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Liar's Dictionary
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
23 posts | 17 read | 46 to read
"The Liar's Dictionary is the book I was longing for. So eudaemonical, so felicific and habile! A harlequinade of cachinnation! It's hilarious and smart and charming and I loved it. Read it. It's the book you're longing for."--Andrew Sean Greer, 2018 Pulitzer Prize winner for Less An exhilarating and laugh-out-loud debut novel from a prize-winning new talent which chronicles the misadventures of a lovelorn Victorian lexicographer and the young woman put on his trail a century later to root out his misdeeds while confronting questions of her own sexuality and place in the world. Mountweazel n. the phenomenon of false entries within dictionaries and works of reference. Often used as a safeguard against copyright infringement. Peter Winceworth, Victorian lexicographer, is toiling away at the letter S for Swansby's multivolume Encyclopaedic Dictionary. His disaffection compels him to insert unauthorized fictitious entries into the dictionary in an attempt to assert some sense of individual purpose and artistic freedom. In the present day, Mallory, a young intern employed by the publisher, is tasked with uncovering these mountweazels before the work is digitized. She also has to contend with threatening phone calls from an anonymous caller. Is the change in the definition of marriage really that upsetting? And does the caller really intend for the Swansby's staff to 'burn in hell'? As these two narratives combine, both Winceworth and Mallory discover how they might negotiate the complexities of the often nonsensical, relentless, untrustworthy, hoax-strewn, and undefinable path we call life. An exhilarating debut novel from a formidably brilliant young writer, The Liar's Dictionary celebrates the rigidity, fragility, absurdity, and joy of language.
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merelybookish
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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This month"s #bookspin and #doublespin. Feeling hopeful I will read one of them. ?

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Kazzie
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
Pickpick

It was a quick, delightful read - enjoyed the words! I had hyped this book very high so found it a bit disappointing, maybe I wanted more of a love story in the Victorian era? But overall enjoyable

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Sumi
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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Pickpick

Also finished. Also stunning but in a different way. Had a bit of trouble wrapping my brain around it at first & then it really drew me in. This is completely my brain‘s fault & not the book‘s.

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Mitch
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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57 likes1 stack add
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Pedrocamacho
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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Pickpick

There are times when reading about Winceworth reminds me of reading about Ignatius from “A Confederacy of Dunces”. In my mind, that is certainly a plus. Also, I now cannot stop thinking about mountweazels! Overall, this is a great read.

Pedrocamacho The scene in the park with pelican is gold! 3y
11 likes1 comment
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Lindy
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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Pickpick

Winceworth and Mallory both work at Swansby‘s New Encyclopaedic Dictionary, but in different eras. In alternating timelines, 1899 & the present, they each experience an eventful (wacky!) day which changes their lives for the better. This novel is playful, witty, warm and wise. Also, an ode to vocabulary. #LGBTQ 💜

Lindy @shawnmooney Here‘s my review. Thanks for this wonderful book! 🤗 3y
42 likes1 stack add1 comment
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Lindy
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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‘Ah, but here‘s a nice one: “widge-wodge (v.) Informal — the alternating kneading of a cat‘s paws upon wool, blankets, laps &c.” A sappy so-and-so, then.‘

Lcsmcat In the south we call that cat behavior “making biscuits.” 3y
Lindy @Lcsmcat love that! 😻 3y
Cathythoughts The buttons on my cardigans just disappear... I have my suspicions... 3y
33 likes3 comments
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Lindy
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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‘That‘s incredibly illegal!‘
‘It can‘t be incredibly one or the other,‘ David said. He couldn‘t help himself. ‘Something‘s either illegal or not illegal.‘
Mansplain (v.) was unlikely to enter any version of the Swansby‘s Encyclopaedic Dictionary.

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Lindy
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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Winceworth had returned to vexing over why no word had been coined for the specific type of headache he was suffering. The bitter meanness of its fillip, the sludgy electric sense of guilt coupled with its existence as physical retribution for time spent in one‘s cups. A certain lack of memory, as if pain was crowding it out.

sarahbarnes My parents always took Anacin when I was growing up! 3y
Lindy @sarahbarnes Ha! Mine too. I remember television commercials from when I was a child. I was actually scrolling through the Internet looking for one of those ads when I found the one above. 3y
31 likes2 comments
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Lindy
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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Like my handwriting, I was aware that I often looked as though I needed to be tidied away, or ironed, possibly autoclaved. By the time afternoon tugged itself around the clock, both handwriting and I degrade into a big rumpled bundle.

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rmaclean4
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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Pickpick

Witty, clever book that made me laugh out loud. A delight. Don't know if I will remember it over time.

