"Levithan brings ingenuity and a wry edge to his first adult
novel. . . Among the novel's pleasures are micro-stories that speak
volumes, reminiscent of Lydia Davis' work. . . There's plenty of
reflection, not just on the relationship but on the attempt to
distill and describe such complex feeling, including this: '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.' That, by the way, is Levithan's definition
of ineffable." -Heller McAlpin, NPR.org
"'The Lover's Dictionary' is clever and poetic and, sigh, sad.
. . The brief entries are like poetry; poetry with a gravitational
pull back to the central narrative, which is two people falling in
love. The fact that the pieces hold together so well is testament,
not only to Levithan's light hand and gracious writing but also to
the power of this universal story." -Susan Salter Reynolds,
Newsday
"Young-adult novelist David Levithan doesn't list this entry
under the V in the alphabetically headed (and arranged) chapters of
'The Lover''s Dictionary,' his charming short novel about a love
affair and its bittersweet evolution from first flirt to shaky
domesticity, for lovers of all gender persuasions . . . Surrounded
by large amounts of white space-which may be useful for readers as
we walk through these dictionary-like entries for musing on our own
loves and losses-the spare number of words in Levithan's novel may
be just enough . . . But allow me to exclaim. Without
ellipsis. (and some white space) Here is a lovely Valentine's
Day gift for lovers!" -Alan Cheuse, San Francisco
Chronicle
"Levithan crafts a love affair as sharp, funny, and sad as any
you'd find in an epic novel. . . The Lover's Dictionary
isn't about how lessons were learned, and in what order-it's a
documentation of facts, memories, war wounds. And anyone who has
been in a romantic relationship will recognize themselves in
Levithan's lovers, from the tiniest details of merging bookshelves
and quiet afternoons to the largest anxieties of sexual inadequacy
and romantic reciprocity. Levithan's rhapsody is just that: an ode
to desire written as an account of the traces such desire leaves
behind." -Jessica Freeman-Slade, TheRumpus.net
"David Levithan makes every word count . . . Levithan gives
readers the kind of love story that Billy Pilgrim in
'Slaughterhouse-Five' would have appreciated: unstuck in time,
reliving moments in unpredictable order and in varying emotional
colors. . . an equal opportunity romance with wit and rue, kisses
and tears, that anyone can enjoy." -Jim Higgins, Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel
"From 'aberrant' to 'zenith,' David Levithan's latest creates
a relationship in short scenes, packed with lyrical language.
Entries slip back and forth in time as they unfold through an
alphabet of romance, anger, forgiveness and tenderness to make up
one particular relationship . . . The entries manage to be both
intently focused and hinting at the larger picture. They read more
like a well-crafted series of poems than a linear story line. Each
word is defined and captured in a moment of the relationship.
Levithan moves from romance to heartbreak to flirtation to
devotion, in alphabetical order." -Elizabeth Willse,
Star-Ledger
"Interestingly, each definition is told from the point of view
and in the first-person voice of only one of the partners. The
other partner's voice remains silent throughout except as quoted by
the narrator. Nevertheless, both come wonderfully alive, emerging
as complex, multidimensional human beings, happy and unhappy,
ebullient and angry, sweet and sour, and so-delightfully-forth.
Happily, the order of the alphabet does not dictate the order of
the story, which moves backward and forward in time. Thus, the
dramatic necessity of conflict arises from one partner's
infidelity, the impact of which is then explored at various points
in the history of the partnership. Nothing is cut-and-dried,
however, for as Levithan demonstrates, intimacy is sometimes
enigmatic and, as he notes under ineffable, "No matter how many
words there are, there will never be enough." So you must clearly
pick and choose which to use, an act that Levithan has accomplished
artfully and satisfyingly." -Booklist (starred
review)
"Levithan attains some heartbreaking moments as well as
pitches of hilarity with his concise, polished writing. Inherent in
such an endeavor is an adorableness thankfully grounded by
Levithan's wit." -Publishers Weekly