The Lover’s Dictionary by David Levithan

There aren’t enough words in the dictionary to describe how much I adore this book.

Ineffable, adj.

These words will ultimately end up being the barest of reflections, devoid of the sensations words cannot convey. Trying to write about love is ultimately like trying to have a dictionary represent life. No matter how many words there are, there will never be enough.

It’s important to note that I very rarely reread books. I have always felt that rereading was a waste of time, because why reread something when you could read something new? However, today I got on my flight to Dallas fully intending to read Ripley’s Game but had to put it down, because I could feel The Lover’s Dictionary calling to me from my Kindle.

I first read The Lover’s Dictionary on a different flight, when I was heading home from Dallas and back towards Boston. I had just broken up with a guy not even 24 hours earlier and was, needless to say, a little emotionally numb. I needed something to take my mind off my inner demons, and remembered purchasing The Lover’s Dictionary.

Now, you’d think a book about love would be the last thing I’d want to pick up after a breakup. Originally, I thought it would be the case, as well; I definitely started reading with hesitance, afraid I might start crying on the plane. However, it ended up being exactly what I needed.

The book is short and sweet – I was able to read it in under an hour, between Dallas and St. Louis. Each chapter entry relates to a different word in the dictionary, and how it relates to the way our protagonist sees his relationship with his lover. The prose jumps around between past and present, capturing the beginnings of love and the trials that come along with staying in a relationship. It’s (500) Days of Summer meets beautiful, poignant, poetic language.

It spoke to me in a way not many books have before or since. Maybe it was the timing, maybe it was the wording, but I found myself highlighting almost every entry, so entranced was I with this novel. I kept thinking, “I know this feeling. I know it exactly. Exactly, exactly, exactly.” The highs and lows of relationships were painted with such honestly that it created a powerful solidarity for me that did nearly put me in tears – but not in pity of myself. No, this novel made me, despite feeling lonely and empty, believe in the beauty of love, and the importance of it.

So, on today’s flight, when I felt The Lover’s Dictionary calling to me, I listened. I stopped what I was doing, reread it in an hour, and fell in love all over again. Because when the heart knows what it wants, it knows what it wants.