The Liar's Dictionary

The Liar's Dictionary

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  • Create Date：2021-01-09 04:16:45
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
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  • Author：Eley Williams
  • ISBN：9780385546775
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Editor Reviews

★ 10/19/2020

In Williams’s comically inventive debut novel （after the collection Attrib。）， a woman must ferret out the falsities intentionally embedded in a dictionary。 Mallory， the sole employee of David Swansby at Swansby’s New Encyclopaedic Dictionary， spends her days fielding angry， elliptical bomb threats from an unidentified crackpot。 Then， one day， Swansby gives her a special assignment—to find all the mountweazels placed in his family’s dictionary over the years。 （A mountweazel is a fake word placed in reference works to protect against copyright infringement。） Williams flashes back to 1899， when Swansby’s is a bustling enterprise that employs many lexicographers， among them Peter Winceworth， who loves to dream up mountweazels （“relectoblivious （adj。）， accidentally rereading a phrase or line due to lack of focus or desire to finish”）。 Mallory and her lover， Pip， search for these fake words and try to ascertain the identity of the anonymous mountweazeler， while in a parallel narrative Winceworth falls frustratingly in love with a fellow lexicographer’s fiancée， leading to two surprising and emotionally satisfying conclusions。 The author combines a Nabokovian love of wordplay with an Ali Smith–like ability to create eccentric characters who will take up permanent residence in the reader’s heart。 This is a sheer delight for word lovers。 （Jan。）

Publishers Weekly

Reviews

MILS ，

After careful thought， only one word comes to mind-AWFUL

Wendi ，

Although most of the books on my Clever shelf are there due to unusual publishing characteristics or unique narration （Romeo and/or Juliet: A Chooseable-Path Adventure， Ship of Theseus， Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal）， this one merits inclusion due to Williams' invention of words that I constantly had to look up to see if they are 'real'。 This book refreshed my contemplations over who brings words into languages and why they have any authority and why， as illustrated here， the creation of words Although most of the books on my Clever shelf are there due to unusual publishing characteristics or unique narration （Romeo and/or Juliet: A Chooseable-Path Adventure， Ship of Theseus， Textbook Amy Krouse Rosenthal）， this one merits inclusion due to Williams' invention of words that I constantly had to look up to see if they are 'real'。 This book refreshed my contemplations over who brings words into languages and why they have any authority and why， as illustrated here， the creation of words so perfect for what they describe should just be happening everywhere， all the time， by anyone， with complete legitimacy。 I loved the writing， enjoyed the characters， found this witty and light and joyful。 So， why three stars？ Honestly， primarily because I mostly pressured myself throughout to keep reading。 It's possible that， had I read this at a different time - of history， of year， of season， of frame of mind - it would've been easier to stay engaged。 As it was， the humor and wittiness - the spine and draw of this book， for me - simply weren't enough to consistently compel me into the character's lives。 I will try Williams again， dependent on timing and synopsis， as there was nothing objectionable here， certainly， just unfortunately not enough to captivate。ARC provided by Doubleday Books; thank you！！ 。。。more

Mark ，

Two very different love stories wrapped up in words and the occasional cat。

Harris ，

This is going to sound really lame， but I am drawn to the concept of dictionaries。 As a result， I've read "The Professor and the Madman" and "Word by Word。" So this was my first fictional book about dictionaries and I was really excited because of the idea of pulling off such a clever prank of creating false dictionary entries for personal amusement。 That is what I liked most about this book: the author's creativeness in concocting words and accompanying meanings to give the reader examples of P This is going to sound really lame， but I am drawn to the concept of dictionaries。 As a result， I've read "The Professor and the Madman" and "Word by Word。" So this was my first fictional book about dictionaries and I was really excited because of the idea of pulling off such a clever prank of creating false dictionary entries for personal amusement。 That is what I liked most about this book: the author's creativeness in concocting words and accompanying meanings to give the reader examples of Peter's efforts to insert his own life and musings into the Swansby Dictionary。 My other favorite parts were the instances where multiple synonyms or similar words were used to describe a feeling， thought， or color （who knew there were so many shades of orange？）。But， a lot of the story just fell flat for me。 I didn't care a ton about the characters and felt like they lacked a lot of depth。 I was really bored when their stories diverged from the creation of or search for made-up words。 I also felt that had I not realized that Peter's chapters occurred in 1899， it was not readily apparent from the surrounding context。 。。。more

