Punctilious Pop
Occasionally there are things that are so popular and faddish I’m tempted to just walk away from them despite their potential virtues. I never saw Titanic. I will probably never read The Davinci Code. When I saw a book on punctuation on the bestseller list, my interest was stimulated but mild. I’d seen an unflattering review in the book review section of The New York Times and thought to myself: witty title, interesting idea, but I’ve got better books for my slow reading habits.
Then I saw Lynn Truss on television. She was speaking to readers at Powell’s in Portland and in no longer than a few minutes had me giggling about punctuation. I previewed the book at Barnes & Noble and snuck it to the cash register when K wasn’t looking1.
I read about apostrophes on my way back to the Dakotas. I read about commas and quotes on my trip to western South Dakota. I read about the dash and hyphen on lunch break. I laughed aloud, in public and alone, so much as to sound loony.
The voice that cryeth in the wilderness: prepare ye a way for the Lord.
The voice that cryeth: in the wilderness, prepare ye a way for the Lord.
(Paraphrases as the book is not with me.)
Indeed, some of the funniest moments came from examples of how sacred books can be morphed humorously by a few well placed commas, semicolons, and dashes. Purgatory hangs on a comma, no less.
The book is infinitely quotable too. I’d have put large segments into this post but, like most good books, it was out of my hands as soon as I finished it. I’m going to add it to my “read once a year” list. It may not improve my punctuation (I certainly hope it does) but it will be fun to notice more and more of how Truss uses the subjects she discusses as she writes each chapter.
Ultimately punctuation comes down to style and expressiveness. Grade school teachers bash “rules” into the heads of young pupils but if any person reaches a point of writing anything of merit, their identity will come out in their preferences and use of dashes, semicolons, commas, ellipses and all of the other tools of punctuation. They may become addicted to the semicolon like Virginia Woolf or Charles Dickens, use the dash like Emily Dickinson, or write a single sentence that span three pages like David Foster Wallace. Even if they are journalists (ie. writers with editors and the constraints of style guides), their punctuation will emanate their personality, their intellectual physique, as they pen their stories or articles.
Fad or no, punctilious pop ala Truss has the sort of verve and charisma that will appeal to most2.
The book has an official site here. You can even find a short excerpt.
1It's embarassing when a person knows your purchase to complete ratio when it's as large as mine. (4-1? 6-1?)
2Excluding Bethoven biographers writing reviews at The New York Times and a teacher or two who never actually reads literature.
10:51:15 PM 
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