Improve Your Vocabulary: Lessons in Literature

I just finished reading Love In The Time of Taffeta by Eugénie Olson. On page 80 I found this sobering gem:

"He is wearing a hopelessly outdated jacket and tie, the kind of clothing that clearly says I gave up my vanity years ago when things you can only imagine in your worst nightmares began demanding my attention."

It was in reference to a father attending the prom with his severely disfigured and handicapped daughter. When I got further along I was less impressed with the line "makes my heart and crotch flutter". I guess they can't all be gems.

It wasn't the greatest read of my life but its keen use of vocabulary to make or break the reader's mindset was intriguing. For example; the sexual interludes were written in a way suggesting their lewdness was their most important factor. The main character's life was artsy and striving to become something but these encounters were dark and degrading. As the plot developed these moments became the centrifugal force of the story. The change in voice used to describe them was as jarring to the reader as the repercussions were to the main character. They were integral to the visceral experience of the work.

Fifty-cent words are crafted into descriptive paragraphs where an overall sense of their meaning can be gleaned. However I would be hard pressed to explain each word based solely on the context of the single sentence containing it. I made note of words to work into my everyday vernacular.

sisu (sih-shoo) - n. Finnish word that describes a combination of special strength, courage, and determination that is held in reserve for moments of adversity or hard times.

obstreperous - This word is said in conversation and is quickly looked up on the internet by the character it is said to. A sentence or two later the search results are revealed: argumentative or difficult.

insouciance - The main character refers to "the insouciance of being a teenager". The dictionary defines it as stubbornly resistant to control, sounds like the teens I know.

schadenfreude- though this word is only used once when the main character and her roommate compare horror stories of their day it is a recurring theme. It means to derive pleasure from another's pain. My German friend explained it this way, "You know when you fall down and I laugh? That's schadenfreude."

tonsorial - Given the word alone I'd guess it has something to do with a sore throat. "Her love of everything tonsorial" appears in a sentence pertaining to the hairdresser roommate whose very occupation goes against the grain of her upper crush familial upbringing and must be kept secret. The term refers to the accoutrement of hair styling, dressing, or barbering.

Read with an appreciation of vocabulary. Choose words you don't know or have never used in conversation, look them up, add them to your working vocabulary. Expand your real life while enjoying the fantasy, relaxation, and art of literature.