Elyse Walters ，

*Note*。。。 I started this review earlier- debated on posting it given how shocking & devastating today’s events have been — the domestic attack on The White House。 Sad and outraged。。。。But here goes。。。my little teaser review: （ this was a unique creative book） The alphabet never looked so visionary。。。。。。@Galvanic 。。。。。sycophantic 。。。。。idiosyncratic 。。。。。 melange 。。。。。sidesplitting 。。。。。 methodical 。。。。。 amour-propre 。。。。。 buffoonery 。。。。。 smoldering 。。。。。 bonzer 。。。。。 jubilant 。。。。。lollapalooza！！ *Note*。。。 I started this review earlier- debated on posting it given how shocking & devastating today’s events have been — the domestic attack on The White House。 Sad and outraged。。。。But here goes。。。my little teaser review: （ this was a unique creative book） The alphabet never looked so visionary。。。。。。@Galvanic 。。。。。sycophantic 。。。。。idiosyncratic 。。。。。 melange 。。。。。sidesplitting 。。。。。 methodical 。。。。。 amour-propre 。。。。。 buffoonery 。。。。。 smoldering 。。。。。 bonzer 。。。。。 jubilant 。。。。。lollapalooza！！！！This ‘word-power-book’ is outlandishly insightful; onomatopoeia ——incredibly *fun* — clever 。。。。 with two charming nerdy characters （ past and present days） named Peter and Mallory。Linguistically and theatrically delicious storytelling in the realm of lexicography。 A book my husband especially adores。 （ he plays word game daily）。 Paul and I started making up our own new words。。。。Bookstorary。。。。。and tellytayle。。。FAKE NEWS。。。。 dictionary-storytelling？Paul and I had fun with this clever book 。。。。（a little pretentious。。。 but I think I knew that was to be expected from the start）。5 stars for Paul。。。 （I loved his enjoyment）。。。。which added to my enjoyment。。。。But。。。I’ll rate this 4 stars for how it’s creativity stimulating our own creative thoughts。 。。。more

Rachel S ，

An amazing start to 2021！ The plot is paper-thin， but I expect however you feel about the book doesn't hinge on what you think of the storyline - it's all about the writing。In brief: Mallory and Peter both work at the same dictionary company， the failed Swansby's， separated by over a hundred years。 The unappreciated Peter Winceworth amuses himself by adding words of his imagining into the dictionary， a task Mallory is tasked to rectify in the present - but this doesn't even happen until halfway An amazing start to 2021！ The plot is paper-thin， but I expect however you feel about the book doesn't hinge on what you think of the storyline - it's all about the writing。In brief: Mallory and Peter both work at the same dictionary company， the failed Swansby's， separated by over a hundred years。 The unappreciated Peter Winceworth amuses himself by adding words of his imagining into the dictionary， a task Mallory is tasked to rectify in the present - but this doesn't even happen until halfway through the book。 The two plots are mostly separate， my biggest letdown。 Mallory has her storyline with her anxieties surrounding coming out， and Winceworth deals with falling in love with his coworker's fiancee。 Themes of acceptance - from yourself and others - and navigating sexuality in the workplace bind the two characters together more than their shared employ。 This book is about the writing。 Eley Williams loves words and she wants you to know it。 Reading the prologue， I worried this was going to be a 250-page show-and-tell with the author trotting out her impressive vocabulary， wiggling her eyebrows at you expectantly with each obscure word。 But the first sentence of the first chapter utterly charmed me。 Yes， the writing leans into pretension， but it's funny！ It's both heavy-handed and refreshing。 If you want spare， utilitarian prose， move on。 If you want a book you can sink your teeth into， this is one for you。 。。。more

Georgie ，

A joy to read

Nelda Brangwin ，

I love words。 I grew up with a dictionary next to the table where we ate our meals， so this book was written for me。 Based on the premise that a multi-volume dictionary written in the 1930’s was to be digitized with no update with new words， Mallory， who is the only employee of the dictionary’s London office。 It is also the story of Winceworth， who lived 100 years ago and was in charge of the “S” section of the dictionary。 It took me a while to figure out that the two narrators were living in di I love words。 I grew up with a dictionary next to the table where we ate our meals， so this book was written for me。 Based on the premise that a multi-volume dictionary written in the 1930’s was to be digitized with no update with new words， Mallory， who is the only employee of the dictionary’s London office。 It is also the story of Winceworth， who lived 100 years ago and was in charge of the “S” section of the dictionary。 It took me a while to figure out that the two narrators were living in different times。 Winceworth， to stave off boredom， created made up words or mountweazels。 As Mallory reads the dictionary in preparation for digitizing， she begins to sense Winceworth’s personality in the words he has made up。 The characters are important in the story， but first and foremost it’s the exploration of language， words and meanings that take center stage。 And while， I enjoyed the book， I found myself counting the number of pages until the end。 。。。more

