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The liar's dictionary : a novel  Cover Image Book Book

The liar's dictionary : a novel / Eley Williams.

Williams, Eley, (author.).

Summary:

Peter Winceworth, a disaffected Victorian lexicographer, inserts false entries into a dictionary - violating and subverting the dictionary's authority - in an attempt to assert some sense of individual purpose and artistic freedom. In the present day, Mallory, a young overworked and underpaid intern employed by the dictionary's publishing house, is tasked with uncovering these entries before the work is digitised. As the novel progresses and their narratives combine, as Winceworth imagines who will find his fictional words in an unknown future and Mallory discovers more about the anonymous lexicographer's life through the clues left in his fictitious entries, both discover how they might negotiate the complexities of an absurd, relentless, untrustworthy, hoax-strewn, undefinable life. Braiding together contemporary and historical narratives, the novel explores themes of trust, agency and creativity, celebrating the rigidity, fragility and absurdity of language.

Record details

  • ISBN: 9780735281493 (hardcover)
  • Physical Description: 270 pages ; 22 cm
  • Publisher: Toronto, ON : Alfred A. Knopf Canada, 2021.

Content descriptions

General Note:
Originally published: London : William Heinemann, ©2020.
Subject: Lexicographers > Fiction.
Encyclopedias and dictionaries > Fiction.
Truthfulness and falsehood > Fiction.
English language > Etymology > Fiction.
Unrequited love > Fiction.
Coming out (Sexual orientation) > Fiction.
Creation (Literary, artistic, etc.) > Fiction.
Threats of violence > Fiction.
Great Britain > History > Victoria, 1837-1901 > Fiction.

Available copies

  • 1 of 1 copy available at Tsuga Consortium.

Holds

  • 0 current holds with 1 total copy.
Show Only Available Copies
Location Call Number / Copy Notes Barcode Shelving Location Status Due Date
Lakeshore Branch FIC Willi 31681010220101 FICTION Available -


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