The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan

Summary:

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, that’s 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 it’s even there when you thought you were searching for something else, like an escape route, or your lover’s 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 Levithan’s The Lover’s 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.

Summary taken from Goodreads.com



When will I ever learn? You would think that after the debacle with The Man With Dancing Eyes by Sophia Dahl that I would have learned to stay away from these sorts of literary fiction books. While I admit I was mostly drawn to the cover I also hoped that this book would actually be good.

It wasn't.

This book while I found to be a unique take on what a romance is through the  use of words I felt it was lacking. However if you are to look at the reviews for it on Goodreads you will probably see that I'm in the minority in thinking this. Perhaps this is another one of those it was me not the book that prevented me from liking the book more because I honestly didn't find it to be anything more than a mediocre book that I read to pass the time the other night when I couldn't sleep and I read it all in one sitting.

To me it felt that the author was trying to be more unique or "artsy" in certain parts of the book and we all know what happens when an author tries too hard to write something. It generally doesn't come out  that well sadly. Yet I'm glad that I gave this book a try because it was a change from the other books I've been reading lately and it did help pass the time.

I personally wouldn't recommend this book to people that I didn't already know liked these types of books and I hope if the author does try again to write a book I hope its much better.

★★