Doreen ，

This novel is for readers who enjoy wordplay。 I love words and etymology but the absence of an interesting plot and engaging characters makes this book tedious after a while。 There are two parallel stories。 One is set in 1899; Peter Winceworth is a lexicographer working on the multi-volume Swansby’s Encyclopedic Dictionary。 As a small act of rebellion， he begins to insert fictitious entries （known as mountweazels）。 In the present， Mallory， an intern for the same publisher， is tasked with uncover This novel is for readers who enjoy wordplay。 I love words and etymology but the absence of an interesting plot and engaging characters makes this book tedious after a while。 There are two parallel stories。 One is set in 1899; Peter Winceworth is a lexicographer working on the multi-volume Swansby’s Encyclopedic Dictionary。 As a small act of rebellion， he begins to insert fictitious entries （known as mountweazels）。 In the present， Mallory， an intern for the same publisher， is tasked with uncovering these mountweazels before the dictionary is digitized。 She also has to contend with threatening phone calls from an anonymous caller upset at the updated definition of “marriage。” Both narratives also have a romance element。 Winceworth falls in love with a woman already engaged to a colleague。 Mallory is in love with Pip， and though they live together， Mallory has not told anyone that she is gay。 I connected with neither Winceworth nor Mallory。 Though the former is a bit more developed， Mallory remains vague and insubstantial。 Both are milquetoasts， afraid to speak up。 Winceworth even “concocted， affected and perfected a fake speech impediment” because he was bored， thought it made him more endearing， and “made people respond to him with a greater gentleness。” Then he is upset when people make fun of his lisp！？ Mallory seems to have no idea what she wants in life and claims she loves Pip but is afraid to speak out and acknowledge that love。 After a while， I just got bored with them。In terms of plot， not much really happens。 What does happen seems contrived。 Winceworth takes a train trip to Barking even though he knows he’s being set up and sent on a fool’s errand？ Of course the trip is just a plot device so Winceworth can witness an explosion and have an epiphany。 Just as an explosion serves as a catalyst for Mallory’s epiphany。 Other parallels between the two stories （the convenient but uninvited presence of the love interests at Swansby’s） also seem strained。 The book begins very slowly。 The preface which expounds on the perfect dictionary， the perfect dictionary reader， and the perfect preface goes on and on， and were it not for the fact that I’d accepted an eARC in return for a review， I would have stopped reading when/if I got to the end。 Do we really need this list of words for “orange”: “amber， apricot， auburn， Aurelian， brass， cantaloupe， carrot， cinnabar， citric， coccinate， copper， coral， embered， flammid， fulvous， gilt， ginger， Glenlivit-dear-god， hennaed， hessonite， honeyed， laharacish， marigold， marmaladled， mimolette， ochraceous， orangutan， oriele， paprikash， pumpkin， rubedinous， ruddy， rufulous， russet， rusty， saffron， sandy， sanguine， spessartite， tangerine， tawny， tigrine， topazine， Titian， vermilion， Votyak， xanthosiderite – “？ Do we need pages of discussion of hourglass iconography？ Then there are the lengthy sentences that lose all meaning: “The best benchside exoticisms January could offer were all on show – the starling， the dandelion， the blown seeds and the bird skeining against the grey clouds， hazing it and mazing it， a featherlight kaleidoscope noon-damp and knowing the sky was never truly grey， just filled with a thousand years of birds’ paths， and wishful seeds， a bird-seed sky as something meddled and ripe and wish-hot， the breeze bird-breath soft like a – what – heart stopped in a lobby above one’s lungs as well it might， as might it will – seeds take a shape too soft to be called a burr， like falling asleep on a bench with the sun on your face， seeds in a shape too soft to be called a globe， too breakable to be a constellation， too tough to not be worth wishing upon， the crowd of birds， a unheard murmuration （pl。n。） not led by one bird but a cloud-folly of seeds， blasted by one of countless breaths escaping from blasted wished-upon clock as a breath， providing a clockwork with no regard to time nor hands， flocking with no purpose other than the clotting and thrilling and thrumming， a flock as gathered ellipses rather than lines of wing and bone and beak， falling asleep grey-headed rather than young and dazzling – more puff than flower – collecting the ellipses of empty speech bubbles， the words never said or sayable， former pauses in speech as busy as leaderless birds， twisting， blown apart softly， to warm and colour even the widest of skies。” That’s one sentence！！Being a logophile， I enjoyed adding to my vocabulary; for instance， I learned the meaning of bletted， jouissance， squib， ouroboros， cloacae， bleurgh， perfervid， smeuse， grawlix， zugzwang， cyprine， vuln， and netsuke。 I’ve found new words for my next Scrabble game and I’m looking forward to getting my next cup of take-out coffee and asking for a zarf。 And there is entertainment in reading about characters creating neologisms and trying to detect mountweazels。 Unfortunately， after a while， the book just becomes an exercise in cleverness。 It is linguistically extravagant but suffers from a paucity of strong narrative qualities。Anyone interested in words and language will find much to enjoy， but anyone looking for a novel with compelling literary elements should look elsewhere。 Apparently， the author’s PhD thesis focused on “meeting points between lexicographical probity and creativity。” This book certainly showcases her knowledge of lexicography but I’m less impressed with her creativity。Note: I received an eARC from the publisher via NetGalley。Please check out my reader's blog （https://schatjesshelves。blogspot。com/） and follow me on Twitter （@DCYakabuski）。 。。。more

