Levithan's characters are not featureless, but they do function as empty vessels. In chronicling a relationship that starts on an internet-dating website, and in infusing the saga with so many contemporary references (going to a Vampire Weekend concert, for example), he makes imprinting yourself on this couple's happiness and setbacks less a suggestion than an open invitation. The complex details of different relationships can spin in a million different ways, but in the end, there are just two outcomes: you stay together or you don't. As Levithan notes under "ineffable, adj.": "Trying to write about love is ultimately like trying to have a dictionary represent life. No matter how many words there are, there will never be enough."
THE LOVER’S DICTIONARY
BY DAVID LEVITHAN | FARRAR, STRAUS AND GIROUX | 209 PAGES | $18
DAVID LEVITHAN + HANNAH PITTARD | Brookline Booksmith, 279 Harvard St, Brookline | February 10 @ 7 pm | 617.516.6660
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