The topic of this book - how the first Oxford Dictionary was computed - is very interesting and intrigued me a lot. The part of the book telling us about it was therefore a good read and well written. I like this combination of reality and fiction. The rest of the book was for me rather tedious and packed with too many problems and sorrow: depression, the Sufragette movement, WW I, the loss of loved ones…. Esme‘s life is a hard one and I must admit I like my reading less depressive.

Ich liebe die Geschichte dieses Buches extrem fest und ich denke, die Moral ist auch heute noch sehr wichtig. Auch wenn es um die Publikation des ersten “Oxford English Dictionary” geht, sind viele dieser Hürden für Frauen auch heute noch an der Tagesordnung. Das Thema der Sprache und auch der gendergerechten Sprache ist topaktuell. Für viele Nomen gibt es eine männliche und eine weibliche Form. In offiziellen Texten wird of nur die männliche Form gebraucht. Dazu steht dann häufig so etwas wie, “um den Lesefluss einfacher zu gestalten, wird nur die männliche Form gebraucht, aber die weibliche ist explizit auch eingeschlossen”. In der letzten Zeit gab es Widerstand gegen diese Art der Diskriminierung. Wie würden sich wohl Männer fühlen, wenn alles immer nur in weiblich wäre? Es kann sehr entmutigend sein, wenn man als Mädchen oder Frau nie die Worte “Ärztin” oder “Anwältin” liest und auch hört. Und manchmal kann es sich auch so anfühlen, als ob man nie diese Berufe erreichen könnte, weil es ist ja männlich. Aber die Sekretärin ist sicher immer weiblich! Als Kind habe ich mich oft gefragt, genau so wie Esme auch, wieso es für einige Worte gar kein männliches (oder natürlich auch weibliches) Äquivalent gibt. Ein gutes Beispiel dafür ist “Fräulein”. Erstens kann es in gewissen Kontexten relativ negativ und erniedrigend eingesetzt werden und zweitens gibt es keinen Grund Frauen betreffend ihrem Ehestand oder jüngerem Alter zu bezeichnen. Wieso haben also einige Menschen bzw. Männer die Macht zu entscheiden, welche Wörter wichtig sind? Welche Wörter “überleben” dürfen und welche nicht für die Gesellschaft geeignet sind. Wie das Buch zeigt werden dabei Frauen, aber auch ärmere Menschen oder Minderheiten übergangen. Darum ist für mich schon nur die Idee ein Lexikon mit Wörtern von Frauen und auch über Frauen erstaunlich. Wie viele Wörter sind wohl verloren gegangen, nur weil die männlichen Gelehrten sie nicht kannten oder als unwichtig erachteten? Dieses Buch hat für mich eine neue alte Diskussion angeregt. Denkt mal darüber nach, es gibt heute nur einen “richtigen” Weg zu sprechen, weil eine Elite die Regeln darüber gemacht hat, was die “richtige” Sprache ist. 5/5 Herzen für dieses Buch, welches nicht einfach ein Roman ist, sondern auch soziale Aspekte anspricht.

This is my favourite book this year. It takes place in Oxford douring the time when the Oxford English Dicitonary was beering researched. It tells the story of a Esme who grew up in the Office, where the words where collected. Her Father was one of the reaserchers and in time she will become part of this team. Esme used to play under her Fathers desk and sometimes some slips with words on would land in her lap. She started collecting them along with some words she hears on the street. She is obsessed with finding new words and never looses interest in these things while she grows up. It is truly a great stors, but hard to explain. I couldn’t put it down.

Where to begin? It first and foremost reminded me of why I love to read and write, and it deepened my fascination with the concept of languages. Language, and therefore words, is unassuming. It’s not exclusive to one gender, to one culture, to one race. It is what we do with those words that might restrict their use, that makes it a matter of inclusion or exclusion – which in and of itself is nothing bad. After all, there are over 6’000 languages spoken in the world we live in. I don’t think one lifetime would suffise to learn every word of every tongue. It’s where exclusion and restriction come to harm the people using it that we need to consider our own editing as damaging. The author did a marvellous job at giving the women who were a part of the making of the Oxford English Dictionary (no matter how ‘small’ their role) a voice, a life. Pip Williams in a sense is Esme, and Esme is Pip Williams. Esme’s calm but persistent and assertive nature spoke to me because her view on life and different topics so often matched my own, but I want to take the way she was able to voice it with so very few words yet oh so pointed and nonjudgmental as an example for myself. This is such important advice, and something we need to see from both sides. It is ok, if I’m not the one to protest on the streets, and it’s also ok, if there are others that feel like they should use their voices this way. Another topic that the author weaves in in such a delicate way is pregnancy where the two people are not in a relationship, much less a marriage, and everything surrounding it – abortion, adoption, etc. It had (and still has) me grappling with some tough questions and thoughts. It’s historical fiction and my life is so different to Esme’s in so many ways, yet it’s also so similar. Now, to list a few more specific reasons why I love this book so much: 1. It’s beautifully and authentically written. We grow up with Esme from when she’s six until she’s a woman, and the changes in the way she sees the world are reflected in the writing – BEAUTIFUL! I, also, never questioned in which era we were. 2. I loved every character as they were all written so carfully and thoroughly, even though not every detail was laid bare. Pip Williams knows how to make the reader see and get a person by showing us how they interact with others – MARVELLOUS! 3. Esme’s development and her character were beautiful to read. I particularly enjoyed seeing how she gained responsibility in her work at the scriptorium. She wished to take on more, be given the same opportunities as her male colleagues, but she also knew she had to take one step after the other. 1) Because she might have overwhelmed her superiors and thus lessened her chances. 2) Because she needed the training from the other stages before, as they made her better in what she did after. 4. I enjoyed the lovestory very, very much – such a sweet, sweet, bittersweet part of the story. Overall, although the story is quite slow-paced and went an entirely different course than the one I guessed at after reading thr blurb and the prologue, I would recommend this novel to anyone who loves historical fiction, books about feminism and/or is in love with the English language and words on a whole. I will remember this book for quite some time, I’m sure. Maybe forever.