Harmony ，

a dual-timeline narrative that tells the story of two lexicographers， one in the past， one in the present， discovering the eccentricities of the english language and the ways in which words can both fascinate and fail us。 i thought this started out strong but started to flag around the halfway point; i just didn't find winceworth's storyline particularly interesting， and the endings for both timelines were kinda predictable and anticlimactic。 but it was a fun concept and you can clearly tell tha a dual-timeline narrative that tells the story of two lexicographers， one in the past， one in the present， discovering the eccentricities of the english language and the ways in which words can both fascinate and fail us。 i thought this started out strong but started to flag around the halfway point; i just didn't find winceworth's storyline particularly interesting， and the endings for both timelines were kinda predictable and anticlimactic。 but it was a fun concept and you can clearly tell that the author enjoyed the process of researching for this book！ 。。。more

Des Lewis ，

Rest assured， these two chapters make a truly satisfying conclusion to what is undauntedly a classic work of literature， fit to stand by the likes of Tristram Shandy and Rameau’s Nephew。 And also to stand by any great poetry/prose that makes play of word magic。 A romcom， too， the meaninglessness of any job， even with a stake in conspiracies and hidden meanings。 Here we also hear of secrets， we all have secrets， a Secretum if not a scrotum， 。。。My detailed review of this book elsewhere under my na Rest assured， these two chapters make a truly satisfying conclusion to what is undauntedly a classic work of literature， fit to stand by the likes of Tristram Shandy and Rameau’s Nephew。 And also to stand by any great poetry/prose that makes play of word magic。 A romcom， too， the meaninglessness of any job， even with a stake in conspiracies and hidden meanings。 Here we also hear of secrets， we all have secrets， a Secretum if not a scrotum， 。。。My detailed review of this book elsewhere under my name is far too long to post here， but above is part of its conclusion。 。。。more

Carol Woeltjes ，

In the late 19th century a lexicographer finds himself ill-at-ease and overlooked。 He feels out of place in the world and dreams of other things。 To entertain and distract himself he creates ‘new’ words that find their way to the pages of the Swansby’s New Encyclopaedic Dictionary。 Skip to now and Mallory， the sole remaining employee of Swansby’s， is tasked with finding these mountweasel。 The narrative moves between the past and present allowing the reader to build a picture of both characters a In the late 19th century a lexicographer finds himself ill-at-ease and overlooked。 He feels out of place in the world and dreams of other things。 To entertain and distract himself he creates ‘new’ words that find their way to the pages of the Swansby’s New Encyclopaedic Dictionary。 Skip to now and Mallory， the sole remaining employee of Swansby’s， is tasked with finding these mountweasel。 The narrative moves between the past and present allowing the reader to build a picture of both characters and time periods。 Many beautiful sentences that left me swimming in the language and the scenes described。Short， but lovely read， really do wish mountweasel was a real word。 。。。more

Miki ，

"There really should be a specific work associated with the effects of drinking an excess of alcohol。 The headaches， the seething sense of paranoia-language seemed the poorer for not having one" From， "The Liar's Dictionary"Eley Williams' "The Liar's Dictionary" is told from two perspectives: Mallory in the present and （Peter） Winceworth living in the Victorian era。 These two parallel narratives intertwine when Mallory， who is digitizing the entries of a dictionary， discovers Wincesorth's fake a "There really should be a specific work associated with the effects of drinking an excess of alcohol。 The headaches， the seething sense of paranoia-language seemed the poorer for not having one" From， "The Liar's Dictionary"Eley Williams' "The Liar's Dictionary" is told from two perspectives: Mallory in the present and （Peter） Winceworth living in the Victorian era。 These two parallel narratives intertwine when Mallory， who is digitizing the entries of a dictionary， discovers Wincesorth's fake additions to it。 Winceworth is a lexicographer who works for the publisher that Mallory interns for in present day。 What ensues is two touching stories as both Mallory and Winceworth try to find meaning in their work and personal lives。 This novel is a fantastic choice for anyone who is a logophile and/or epeolatry。 Linguists who have an interest in semantics may also enjoy this fictional tale of the ways in which language has been formed throughout time。 The content in this story is playful in nature and-although it took me a little while to connect with the characters and storylines-I admit that once I'd spent some time in the Swansby office， I was hooked！This is the first novel I've read by Eley Williams， but I loved how smart the language and writing are。 But be warned！ You may need to read this with a dictionary beside you as this novel is full of vocabulary that is， at times， uncommon and obsolete。。。Perhaps refer to the OED？Note: There is a bit of romance， but it's not sickly sweet。Many thanks to NetGalley and William Heinemann for kindly letting me review an ARC of "The Liar's Dictionary"。https://www。netgalley。com/book/203653。。。 。。。more

