The Liar’s Dictionary: An Unusual Work of Literary Fiction [Review]

I received a free copy for review from the publisher via NetGalley.

Summary 💬

Peter Winceworth is a lexicographer in Victorian-era London, toiling away at the letter S for a multi-volume Encyclopaedic Dictionary. Secretly, he begins to insert unauthorized fictitious entries into the dictionary in an attempt to assert some artistic freedom.

In the present day, Mallory is a young intern employed by the same publisher. Her task is to uncover these mountweazels before the dictionary is digitized. She also has to contend with threatening phone calls from an anonymous caller. Why, she wonders, is the change in the definition of marriage so upsetting to the caller? And does the caller really intend for the publisher’s staff to burn in hell?

As these two narratives, characters and times entwine, both Winceworth and Mallory discover how they might negotiate the complexities of the nonsensical, relentless, untrustworthy, hoax-strewn and undefinable path we call life. 

Goodreads

Review ✍🏻

I sat down half a dozen times to work on this review before I finally finished it. It’s not my most elegant review, but I captured my experience of reading The Liar’s Dictionary, an unusual book for me.

Netgalley tempted me into browsing one day, resulting in me breaking my rule of only requesting books already on my TBR. The cover! The dictionary focus! A hint of queer narrative! And I do love reading words about words. Yet The Liar’s Dictionary read quite differently from what I expected, with its historical perspective, dual narratives, and extremely odd happenings.

A Curious Story, in Style…

Dictionaries are unsafe, heady things. Safer perhaps to treat your memory as an encylopaedia, and keep your dictionary mobile in your mouth. Words passing from mouth to mouth, as baby birds take their food from the mother. How many similes can you fit in a preface? How garbled can a preface be? The perfect book should grab the reader and the perfect dictionary should be easily grasped.

The Liar’s Dictionary, loc 94

I had certain expectations of The Liar’s Dictionary based on the jacket copy. Those expectations were wildly off base. The preface (excerpted above) – which could be the introduction to the titular dictionary, a reflection by one of the protagonists, or something else entirely – was quick to temper them. Later, the preface’s writer asks “How many similes can you fit in a preface?”. Which got a chuckle, because I was wondering the exact thing. This snippet gives a good impression of the prose, though it lightens up once the main story starts.

Overall, I found the prose to have a curious flow. At times it’s gentle and contemplative. At other times it’s silly and rowdy – clearly the same writer but in a different mood. And still also at other times, it becomes wholly compelling in an unexpected way, pulling you through the action.

…and Substance

The story’s less about the threatening calls and unauthorized entries, far more about protagonists Mallory and Winceworth themselves. At one point, I felt I was reading a whole lot of nothing happening, though I wasn’t exactly bored. The story is highly introspective. But it’s not without plot or only-in-fiction experiences. Weird stuff happens all the meanwhile. At times I wasn’t sure if I was reading satire or parody. I’d find myself absorbed in the characters small actions and experiences, and then – oh! Right! I’m reading a novel! Where strange things do happen, beyond the introspection! (The whole section with a choking pelican, omg.) Williams kept me on my toes.

This was the longest sustained conversation he had kept for months. He considered starting every day by drinking whisky or whiskey and maybe everything would always seem this cogent and easy.

The Liar’s Dictionary, loc 1118

A couple other notes: The connections between Winceworth’s experiences, his resulting falsified words, and Mallory reading them in the present day greatly amused me. The hint of queer narrative is in Mallory’s storyline – no historical queers in this book. Mallory’s romantic life and struggle with coming out (her girlfriend is out) plays a significant role, especially since the threats are around the dictionary updating its definition of marriage. One of the more poignant scenes is when Mallory describes how she tried to learn about her own identity by reading dictionary definitions.

Literary Fiction?

I considered The Liar’s Dictionary very ‘literary’, in that the story is all about the characters in a sort of obscured, obfuscated way. I mean, I have the sense there’s a lot more going on in this story with the characters than is immediately obvious from a surface read. This is what I think of when I think of ‘literary fiction’. *googles ‘what makes fiction literary‘* Interesting – some definitions include that it doesn’t fit a genre and that the plot happens beneath the surface, in the minds of the characters. That describes The Liar’s Dictionary to a tee. In the past I have fallen to the trap of thinking literary fiction = dull, but this book reminds me to break that line of thinking.

The Bottom Line 💭

The Liar’s Dictionary makes for a curious read unlike most books I’ve read, one that’s far more creative than first glance suggests. Certainly a novel for all dictionary lovers to try.

Further Reading 📰

🍂 Read an excerpt (preface, which is distinct from the bulk of the story)
🍂 Author website
🍂 Interview @ The Guardian
🍂 Reviews: Eric @ Lonesome Reader
🍂 Related: I can’t think of a single post I’ve written that fits well enough to be considered related to this book…

Have you read any books featuring a dictionary?
What’s your favourite story about a book?