‘Lover’s dictionary’: redefines relationships

Boy wins girl. Boy loses girl. Boy wins girl back. As Hollywood continues to prove, there are only so many ways to tell a love story. David Levithan mixes things up in his 2011 book “The Lover’s Dictionary,” which is actually clever if you can forgive him for the cheesy title.

This short book consists of dictionary entries that tell the story of a couple’s relationship, from the way they meet at an online dating website to her decisions that threatens to tear them apart.

The different style of this book offers a new perspective to a familiar story, in addition to exploring the relationship between language and love. “The Lover’s Dictionary” also lacks the typical fairy tale ending, which is a nice change for a familiar story.

There is a dictionary entry for each letter in the alphabet, so the story is arranged alphabetically instead of chronologically. This is occasionally confusing but slowly reveals the complexity of the characters.

The words for each entry, such as aberrant, elliptical, and nomenclature, are not typically associated with relationships, so it is interesting how Levithan uses ordinary words to explore the good and bad sides of relationships. Some of the entries are quirky and amusing, for instance, anachronism: “ ‘I’ll go get the horse and buggy,” you’ll say. And I’ll say, ‘But I thought we were taking the hovercraft!’ ” Other entries are more thought-provoking: basis: “There has to be a moment at the beginning when you wonder whether you’re in love with the person or the feeling of love itself.”

The man and woman in “The Lover’s Dictionary” don’t have names or physical descriptions; instead, they are revealed through their interactions with each other, their friends, and their family.

They deal with realistic problems, from her dependency on alcohol to his chronic worries. Although the characters have an air of anonymity, they do not seem one-dimensional. Readers could easily see themselves in the funny, serious, and sometimes selfish aspects of the couple’s relationship, from his laziness to her inability to put the cap back on the toothpaste.

This book also explores the dynamics of relationships that start online, where people can portray themselves a certain way. This makes the story relevant in today’s age of Facebook and online identities.

The main problem I had with this book is that the dictionary entries reveal all the ways the two characters are incompatible yet fails to mention what keeps them together or even attracted them in the first place. Levithan makes his characters jump from a one night stand to a serious relationship; this seems like a lazy author’s way to avoid developing his characters any more than he has to.

Also, Levithan tries to make the story seem more realistic by randomly interspersing harsh language into the entries. I thought this was unnecessary and detracted from the story.

Overall, this book is fun to read because of Levithan’s writing style and original approach to a hackneyed topic. Reading “The Lover’s Dictionary” is similar to eating popcorn. It’s light and not overly filling, leaving room for more substantial books, although the occasional kernel detracts from the experience.