Angela ，

First of all， one should get this book for the cover alone。 Very unique and cool。This story of a gentleman working on an obscure dictionary at the turn of the century， and a young woman a 100 years later working for the same institution， is filled with all sorts of words， both dubious and uncommon but real。 A fun read with lots of humor and a bit of intrigue。 However， I was a bit unsure of the ending。 I will need to reflect on it more。

Leah ，

The author's bio at the end of this book mentions membership to the Royal Society of Literature and it's evident。 She's clearly a lover of words and the wordplay abounds in these pages。。。unfortunately to the detriment of plot and storytelling。 I am glad I pushed on - there really are wonderful turns of phrase and beautifully written passages - but more than once I entertained the idea of abandoning this one altogether。I do think this will be a pretty polarizing novel （as I rate this in firm midd The author's bio at the end of this book mentions membership to the Royal Society of Literature and it's evident。 She's clearly a lover of words and the wordplay abounds in these pages。。。unfortunately to the detriment of plot and storytelling。 I am glad I pushed on - there really are wonderful turns of phrase and beautifully written passages - but more than once I entertained the idea of abandoning this one altogether。I do think this will be a pretty polarizing novel （as I rate this in firm middle of the road， 3-star territory。。）。 I wanted to be floored by this one， wowed by it， but I enjoyed the thought of what it could be more than what it actually is。For the full review and more， head over to The Pretty Good Gatsby！ 。。。more

Wendy ，

“The Liar’s Dictionary” which I received through Goodreads Giveaways is a uniquely creative and amusing word-driven story that revolves around Swanby’s Encyclopedia Dictionary which in present time is about to be digitized。 Told from the perspective of lexicographer Peter Winceworth in Victorian London who’s working on the document especially the letter “S”， and in the present by Mallory a young intern at Swansby House who’s not only tasked with ferreting out and eliminating the fake words but w “The Liar’s Dictionary” which I received through Goodreads Giveaways is a uniquely creative and amusing word-driven story that revolves around Swanby’s Encyclopedia Dictionary which in present time is about to be digitized。 Told from the perspective of lexicographer Peter Winceworth in Victorian London who’s working on the document especially the letter “S”， and in the present by Mallory a young intern at Swansby House who’s not only tasked with ferreting out and eliminating the fake words but who has to cope with a threatening phone caller。Plagued by a lisp， either ignored by his colleagues or the butt of their insensitive jokes， Winceworth becomes disenchanted with his job， creating his own words and inserting them in the dictionary。 A hundred years in the future David Swansby discovering the fake entries gives Mallory the task of not only finding the “mountweazles” but eliminating them。 In a delightfully entertaining plot filled with a feast of puns， newly coined words and alliterations this novel is not only a delightful exploration of language but also a look at the emotional twists that life is heir to。 Enjoyable to read with twists that keep the reader absorbed， this well-written， entertaining plot flows smoothly to an intriguing ending。I liked “ A Liar’s Dictionary ， a wonderful addition to be added to my library for other patrons to enjoy。 。。。more

Sandra ，

A language lover's book。 ❤ A language lover's book。 ❤ 。。。more

Renita D'Silva ，

Beautiful

Ellen ，

As good as they say！ 😊

Cameron ，

I won a copy of this book on Goodreads and looked forward to reading it。 The book， however， fell a little short for me。 I didn't really connect with any of the characters which made it hard to get engaged in the story。 I did appreciate the efforts put into this book when it comes to the many definitions （both real and false）。 I'm sure some people will love it but unfortunately it just wasn't for me。 I won a copy of this book on Goodreads and looked forward to reading it。 The book， however， fell a little short for me。 I didn't really connect with any of the characters which made it hard to get engaged in the story。 I did appreciate the efforts put into this book when it comes to the many definitions （both real and false）。 I'm sure some people will love it but unfortunately it just wasn't for me。 。。。more

