Member Review
Review by
Stuart D, Reviewer
I'm always a sucker for novels about (or heavily infused by) books, words and/or language, so The Liar's Dictionary appealed to me right from the initial description: of a story split between a Victorian lexicographer inserting made-up words into a dictionary, and a present-day intern at the same dictionary trying to find them.
There's a real love of language in all its quirks running throughout this novel: it didn't just leave me with a new stash of words (not all of them fictional) to use, but it often made me laugh too. It made me want to go and bury my nose in a dictionary alongside reading it.
The risk of a split narrative is that readers might enjoy one more than the other, and I was worried about this for the first half of the book, when I warmed to Mallory, the present-day character, much more than to Peter the Victorian lexicographer. That's not a criticism of the writing: if anything, it's because Eley Williams has done such a good job of creating a character who's... well, I found him a bit too peevish and irritating.
In the second half of the book, I came round, and I think that's *definitely* a testament to the writing: to end up rooting for a character who I expected to be thoroughly fed up with by the end of the novel.
I also loved the relationship between Mallory and her girlfriend Pip: it's supportive with a shared sense of humour – the moment where Pip fields a phone call meant for Mallory is both, for example: I hooted at the punchline after she puts the phone down, but it was very touching too.
Thank you to the publisher for sending me an advance reader copy (ARC) via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
There's a real love of language in all its quirks running throughout this novel: it didn't just leave me with a new stash of words (not all of them fictional) to use, but it often made me laugh too. It made me want to go and bury my nose in a dictionary alongside reading it.
The risk of a split narrative is that readers might enjoy one more than the other, and I was worried about this for the first half of the book, when I warmed to Mallory, the present-day character, much more than to Peter the Victorian lexicographer. That's not a criticism of the writing: if anything, it's because Eley Williams has done such a good job of creating a character who's... well, I found him a bit too peevish and irritating.
In the second half of the book, I came round, and I think that's *definitely* a testament to the writing: to end up rooting for a character who I expected to be thoroughly fed up with by the end of the novel.
I also loved the relationship between Mallory and her girlfriend Pip: it's supportive with a shared sense of humour – the moment where Pip fields a phone call meant for Mallory is both, for example: I hooted at the punchline after she puts the phone down, but it was very touching too.
Thank you to the publisher for sending me an advance reader copy (ARC) via NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
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