L is for the Way You Look at Me

The Lover’s Dictionary, by David Levithan, is a delightful little book.  Told in the form of dictionary definitions (most no longer than a page, but many only a few sentences in length), the book chronicles a two-year relationship between the narrator (“I”) and a woman (“you”) he meets through an online dating service.

Because the novel arranges its entries alphabetically, the story isn’t told in chronological order; nevertheless, it’s never hard to follow.  In fact, the lack of conventional structure allows for some nice suspense and surprises.

Some of Levithan’s “definitions” are incredibly poetic—they could stand alone as beautiful articulations of love.  Don’t miss this one!