Sarah ，

Liar's Dictionary is an unfocused dual POV story about the creation and continuation of a lesser known dictionary。We alternate each chapter between Winceworth， a lexicographer in 1899 who is faking a lisp and is assigned to the letter "S" for the dictionary and Mallory， our modern day intern who is digitizing the dictionary and fending off threatening calls at the office。These stories have barely any connective tissue， and while I enjoyed the vocabulary in the book （both real and mountweazels） t Liar's Dictionary is an unfocused dual POV story about the creation and continuation of a lesser known dictionary。We alternate each chapter between Winceworth， a lexicographer in 1899 who is faking a lisp and is assigned to the letter "S" for the dictionary and Mallory， our modern day intern who is digitizing the dictionary and fending off threatening calls at the office。These stories have barely any connective tissue， and while I enjoyed the vocabulary in the book （both real and mountweazels） the reading experience is plodding。Thank you to the publisher， via Netgalley， for providing me with an arc for review。 。。。more

Sean Graham ，

Okay， I didn't know what to expect when picking this book from Netgalley， however， whilst it was a dry novel， there were some entertaining parts。 Their is a dual narrative throughout， one set in the present， the other the distant past， which leads to a very different progression for each protagonist。 For me though， whilst I enjoyed that aspect， I did not enjoy how much linguistic exposition there was - it felt a little like being clubbed round the head with the very dictionary the characters wer Okay， I didn't know what to expect when picking this book from Netgalley， however， whilst it was a dry novel， there were some entertaining parts。 Their is a dual narrative throughout， one set in the present， the other the distant past， which leads to a very different progression for each protagonist。 For me though， whilst I enjoyed that aspect， I did not enjoy how much linguistic exposition there was - it felt a little like being clubbed round the head with the very dictionary the characters were editing！ So， all in all， a fun novel but not for those who don't like reading about words。 Oh， the irony。 。。。more

Annie ，

Word nerds might already be familiar with the term mountweazel。 A mountweazel is a fake entry put into dictionaries to stop people from copying and profiting off of someone else’s hard work。 Mountweazels play a lot of different roles in Eley William’s clever novel， The Liar’s Dictionary。 They act as metaphor as often as they appear as literal plot points。 For me， the real fun in reading this novel was trying to work out which words were made up and which ones were real （if obscure） English words Word nerds might already be familiar with the term mountweazel。 A mountweazel is a fake entry put into dictionaries to stop people from copying and profiting off of someone else’s hard work。 Mountweazels play a lot of different roles in Eley William’s clever novel， The Liar’s Dictionary。 They act as metaphor as often as they appear as literal plot points。 For me， the real fun in reading this novel was trying to work out which words were made up and which ones were real （if obscure） English words。。。Read the rest of my review at A Bookish Type。 I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley， for review consideration。 。。。more

Jay ，

The best books of 2020， the ones we'll still be reading a thousand years from now， include:The Liar's Dictionary， Eley Williams Britain A glorious celebration of language as our primary identity and instrument of self construction， referential to the mission of Wittgenstein and his protégé James Joyce to reinvent and liberate humankind through language， Eley Williams’ The Liar’s Dictionary is a romantic comedy which recalls A。S。 Byatt’s masterpiece Possession， but also a metaphysical novel whic The best books of 2020， the ones we'll still be reading a thousand years from now， include:The Liar's Dictionary， Eley Williams Britain A glorious celebration of language as our primary identity and instrument of self construction， referential to the mission of Wittgenstein and his protégé James Joyce to reinvent and liberate humankind through language， Eley Williams’ The Liar’s Dictionary is a romantic comedy which recalls A。S。 Byatt’s masterpiece Possession， but also a metaphysical novel which recalls Iris Murdoch’s The Philosopher's Pupil。 Two lexicographers a century apart share interconnected lives in alternating chapters， a Mad Hatter’s tea party of words and the souls they create。 The search for meaning in language and in ourselves has rarely been more fun。 Full of word games， origins， and puzzles which reference those of Georges Perec， Raymond Queneau， and Italo Calvino， The Liar's Dictionary is in part a search for the boundaries of meaning and the limits of formal structure and the sounds of words as shaping forces of cognition。 The theme of falsification of ourselves is interrogated through the quest to find invented words used to secure copyright in a dictionary; but how to disambiguate true from false， real from imagined？ We are the thoughts we are able to have， the language with which we think and speak and write。 Language then becomes an instrument with which we can shape and direct our own evolution。 Who then shall we become？ 。。。more

