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Barbara's Reviews > Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
Eats, Shoots & Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation
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by
If only grammar and punctuation had been taught with the degree of humor in Eats, Shoots and Leaves (all subjects could have used a healthy dose of laughs). Do most people correctly use conventional punctuation marks, or do most people just not care where that damn comma, semicolon, or apostrophe belongs?
I enjoyed learning many interesting facts about the evolution of punctuation. Who knew it was developed centuries ago so actors could recite their lines with accurate pauses and emphasis? Just as language has changed and continues to change, so has punctuation; even within a decade. Truss discusses nuances between British and American punctuation which has always fascinated me. Many interesting authors' punctuation quirks are detailed; George Bernard Shaw's idiosyncratic semicolons and the dismissal of them by George Orwell, Gertrude Stein, Donald Barthelme, and others. James Joyce, we are told, preferred the colon .Chekov's short story "The Exclamation Mark" is discussed. I will have to read it and find out more about the protagonist who has never used an exclamation mark - really!
This book was fun to read, although Ms. Truss did at times come across as snobby and condescending. There aren't many as dedicated as she in the role of punctuation vigilante. That said, if you cringe when your read signs such as: Play-Ground, Bobs' Pizza, or Apple's For Sale, this book is for you.
I enjoyed learning many interesting facts about the evolution of punctuation. Who knew it was developed centuries ago so actors could recite their lines with accurate pauses and emphasis? Just as language has changed and continues to change, so has punctuation; even within a decade. Truss discusses nuances between British and American punctuation which has always fascinated me. Many interesting authors' punctuation quirks are detailed; George Bernard Shaw's idiosyncratic semicolons and the dismissal of them by George Orwell, Gertrude Stein, Donald Barthelme, and others. James Joyce, we are told, preferred the colon .Chekov's short story "The Exclamation Mark" is discussed. I will have to read it and find out more about the protagonist who has never used an exclamation mark - really!
This book was fun to read, although Ms. Truss did at times come across as snobby and condescending. There aren't many as dedicated as she in the role of punctuation vigilante. That said, if you cringe when your read signs such as: Play-Ground, Bobs' Pizza, or Apple's For Sale, this book is for you.
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Reading Progress
May 7, 2020
–
Started Reading
May 7, 2020
– Shelved
May 20, 2020
–
Finished Reading
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Fionnuala wrote: "I read this when it came out, Barbara, and yes, it was great fun. I still find great variation on the use of semi-colons in literature. I don't think it's as easy to pin them down as Truss would l..."
I agree, Fionnuala; Truss does oversimplify. Sometimes I find myself concentrating so much on an author's punctuation, I need to reread the paragraph for meaning. I do dislike the overuse of exclamation marks. No one can be so continually excited! Thank you for your comment. It is always nice hearing from you.
I still find great variation on the use of semi-colons in literature. I don't think it's as easy to pin them down as Truss would like. Equally with regard to exclamation marks. For every writer who foreswears them, there's another who piles them on, Chekhov's compatriot Bely being an example.