David Levithan views a relationship in a new way in his novel, The Lover's Dictionary. The relationship is viewed through a series of dictionary entries, with each entry being no more than a page and a half. As the entries are in alphabetical order, the relationship is not in chronological order. The reader gets bits and pieces of the relationship's story through the entries and has to piece together the whole picture as they read.
Levithan does a great job of choosing a variety of words and using them in ways that most wouldn't assume to be part of the story. He writes with sincerity and depth, and it feels as though he has been in these situations before. The great thing about this book is that he never names the narrators, or even distinguishes which gender they are. It's up to the reader to determine which entries belong to which narrator, what their genders are, and, therefore, what type of relationship they have. Levithan is known for writing stories about same-sex relationships, such as "Boy Meets Boy" and "Will Grayson, Will Grayson", so many readers will pick up this book assuming that it will be about the same topic. However, the ambiguity of the narrators makes this story applicable to everyone, which is pretty ingenious.
I admit that I did assume that this was another Young Adult novel of his, as that is what he is known for. His past novels include the two mentioned above, as well as "Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist". But this book is definitely NOT for teens. Not because of inappropriate material (there is none), but simply because teens most likely could not fully identify with the characters and the story. The maturity level is that of 20- and 30-somethings in terms of the depth of emotion and issues with which the couple deals.
Overall, this was a satisfying read that will be relatable to all readers in one way or another. I felt the happiness and sorrow of the couple through their journey, and I felt that it was all very realistic. Recommended for adult readers.
(Photo from Tower Books)
