw that...a new TV series.

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NefariousnessOne1859 t1_iwb1zdj wrote

Just finished it this morning and was going to see if anyone else had mentioned it.

Enjoyed it more than I thought I would. The storyline was also different to what I thought.

I am sad that the Gareth plotline hung on the sides for so long then was cut short by the war

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gravitydefiant t1_iw9ws69 wrote

I'm up to the C's and loving it so far. I don't want any spoilers so I'll probably avoid this thread.

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uslope t1_iwa5g6h wrote

I absolutely loved that book!

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plaidtattoos t1_iw9t8gu wrote

I've never heard of it, but I just looked it up on Amazon and the Kindle version was only 2.99, so I grabbed it.

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dr239 t1_iw9yi0r wrote

I'm not familiar with it, but it sounds interesting. I just placed an order. Thanks for sharing!

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nefritri t1_iw9z87f wrote

It's on my tbr list, will read it soon

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Far_Administration41 t1_iwbeifh wrote

Glad to hear so many people enjoyed it. It’s still in my to-be-read pile.

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Fat-Bear-Life t1_iw9y50y wrote

This sounds great! Just put it on hold at my library.

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Innisfree812 t1_iwa1khf wrote

Looks good so I just got the kindle version.

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JourneytotheSon t1_iwa74f9 wrote

I currently have it on hold and in about 25 weeks I’ll get to it.

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textmewhenyougethome t1_iwam8rk wrote

I loved this book and definitely feel like it’s underrated. Love to see more people enjoyed it.

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squish13s t1_iwauwla wrote

I loved this book and am seeing the play adaptation next year! So excited

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TPau7 OP t1_iwav6i6 wrote

I didn’t know it was going to be adapted for the stage. Where?

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squish13s t1_iwavpri wrote

In Sydney by the Sydney Theatre Company; adapted by Verity Laughton.

It was a huge surprise when I saw it in the STC Season 2023 booklet (I may or may not have squealed haha).

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ISayISayISay t1_iwb5guq wrote

Yeah, it's a fab book - I've rec'd it on this sub a few times :)

[edit] oops, I mean on r/suggestmeabook

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FreddieMonstera t1_iwb6vuy wrote

I suppose because I’m in Australia and the author is Australian, it was one of the top selling books a year or two ago. Loved it and the fact they ended up in Adelaide.

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whereismydragon t1_iwb7a2c wrote

This book blew me away! Really happy to find others who also liked it :)

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jrcsmith t1_iwcvoou wrote

I loved it but most of my book club didn’t!

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TPau7 OP t1_iwd0nim wrote

My book club discussion on it is tomorrow.

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hosenbundesliga t1_iwar8we wrote

Yes read it for book club 2 months ago - great book - i went online looking for these cards they did for each word and found some that JRR Tolkien did

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thecaledonianrose t1_iwc10yj wrote

I have a hold on it - hoping to get it in the first week of December.

Have you ever seen The Professor and the Madman? The movie highlights the initial creation of the OED in the 1870s. Was surprisingly good.

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TPau7 OP t1_ixo3nyr wrote

We had our book group discussion about this book last week. All of us loved the book. The discussion went on for 2 hours and it was the best discussion we have had in quite a while! Everyone participated!

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