Title: The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows
Author: Koenig, John
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Pages: 272
Date Read: 01 December 2022
Bookshelves: read, favorites
My Rating (out of 5): ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
What do you do when you have no words for what you feel? How do you express yourself in ways language does not yet acknowledge as popular, or as normal? The author’s answer to these questions, well, was to curate a dictionary of nouns, verbs, and adjectives that capture the human experience in ways too subtle to be grasped by language as we know it. And as one who appreciates words, I cannot think of a greater labour of love.
It is the way the author introduces the words: those with page-long descriptions that set the tone for the chapters, and those with shorter descriptions that add fullness to the emotions we often dismiss as inconsequential. It is in how the author painstakingly explores the roots of these words in ways that elucidate the sheer amount of research that must have gone into designing them.
Koenig shines a light on too many things that flail around in our heads looking to escape, looking to be acknowledged. Through his words, I find that there is so much intersection in the human experience than words give us agency to express. Which leads me to conclude that, as a species, we should take the job of defining new words a little more seriously. Especially the ones that cater to the subtleties of the weather, the frustrations of a newborn, and the agonies of the heartbroken.
It is not every day that one looks forward to completing, or even reading, a dictionary. Heck, when I think of a dictionary, the image that comes to my head is that of the tome with a permanent spot on my table as a seven-year-old. But Koenig has achieved, in my eyes, all the things behemoths like Oxford and Webster’s could not even if they tried. And for this, the author has earned my eternal gratitude.
I must confess that the version of this book I read was a soft copy – an unfortunate error. But the moment I completed the book the first time, I knew that I quickly had to remedy this mistake. So I did what every responsible adult would and ordered a hardcover version. It arrives tomorrow.
Up until today, I have not been able to give a satisfactory answer to the question of the one book I’d take to an island with me. I can confirm that, as of December 2022, John Koenig’s Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows is that book for me. I say this because this is the first book I have read that has the ability to make you feel the same things in different ways every time you chance upon its pages.
Koenig has my gratitude, my respect, and all of my five stars.