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Lynne Truss' Eats, Shoots & Leaves A book review by Jonathan Cook
One of the most common problems I have encountered when working with students at the Writing Center is their tenuous grasp of the rules of punctuation. For many nights, I would sit at my desk with open grammar guides and a pad of yellow paper, scribbling down notes with the vain hope that something might finally illuminate these sacred rules. Imagine, then, my glee at coming across Lynne Truss’ Eats, Shoots & Leaves: “The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation,” its cover promised. Excellent! Precisely what I needed. But then I began to read. Punctuation is extolled as the single most influential aspect of written meaning, author Lynne Truss pats her back for being just so gosh darn great, and America is assailed for ruining English (British) grammar. And that’s just the first thirty-four pages.
Of course, all of that is merely a buildup to Truss’ rather disheartening announcement that her book “gives you permission to love punctuation” (33). What does that mean? I’m not entirely certain, but I can imagine Truss rolling into her publisher’s office and saying, with a slight sneer, “Sit down, boys and girls, and let me show you how it’s done.”
But the fact remains: Eats, Shoots & Leaves is refreshing for those of us who actually do care — however anal-retentive it may be — about punctuation. Or, at least, it would be, if Lady Truss would ever stop brandishing her very British sense of humor and actually focus on what is ostensibly the subject matter of the book: punctuation. Far too often, a seemingly intelligent discussion of, for example, the comma is interrupted by a humorous-yet-pointless digression involving James Thurber or Aristophanes. Practically speaking, we do not need anecdotes and history lessons in a punctuation guidebook. We want and need practical instruction.
Truss’ claim that Eats, Shoots & Leaves is a guidebook to punctuation leaves me at a bit of a loss. Do I treat the book as something it claims not to be, or do I treat it as a searing indictment of indifferent grammarphobes?
The former seems a bit of a stretch. When calling a book a guidebook, guidance is generally expected. With Truss at the word processor, however, guidance is not always given. Consider her page regarding the Oxford comma:
[… I]t is the Oxford comma (also known as the serial comma) and it is a lot more dangerous than its exclusive, ivory-tower moniker might suggest. There are people who embrace the Oxford comma and people who don’t, and I’ll just say this: never get between these people when drink has been taken. Oh, the Oxford comma. Here, in case you don’t know what it is yet, is the perennial example, as espoused by Harold Ross: “The flag is red, white, and blue.” (84)
Aside from the rather backhanded way of defining the term “Oxford comma,” there is little of substance in this paragraph, and the situation does not improve over subsequent paragraphs. If anything, the situation worsens, as Truss wish-washes her way through the issue, concluding that the Oxford comma may be used sometimes and not other times. Gee, thanks for that.
In her defense, Truss is British, and there are differences, however subtle, between British and American punctuation. This is a fact that she notes quite often. Apparently, the publishers didn’t think Americanizing the book was necessary, and why would they? After all, the book was written in Britain. Never mind the fact that this edition is being published in America. What Americans really need is a crash course in British punctuation. That will solve all of our problems.
(Do I sound bitter? I’m sorry if I do. I suppose I have no real reason to be bitter. I’m only out eighteen dollars that could have been better spent on Marilyn Manson CDs.)
If I had to point out the single most glaring fault of Truss’ book, it would have to be her lack of clarity. While the book is certainly a useful refresher for those who already know the rules of punctuation, it never articulates anything clearly enough to be of use to a student who is unsure of the rules. For that student, Strunk and White’s classic The Elements of Style remains a much better option.
English teachers at all levels need a more effective way of teaching punctuation, and this book is a step in the right direction in that it acknowledges that there is a problem. Beyond that, though, Lynne Truss’ Eats, Shoots & Leaves does not address the problem so much as mock it from an ivory tower. Because of this, its effectiveness is severely limited.
Eats, Shoots & Leaves is published by Gotham and is available for purchase,
for approximately $15, at EatsShootsandLeaves.com or at Amazon.com.
Curious about a certain book but lack the free time to read it cover to cover?
English graduate assistant Jonathan Cook will fill that void by reviewing titles of interest regarding writing.
Feel free to e-mail him with idea comments, questions, or works for future reviews.
In her defense, Truss is British, and there are differences, however subtle, between British and American punctuation. This is a fact that she notes quite often. Apparently, the publishers didn’t think Americanizing the book was necessary, and why would they? After all, the book was written in Britain. Never mind the fact that this edition is being published in America. What Americans really need is a crash course in British punctuation. That will solve all of our problems.