Come-read-with-me Sounds like a fun read. The world always needs more laughter! 3y
22 likes4 stack adds1 comment
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Lindy
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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In many ways David Swansby looked like his handwriting: ludicrously tall, neat, squared-off at the edges.
(lovely #endpapers)

BarbaraTheBibliophage Those endpapers are swoon worthy! 3y
Lindy @BarbaraTheBibliophage Not only that, but the dust jacket blends in! Sweet design! 3y
BarbaraTheBibliophage Oh even better!! 3y
32 likes3 comments
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Lindy
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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Winceworth blushed, coughed, but words were tumbling out faster than the rhythm of normal speech, almost a splutter, the uncorrected proofs of sentences.

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Lindy
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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Our monthly literary salon has been meeting via zoom. “Archives” was the theme this time and I read from the tagged novel. Other people read their own words & poetry by Mary Oliver, Anne Sexton etc: archives turned out to be a really good theme and our discussion afterwards helped heal some emotional wounds of the pandemic.

TrishB Sounds fab ♥️ 3y
Lindy @TrishB 💕 3y
wanderinglynn What a great idea! 3y
Lindy @wanderinglynn It‘s been going for a number of years now. Started when my sweetie & a friend were planning to organize yet another spoken poetry series for the public and decided to make it a private series of events instead, keeping the group limited to 12 so we could comfortably meet in members‘ homes. 3y
Tanisha_A How lovely! 💕 3y
45 likes5 comments
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Lindy
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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Pip was out at the café where she worked. Of course she was—she was out to her family, she was out at work, out and about, out-and-out out. I suspected she emerged from the womb with little badges on her lapel reading Lavender Menace and 10% is not Enough! Recruit! Recruit! Recruit!

Leftcoastzen Wow! 3y
Lindy @Leftcoastzen Is your response to the language? (So delightful!) or my vest from the 80s? (Shown here as part of a queer history display.) 3y
LeahBergen Your vest is SO AWESOME. 3y
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Cathythoughts Brilliant ! I love your vest 3y
Leftcoastzen Both!👏😂🙌👍 3y
41 likes6 comments
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Lindy
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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A few minutes later, when calm was restored, the cat Sphinxed on the armrest of a chair with its eyes closed. I gave its spine a nudge with my knuckles. Its body rumbled something about solidarity against my hand.

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Lindy
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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He had the forename Gerolf, which always struck me as worth another round of spellchecking.

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Lindy
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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Whether a dictionary should *register* or *fix* the language is often quoted as a qualifier. Register, as if words are like so many delinquent children herded together and counted in a room; fixed, as if only a certain number of children are allowed access to the room, and then the room is filled with cement.

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ReadingEnvy
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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Pickpick

If you've ever geeked out about words, language, the OED, this may be the novel for you. It follows two characters working on a dictionary which has the primary reputation of remaining unfinished. What's hard to communicate is the joy and glee experienced at times, despite the rather mundane work. It's also a good read for people who like workplace narratives.

Readergrrl I just saw this at the bookstore today! Came so close to buying it!! 3y
ReadingEnvy @Readergrrl I liked it! 3y
Lindy I‘ve just started reading this and am over the moon with nerdy word delight. 😍 3y
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ReadingEnvy @Lindy when I wrote a review I almost tagged you specifically because I knew you'd love it. 3y
Lindy @ReadingEnvy Did you see my enthusiastic review of Attrib last month? @shawnmooney sent me both of Eley Williams‘ books in December and I was overjoyed to receive them. Definitely my kind of writing. 😍 3y
ReadingEnvy @Lindy I think so! I have Attrib. and enjoyed it as well. 3y
68 likes9 stack adds6 comments
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WanderingBookaneer
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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Moray_Reads Really enjoyed this one 3y
DimeryRene I‘ve seen this cover quite a lot. 3y
48 likes4 stack adds2 comments
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akaGingerK
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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Pickpick

Greatly enjoyed this read- a treat for word-lovers. Present-day intern Mallory & her girlfriend Pip were a delight. Mallory‘s unwillingness to be out at work is a major point of contention- and doesn‘t protect her from threatening calls due to the dictionary‘s newly gender-neutral definition of marriage. Nineteenth-c lexicographer Winceworth‘s story has more absurdity, but also lots of charm & consideration of the meaning of fixing words in place.

akaGingerK Per family tradition, the pictured dictionary is the reason behind my name - which is, occasionally, a verb. 3y
akaGingerK Also: ARC 3y
10 likes2 stack adds2 comments
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akaGingerK
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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“Let us imagine you possess a perfect personal dictionary. A, the, whatever. ...

“The dictionary‘s title would be stamped in gold across the spine. Its paper would have a pleasant creaminess and weight, with a typeface implying elegance, an undeniably suave firmness or firm suaveness. A typeface that would be played by Jeremy Brett or Romaine Brooks — a typeface with cheekbones.” #ARC

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Penny_LiteraryHoarders
Liar's Dictionary | Eley Williams
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What an awesome cover!! Please, please let this one be as awesome as its cover!

Traci1 Ooh that is a neat cover. 3y
29 likes2 comments