The Dictionary of Lost Words By Pip Williams

I picked up this book with a lot of consternation , if it will be an arduous read, will it be laden with all fanciful and indiscernible words for me. But all my fears were mollified.

The title of the book was misleading to me, I could not fathom that it isn't a catalogue of obsolete words but a full-fledged interesting narration from a female's perspective about the words omitted imperiously pertaining to females and common folks by the master-decider of a dictionary, the lexicographer, Mr. Murray and his team. 

I was dazed to know that a word - Catamenia existed !

As Goodreads rating for this novel was brimming with stars, I was decoyed to invest my entire night to delve deep into it.

It was indeed an endearing reading-excursion for 25 percent of the narration, but the rest went dreary and drab for me. Maybe my existing faster-paced reads have transcended such slower-paced reads of high morals. Let me be candid, I rambled through some 150 pages when our all grown-up protagonist was setting out on an earnest mission.

The novel begins with our protagonist Esme, who is is a precocious motherless child. She is born in a family living in a world of creating the very first Oxford English Dictionary.

The loftiness and tedium of collecting and cataloguing of words, is undertaken by Dr. Murray, the lexicographer. Esme's doting father is a part of his team.

Esme's fascination for words starts from her first visit to the Scriptorium in the back garden, brimming with paper cards containing words. She spends time crawling under the table, staying enchanted by the slips going into the pigeonholes and many lying unattended.

On one fine day, a paper-slip containing the word "bondmaid" flutters beneath the table. Upon knowing that the word belongs to her young servant friend Lizzie, she endeavors to start collecting all such ignored words into a wooden trunk.

As she grows up, she discerns that all the words pertaining to women and the commonfolk go unrecorded.

She sets out earnestly on the quest to collect and catalogue words for her own unofficial dictionary - "The Dictionary of Lost words"

To do so, she starts practically meeting people. This part was dragged for me personally, and I was forced to start flicking through the pages.

Finally, when Esme presents a copy of her work to an editor to make it official, he rejects it as not a “topic of importance”.

Esme responds to him: “you are not the arbiter of knowledge, sir. It is not for you to judge the importance of these words, simply allow others to do so”.

Set in the backdrop of the women's suffrage movement, "The Dictionary of Lost Words" is a well-researched work on women equality. 

Inspired by actual events, it is a well-researched work of author Pip Williams.

The pith of the novel is indeed thought-provoking and is all about celebrating discarded words. It defines the major part of the power of language in shaping the world.

For me, it was like a babbling procession of lost words pertaining women and common public!

I have docked 2 stars just due to the slow pacing and unnecessary drag. I think some 150 pages could have been subtracted and the novel could have been condensed well enough to make it a well-paced quick read for this well-researched work. It would have garnered more appreciation.

This read on suffrage movement was a high-value but a slow-paced and a dragged read for me. 

I conclude, advancements definitely impact our proclivities and likings :)