JLJ ，

Let me tell you about the etymology of the word hello， Winceworth thought， taking the drink。 I cannot sing and I cannot be handsome， but I can perhaps charm you with a fascination with the particulars rather than the general， that's my talent。 This tendency to drift off and delight with small details， the transformative power of proper attention paid to small things。This book tells the story of two lexicographers， separated by a little more than a century。 The first， in 1899， sprinkled fanciful Let me tell you about the etymology of the word hello， Winceworth thought， taking the drink。 I cannot sing and I cannot be handsome， but I can perhaps charm you with a fascination with the particulars rather than the general， that's my talent。 This tendency to drift off and delight with small details， the transformative power of proper attention paid to small things。This book tells the story of two lexicographers， separated by a little more than a century。 The first， in 1899， sprinkled fanciful words of his own creation in Swansby's Dictionary and the second， in the present， is tasked with compiling a list of the liar's entries before the Dictionary is digitized。Both timelines are funny with engaging characters and mysteries and they interweave in surprising and touching ways。 I would advise you to have you phone handy because this book celebrates language and takes you on a wild ride to its deepest recesses。 I learned about， and forgot， more words than I ever have while reading this book。 The author expertly plays with words， both real and imagined， and their meanings， but it is done in a wonderful way and never detracts from the stories being told， on the contrary it completes them beautifully。 。。。more

Tara Weiss ，

This is not a "read before bed" book - you have to pay attention。 There is a past/present perspective that isn't always clear， lots of big words， and practices that are not familiar to American audiences。 If that's your jam， then turn up the music on The Liar's Dictionary。 You can add your own arm chair psychoanalysis （delusions of grandeur， perhaps？） and analyze characters who are searching for a place in the world， and， perhaps， history。 This is not a "read before bed" book - you have to pay attention。 There is a past/present perspective that isn't always clear， lots of big words， and practices that are not familiar to American audiences。 If that's your jam， then turn up the music on The Liar's Dictionary。 You can add your own arm chair psychoanalysis （delusions of grandeur， perhaps？） and analyze characters who are searching for a place in the world， and， perhaps， history。 。。。more

Tara Weiss ，

This is not a "read before bed" book - you have to pay attention。 There is a past/present perspective that isn't always clear， lots of big words， and practices that are not familiar to American audiences。 If that's your jam， then turn up the music on The Liar's Dictionary。 You can add your own arm chair psychoanalysis （delusions of grandeur， perhaps？） and analyze characters who are searching for a place in the world， and， perhaps， history。 This is not a "read before bed" book - you have to pay attention。 There is a past/present perspective that isn't always clear， lots of big words， and practices that are not familiar to American audiences。 If that's your jam， then turn up the music on The Liar's Dictionary。 You can add your own arm chair psychoanalysis （delusions of grandeur， perhaps？） and analyze characters who are searching for a place in the world， and， perhaps， history。 。。。more

