YvonneI have just had another of those moments, where the gaps in my education become chasms, full of words that I need to understand, before I can move on.
Both words come from my latest, fantastic read ‘The Summoner’ by Layton Green.
Don’t get me wrong, Layton uses the English Language to its full capacity, in his writing and for that I applaud, not berate him. So often these days, I find that authors, both those who are established and those new on the scene, tend to use as few words as possible to describe a scenario or situation, so that I am left wondering exactly what feeling or emotion they were really trying to convey, only knowing that it has failed to grab my attention, in the way that I would have liked it to.
Other reviewers of this amazing debut novel, have commented that they found the descriptive dialogue too wordy and their constant need for word clarification an annoyance. I actually found it quietly satisfying to have to search out the definition of a word that I hitherto didn’t know and store it away as another new piece of knowledge gained.
Perhaps this is just another ‘age’ related observation and someone, somewhere, has decided that we don’t need all those words any more, that we should say what we need to, in as few words as possible and move on as quickly as possible to the next experience.
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Anyway, I digress, back to my vocabulary lesson:
Page 136
“He grew restless, tired of pointless perambulation. He reached unconsciously into his pocket, but grasped only fabric. Do prdele. He knew why he’d left her in his suite, but he still berated himself as he peered around the boulder. No matter – soon his second drug would be available: The chthonic milieu of forbidden knowledge. Would he witness something tonight that raised more questions? Would he find another piece of the greatest puzzle of all?”
Chthonic – adjective …..
Relating to or inhabiting the underworld ….. a chthonic deity
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Page 146
“A thick stillness blanketed the inside of the house. After a few minutes the room adumbrated enough for Grey and Nya to make out the banistered stairwell and the vague outline of the slender hallway and it’s doorways.
Adumbrated – verb …..
1. To give a sketchy outline of.
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I love finding new words in books! I think I’d have trouble pronouncing those two, so I probably won’t use them anytime soon.
Hi Kathy,
I didn’t realise you hosted ‘Wondrous Words’, so I shall be sure to visit regularly now I have discovered it…
I love to find new words and I am constantly amazed at the wealth of unused words in the English language.
Do we need all theses words? who knows, but it is always comforting to come across one or two of them, from time to time.
To me, they can vastly enhance the descriptive qualities of a book or storyline, if of course, they are used in the right way.
Two sensational words there Yvonne. I don’t know that I’ll ever have the need to use them in a sentence, but it would be fun to try.
Hi Louise,
Thanks for stopping by and commenting, it is much appreciated. It’s always great to ‘meet’ new people
I have to sat that both these words completely baffled me, when I saw them.
I couldn’t read on any further, until I had looked them up, as I had no idea whatsoever what they meant!!
Obviously a mis-spent youth on my part!!