{"product_id":"9780735281516","title":"The Liar's Dictionary","description":"\u003cb\u003eNATIONAL BESTSELLER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA clever and funny debut novel chronicling the misadventures of a lovelorn Victorian lexicographer and the young woman who decodes his trail of made-up words a century later. For fans of CS Richardson, Helen Simonson's \u003ci\u003eMajor Pettigrew \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eEleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eMountweazel\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e n\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003ci\u003ethe phenomenon of false entries within dictionaries and works of reference. Often used as a safeguard against copyright infringement.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePeter Winceworth is a lexicographer in Victorian-era London, toiling away at the letter \"S\" for a multi-volume Encyclopedic Dictionary. Secretly, he begins to insert unauthorized fictitious entries into the dictionary in an attempt to assert some artistic freedom.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the present day, Mallory is a young intern employed by the same publisher. Her task is to uncover these mountweazels before the dictionary is digitized. She also has to contend with threatening phone calls from an anonymous caller. Why, she wonders, is the change in the definition of \"marriage\" so upsetting to the caller? And does the caller really intend for the publisher's staff to \"burn in hell\"?\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs these two narratives, characters and times entwine, both Winceworth and Mallory discover how they might negotiate the complexities of the nonsensical, relentless, untrustworthy, hoax-strewn and undefinable path we call life. An exhilarating debut from a formidably brilliant young writer, \u003ci\u003eThe Liar's Dictionary\u003c\/i\u003e celebrates the rigidity, fragility, absurdity and joy of language.","brand":"Eley Williams","offers":[{"title":"Knopf Canada |  Paperback \/ softback | Trade paperback (US) |  2021-11-09","offer_id":44151312777471,"sku":"9780735281516","price":19.95,"currency_code":"CAD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0329\/9075\/7001\/files\/BNCImageAPI_7f64fb05-9a1b-4da2-a302-3f739b671810.jpg?v=1732304898","url":"https:\/\/riverbookshop.com\/products\/9780735281516","provider":"River Bookshop","version":"1.0","type":"link"}