Coincidentally I read this book just around the time I was preparing for a competitive test that had a verbal section, making this read far more delightful. This book is a satirical narrative elaborating the grammar rules of using punctuation in prose and poetry. Starting from the mundane comma, all the way upto the forgotten hyphens.
Punctuations are a readers guide to tonality, the little voice inside your head. Unless of course you are tone deaf or a blunt speed reader, who has painstakingly silenced the inner voice. Imagine reading without punctuations! The tone would be as flat as the Australian Outback, and script writers would bang their heads trying to explain script read-outs to actors.
But for the generation that is lazy enough to discount even necessary keystrokes over a touchscreen, this may sound irrelevant. Incorrect grammar and punctuations have become a part of not only routine colloquial speech but also written communication. This trend is more contagious than the harmless, yet ill-mannered yawn. And in order to stop my brain from imbibing the wrong patterns, I avoided reading emails and texts for a month before my test!
Grammar rules are boring and often misunderstood, even by the self proclaimed grammar nazis. And I would definitely want one to explain the difference between grammar nazis and grammar-nazis! Or just as the author cites the example of ‘extra-marital sex’ and ‘extra marital sex’. Punctuations are necessary not only to maintain the eloquence of the discourse but also to convey the intended meaning.
For instance, a Panda that eats, shoots, and leaves – sounds like a gangsta Panda dining at a Michelin star restaurant with a gun on the table; in contrast to a Panda that eats shoots and leaves – much like the chill Panda that you would imagine to be your soul animal.
As an author without an editor, my content is prone to errors but given the mechanical approach of editors towards punctuations I am sure that my content at least conveys the intended meaning. Unless of course you have an untamed imagination waiting to be unleashed upon the next piece of prose or poetry that you encounter.
Although prone to misunderstanding, punctuations are not difficult as long as you pay attention. They only require genuine empathy and sincere efforts; is that too much to ask for? Certainly less than that sought by a clingy attention seeking partner. If you want to awaken your empathy, just call up your tech support and listen to the Indian accent greeting you with a flat script. And as far as the efforts are concerned, you need to step outside of PowerPoint presentations, and bullet point reports!
If you found this review inquisitive, then the book will seem far more hilarious. Although the book starts with subtle vengeance and may come across as slightly mean to those who are unfamiliar with British humour, the narrative and satire is well balanced across the book. Any grammar guide that I have read so far has always had a mechanical approach but this book adopts a narrative with stories and citations, keeping the reader hooked.
The narrative also incorporates the evolution of punctuations, from the ancient religious scriptures dating back to the time when there was no consensus on use of punctuation marks till the recent times when generation of lousy writers have rendered punctuations useless. And the refinement by writers, actors, and publishers alongside the sincere eradication efforts by editors.
Beginning with the commas, elaborated using routinely encountered incorrect usages, the author gradually escalates to semi-colons, colons, quotes, brackets, exclamation-marks, question-marks, dashes, and hyphens. It is everything that you need to help your reader maintain their sanity by not boiling their blood with irritation.
Overall, this is light entertaining content that can be read aside your primary monthly read. And this is a must-read not only for aspiring writers but also for undergrads. Everything that is essential to ensure that the next generation inherits the proper version of English, which is free from shabby Social Media dialects, is elaborated in this book.
Header Image Photo by Nicholas Doherty on Unsplash
Savvy Munshi 