The Lover's Dictionary

A nameless narrator tells the story of a relationship through dictionary entries. These short entries provide insight into the ups and downs of their romantic relationship, revealing the couple's problems with alcoholism and infidelity. The story does not unfold in chronological order; instead, it is arranged alphabetically by dictionary entries which give glimpses into the joys and struggles the characters face over the course of their relationship.

The Lover's Dictionary is "a story about love, in all its messy complicated reality," says Levithan.[1]

The idea for the book was inspired by a Valentine's Day tradition in which the author writes a story for a group of family members and friends. While trying to come up with an idea for a new Valentine's Day story, the author noticed a book called Words You Need to Know sitting on his desk and became inspired. "Could I tell the story of a relationship by just randomly picking words in alphabetical order from this book and then writing entries as if it were a dictionary?" Levithan wondered. He chose the words in alphabetical order and let the story and characters reveal themselves as he wrote the dictionary entries.[1]

Reviews:

• 'The Lover's Dictionary': Definitions for Heartbreak, NPR, 11 January 2011.
• The Lover's Dictionary, Publishers Weekly, 11 January 2011.
• The Lover's Dictionary: A Novel by David Levithan – review, The Guardian, 13 February 2011.
• The Lover's Dictionary by David Levithan, Dictionary Society of North America, 14 February 2011.

• David Levithan website
• @loversdiction, Twitter