BOOKS: Talk to the Hand

A few short years ago, an unexpected best seller arrived from England like a firestorm—Lynne Truss’ Eats Shoots and Leaves, a LOL funny compendium of the rules of punctuation. If you missed it, you might be knitting your eyebrows right now, but here’s the skinny: “A panda walks into a restaurant and eats shoots and leaves” has one meaning. Throw in some punctuation and meaning becomes something very different: “A panda walks into a restaurant and eats, shoots, and leaves.” Kinda murderous, heh? And so punctuation is, after all, important. But that’s another book. Her follow up is Talk to the Hand, (subtitled The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door). We’re not talking about The Nanny and her hand motions here, but about changes in the way we treat each other that simply drive us crazy!!!!!

The book was panned by some critics. Truss was called an old curmudgeon and a hermit who couldn’t tolerate the modern world. In reading, I learned she’s younger than I am! Old curmudgeon, my eye! And I am horrified by the same things she is! The New York Times Book Review, however, put things in perspective--"Without knocking anyone down on the way, hurry to the bookstore for a copy of Talk to the Hand. . . . Long live the Queen of Zero Tolerance. And heaven help the rest of us.”

The way I look at it, the panners are part of the “younger” crowd who haven't a clue! I remember my parents refusing to let me sit on the subway or bus as long as adults were standing. There were no excuses for bad manners!

What ticks you off the most? Impolite store clerks? People who don’t say thank you when you’ve held the door for them? Automated voices saying, “Your call is important to us. Please stay on the line for the next customer service representative”? The use of the “eff” word as noun, adjective, and verb for almost any circumstance? The end of deference for any reason—age, gender, position, etc.? People who are incredibly PC? (Allison just told me about a woman she knows who refers to a wintry, white “snowperson.”)

If any of these gaffes bother you, read what Lynne Truss has to say in her funny, self-deprecating manner. You’ll recognize her references too—books, movies, TV shows, famous people etc.—and you’ll get a kick out of thinking about them.

I was laughing out loud so often in companionly recognition that I HAD TO keep interrupting Rob to read sections aloud to him. He probably does not have to read the book now, but even the selections I chose made him laugh in empathy. This is a good book, a fun book, and I’d bet money that everyone who reads it will sit there nodding in appreciation and agreement.
BTW, I went to The Urban Dictionary for a definition and history of the phrase “talk to the hand.” "A saying used to ignore and disregard a comment or an insult when you can't think of a way to counter it. When this phrase is used, it is customary to raise your hand, palm facing out, and place it almost touching your adversary's face. This can make even the most civil person raging mad. Another variation is "talk to the hand 'cause the face don't give a damn'."

Wanna have some fun? Follow this link and play the punctuation game. See how you score. While you’re there, read some of the “acclaim” notices on some of her other books. You might become a Lynne Truss fan too.