The Lovers Dictionary by David Levithan

The Lovers Dictionary by David Levithan

How does one talk about love?

We are all beginners when it comes to love, from those tentative first dates to learning how to live with, or without, someone. But how does one describe love? How does one chart its delights and pleasures, its depths and desolations? Do we even have the right words to describe something that can be both utterly mundane and completely transcendent, pulling us out of our everyday lives and making us feel a part of something greater than ourselves? David Levithan's The Lover's Dictionary starts where we all once started – with the alphabet.

Constructing the story of a relationship as a dictionary, Levithan explores the intimacies and workings of love through his nameless narrator, to paint a moving portrait of love through everyday words. Cleverly using the confines of language to provide an intimate window into the great events and quotidian trifles of being part of a couple, Levithan gives us an indelible and deeply moving portrait of love in our time.

‘Teasing, intriguing and easy to devour in one go’ Cosmopolitan

‘Romantic, quick, clever, funny. Read it in one sitting.’ Sunday Times Style

‘Like all good love stories, this one is both unique and universal; it’s impossible not to nod along in recognition…It is a refreshingly grown-up story of a love affair between adults… Levithan is a generous, warm-hearted writer, and his conceit feels original… A Valentine’s gift? What could be better?’ Observer

‘Covers everything from delight to desolation’ Time Out

David Levithan is the author of many acclaimed young-adult novels, including Boy Meets Boy, The Realm of Possibility, Love is the Higher Law, and (along with Rachel Cohn) the New York Times bestselling Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, which has been adapted into a popular movie. He is an editorial director at Scholastic in the US.