A collection of very short stories composed entirely of example sentences from various dictionaries, perfect for fans of The Lover's Dictionary and The Interrogative Mood: A Novel
One day, while looking up a word in the New Oxford American Dictionary, Jez Burrows was stopped in his tracks by an example sentence: “He perched on the edge of the bed, a study in confusion and misery.” It seemed like a tiny piece of fiction had gotten lost, wandered out of another book and settled down in the dictionary. With that spark, and a handful of experimental stories posted to Tumblr, Dictionary Stories was born.
Genre-bending and wildly inventive, Dictionary Stories is a giddy celebration of the originality, flexibility, and beauty of narrative. Love stories, horror stories, noir mysteries, recipes, eulogies, confessions, thrillers each one a miniature literary remix of unlikely parts hidden in plain sight, created by flipping through the dictionary and knowing where to stop.
Burrows is a master of immersive, immediate narratives. Effortlessly transcending sentence level, he lights between the profound and the absurd with a few carefully assembled sentences, transporting readers into moments, worlds, and experiences of remarkable variety. From the everyday (dating, family, jealousy, memory) to the extraordinary (the apocalypse, fantasies, murder, the occult).
Organized alphabetically by theme and featuring original illustrations by the author, this continually surprising and wonderfully weird collection glows with humor, emotion, and intellect. Dictionary Stories will speak to language lovers, creative minds, and anyone who has ever appreciated the power of small things.
About the Author
Jez Burrows is a designer, illustrator, and writer originally from the UK, now living in the Bay Area. After studying graphic design at the University of Brighton, he spent three years running his own studio, designing books, identities, posters, maps, and playing cards; creating illustrations for clients including The New York Times, Nike, WNYC, Monocle, WIRED and Cards Against Humanity. He spent 5 years as a designer at Facebook, and is the genius behind tumblr phenomenon "Dictionary Stories."
Industry Reviews
"A revelation in remix; a book of joyous recombinations." -- Robin Sloan, New York Times bestselling author of Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore
"Dictionary Stories isn't just a book for word nerds, but for anyone for whom language and story matter. Everybody, A-Z, will find themselves thoroughly in love with this book." -- Kory Stamper, lexicographer and editor for Merriam-Webster, and author of Word by Word
"Jez has long been one of my favorite illustrators, and now he comes up with Dictionary Stories-sentences stolen from dictionaries and pasted together into tiny, delightful narratives. A brilliant literary remix." -- Austin Kleon, New York Times bestselling author of Steal Like an Artist
"Until you read Dictionary Stories, you'll never understand just how weird the dictionary really is. Jez Burrows' Dictionary Stories is all of human emotion and experience, handily arranged in alphabetical order" -- Erin McKean, former editor of the New Oxford American Dictionary and founder of Wordnik
"Brilliantly, brazenly fun. Like a cabaret for word lovers." -- Sean Michaels, author of Giller Prize-winning novel Us Conductors
"Burrows has a talent for a delightfully askew existentialism... The stories are wickedly short but exquisitely rendered, accompanied by whimsical, minimalist illustrations by the author. A fabulist remix of the English language and a tribute to clever lexicographers everywhere." -- Kirkus Reviews
"[An] entirely original collection... With a deft eye for depth and irony, Burrows plucks seemingly inane phrases...and arranges them into haunting, hilarious, and human minidramas." -- Booklist
"Uproarious and ingenious... What sounds like mere novelty turns out to be a revelation in Burrows's hands, as unlikely sentences generate even more unlikely narratives. Dictionary Stories is a joyful celebration of idiosyncrasy and invention." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Chaotically engaging...exemplary...majestic." -- KQED
"A serendipitous reading experience...Burrows challenges our ideas of the writing process and unpacks our understanding of what is literary." -- Ploughshares
"They're absolutely addicting, and that is the highest praise I can bestow on this work-it is one task to bring good stories to people. It is another to bring a new game, a new form, a new diversion of the field. Burrows' burrows are just that, and if you, or your friends, are the sort who love words and playing with them, you should seek out a copy of this fine new book." -- The Seattle Review of Books
"Dictionary Stories is a giddy celebration of the wild, elastic potential of language." -- McSweeny's
"The most original book to be published in quite some time." -- San Jose Mercury News
"An ingenious addition to literary exploration." -- San Francisco Chronicle
"A brilliant, inventive book." -- Psych Central
"You'll find everything from two-sentence short stories to a list of bands you probably haven't heard of. We've never read anything quite like it." -- HelloGiggles