John Banks ，

4。5What a delightfully wonderful read。 Filled with playfully exuberant writing， this tale of two lexicographers separated by a century and connected by Swansby's New Encyclopaedic Dictionary shares some special insights about the deep relationships among language， creativity and our humanity。 And along the way the reader will savior a good few stunningly gorgeous passages。 The two central characters are Peter Winceworth （in the final year of the 19th century） and Mallory， a young woman in contem 4。5What a delightfully wonderful read。 Filled with playfully exuberant writing， this tale of two lexicographers separated by a century and connected by Swansby's New Encyclopaedic Dictionary shares some special insights about the deep relationships among language， creativity and our humanity。 And along the way the reader will savior a good few stunningly gorgeous passages。 The two central characters are Peter Winceworth （in the final year of the 19th century） and Mallory， a young woman in contemporary London。 Winceworth， an eccentric young man with a contrived lisp and infatuation for words and language， works in London in the final year of the 19th century for the dictionary's editor。 The contemporary Mallory is interning for Swansby's as an effort is made to complete， check and digitise the dictionary。 As the novel develops chapters alternate between third person accounts of Winceworth and his experience working on the dictionary and first person chapters from Mallory。 They become connected when fake words （mountweazels） are added to the dictionary by Winceworth and after these are uncovered by the contemporary editor， David Swansby， Mallory is tasked with finding them。 This sets the stage for some glorious lexical and etymological fun and games。 Eley Williams' beautiful and playful style as she unpacks the textures and complexities of language also does so much more than just play elaborate word games。 Although it's filled with delightful lexical play including puns， anagrams and fascinating resonances set up through sound and harmony。 In these pages she explores themes about language， artifice， contrivance and dissimulation， art and aesthetics， love， trust， truth and desire。 Tying all of it together is a concern with how the twisty， distorted， creative fabric of language provides us with the very stuff from which our humanity is made， including all of its frailties and delusions， as through often inadequate words and phrases we try to reach for something more， that often indefinable meaning of experience that eludes us。 At moments it's nonsensical and yet it binds us together as we seek to share and communicate it。 Williams powerfully and perhaps more importantly playfully invokes a sense of the joyous nonsensical that bends and breaks language （sometimes we call it love）。 Here I find resonances with Carroll's Alice in Wonderland， not in the sense of the fantastical but more that reveling in the play with words。Just a sample of some of these passages:Describing the Scrivenery where Winceworth works at his desk:"The majority of the sounds of the Scrivenery were dedicated to paper - the sibilance of documents slid across desktop， the slightly more stuttered shuffling of leaves arranged into order or the khuhhkunk-ffppp of a book removed from its purchase on the shelves lining the large airy room。 It is a lexicographer's impulse to categorise these things。 All this was a welcome， cathedral-like calm compared to the orange oriole nightmare of Dr Rochfort-Smith's office， let alone the braying scheme and flux of Birdcage Walk and London's many other streets。"Winceworth resting on a park bench after a significant encounter:"Two birds veered overhead， chattering and braiding the air。 It might have been his imagination， but a dandelion seed seemed to drift through his line of sight and join them。 He wondered whether anyone would miss him if he just stayed amongst the weeds， kicking the clocks of dandelions until facelessness and spending the afternoon not amongst paper and letters and words but instead here， head to and in and of the clouds counting birds until the numbers ran out。 There were funny， oily little wild birds in the park， some of which he recognised。 Surely too early for starlings。 Starlings with feathers star-spangled and glittersome。 One brave bird hopped about his feet for cake crumbs while still more were flitting above his head with the dandelion seeds， blown wishes finding a smeuse in the air。 The best benchside exoticisms January could offer were all on show - the starling， the dandelion， the blown seeds and the birds skeining against the grey clouds， hazing it and mazing it， a featherlight kaleidoscope noon-damp and knowing the sky was never truly grey， just filled with a thousand years of birds' paths， and wishful seeds， a bird-seed sky as something meddled and ripe and wish-hot， the breeze bird-breath-soft。。。。 [it goes on]"What an invocation of and homage to the quiddity of life and experience。 More than anything else this book celebrates literary language's ability to conjure up this shimmering quality of the irreducible particular， whether it be in a bird， a pelican （there's a very funny passage featuring a young woman Winceworth is infatuated with and a pelican）， or that we discover in our encounter with another person。 This is a writer committed to describing haecceity， that irreducible essence of things， and at the same time she plays on the artful contrivance of it all。 In many ways the central character in this work is the wonderful fluidity of language。 Here's the thing， there's a lot of heart and soul in this particular contrivance and Williams isn't afraid to own and celebrate that either。 What a fabulous writing talent， I very much look forward to reading more from her。Here's a review that particularly notes the distinctive qualities of Williams' style。https://lareviewofbooks。org/article/t。。。 。。。more

Mary Beth ，

The Liar's Dictionary is a fun read for anyone who loves words and dictionaries， and revels in learning new words， their meanings， and their origins。 There are two intertwined stories - one that takes place in present day， and another that takes place in the late 1800's - at Swansby's Dictionary。 Swansby takes on the herculean task of creating an unabridged dictionary， and publishing it before others （like Oxford and Webster）。 Peter Winceworth is a lexicographer working on entries for the letter The Liar's Dictionary is a fun read for anyone who loves words and dictionaries， and revels in learning new words， their meanings， and their origins。 There are two intertwined stories - one that takes place in present day， and another that takes place in the late 1800's - at Swansby's Dictionary。 Swansby takes on the herculean task of creating an unabridged dictionary， and publishing it before others （like Oxford and Webster）。 Peter Winceworth is a lexicographer working on entries for the letter "S，" and living a life of quiet despair。 To amuse himself， he makes up fake words and defines them， but （at first） has no intention of adding them to the dictionary。In the present day， Mallory is employed by the last living Swansby to help him digitize the Swansby's Dictionary， which was never completed。 Once the "fake" words （known as mountweazels） are discovered， it is her job to find them and remove them from the dictionary before they publish the book online。The appeal of this story is the playful use of words。 You might actually need to have a good dictionary beside you to define all the words used in this book！ Winceworth and Mallory both have a lot of angst and are interesting characters。 The plot is decent， but what really shines through is the author's love of etymology and dictionaries as a literary form， not just as discovery tool。Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC！ 。。。more

Daisy Anna ，

I don't want to rate this book - I started reading it while I was having a rubbish time。 I eventually DNF it because I'd spent 2 months trying to force myself to read it。 That is NOT a reflection on the book， I was really enjoying it when I did read it， it's so cleverly written and funny and intelligent， but I was reading it at the wrong time。I will return to it next year and try to read it in better circumstances！10。12。20 I don't want to rate this book - I started reading it while I was having a rubbish time。 I eventually DNF it because I'd spent 2 months trying to force myself to read it。 That is NOT a reflection on the book， I was really enjoying it when I did read it， it's so cleverly written and funny and intelligent， but I was reading it at the wrong time。I will return to it next year and try to read it in better circumstances！10。12。20 。。。more

Joe ，

4。5 rounded up