Book Review

Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation

Book Review by Joyce Ruiz
Eats, Shoots and Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation by Lynne Truss, 209 pages

Are you thinking, "209 pages about punctuation and grammar -- is she crazy??" (OK, the dash in the middle of the sentence and the extra question marks are probably not correct, so you can see that I'm not following everything that I learned from reading this book!)

This book was a huge hit in the UK and is now being read in the US. The author does point out the differences in UK punctuation as opposed to US and recognizes those differences. Although reading every chapter may not be "your cup of tea." I strongly recommend a trip to the library for this book. It is very funny and you just might learn a thing or two.

If you enjoy history, there are tidbits of information as to how punctuation began to be used, mainly for the purpose of guiding actors; and in a religious aspect, chanters. She notes that, "Punctuation developed slowly and cautiously not because it wasn't considered important, but, on the contrary, because it was such intensely powerful ju-ju."

Placing a pause in the wrong place and sense of a religious text can alter the meaning significantly. Such as Isaiah 40:3 "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness: Prepare ye the way of the Lord." could be read as "The voice of him that crieth: In the wilderness prepare ye the way of the Lord." Or, how about this text from Luke 23:43 for all you Protestants and Catholics: "Verily, I say unto thee, 'This day thou shalt be with me in Paradise.'" (Protestant version) or "Verily, I say unto thee this day: thou shalt be with me in Paradise." (Catholic version). Same words, huge difference in meaning.

OK, so religion is not your thing, how about these examples: A woman, without her man is nothing. (Of course, this version is totally wrong) A woman: without her, man is nothing. (Again, same words, but huge difference in meaning.) Bottom line -- I am trying to put into practice some of the punctuation rules I learned while reading this book.

However, I do believe in creative license and will continue to use my dashes and ellipses as I see fit. Any errors in grammar or punctuation in this report are solely the fault of the author and not the book being reported. As we all know, sometimes it's hard to "teach an old dog new tricks".