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Home > Categories > Books > Non-Fiction > Talk to the Hand review
Sticklers unite! The Queen of Zero Tolerance takes on the sorry state of modern manners, in the spirit of her three million copy worldwide bestseller, Eats, Shoots & Leaves.
"Talk to the hand 'cause the face ain't listening," the saying goes. When did the world get to be so rude? When did society become so inconsiderate? It's a topic that has been simmering for years, and Lynne Truss says that it has now reached boiling point. Taking on the boorish behaviour that has become a point of pride for some, Talk to the Hand is a rallying cry for courtesy. Like Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Talk to the Hand is a spirited conversation, not a stuffy guidebook. It is not about forks, for a start.
Why hasn't your nephew ever thanked you for that perfect Christmas present? What makes your builder think he can treat you like dirt in your own home? When you phone a utility with a complaint (and have negotiated the switchboard), why can't you ever speak to a person who is authorised to apologise? What accounts for the appalling treatment you receive in shops?
Most important, what will it take to roll back a culture that applauds rudeness and finds it so amusing? For anyone who's fed up with the brutality inflicted by modern manners (and is naturally too scared to confront actual yobs), Talk to the Hand is a colourful call to arms - from the wittiest defender of the civilised world.
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Review by: diogenes (Rob)
Dated: 20th of December, 2005
One must be very careful what one says about Lynne Truss' new book. Any rude comments and one is likely to find their comments the subject of, or quoted in a future book - as so many examples in 'Talk to the Hand' seem to have come from correspondence and daily interaction with Truss.
This book is not about etiquette, nor does it pretend to be. It is however, a discourse into the rudeness that seems to plague society, and is brilliantly illustrated with numerous examples of the rudeness that Truss has collected from her own daily interactions with people, and from examples sent in to her as a result of her radio show or columns in newspapers.
Just as Truss makes it cool to be a grammar pedant (she did mention in a seminar I attended, that she was described as the leader of the pedants' rebellion!) she also makes it acceptable to be one of life's complainers about the decline of manners.
This is a personal rant, yet it is something everyone can relate to, because it is something we all see unless we are truely a hermit or eschew all human society for whatever reason.
One can hardly fair to laugh out loud, or at the very least, snort disgustingly whilst on the bus where laughing loudly would be frowned upon or lead you to being sectioned. Truss' wit is without comparisson.
I loved this book and it will strike a chord with many readers. I suspect 'Talk to the Hand' could be a big hit.
Review by: diogenes (Rob)
Dated: 20th of December, 2005
One must be very careful what one says about Lynne Truss' new book. Any rude comments and one is likely to find their comments the subject of, or quoted in a future book - as so many examples in 'Talk to the Hand' seem to have come from correspondence and daily interaction with Truss.
This book is not about etiquette, nor does it pretend to be. It is however, a discourse into the rudeness that seems to plague society, and is brilliantly illustrated with numerous examples of the rudeness that Truss has collected from her own daily interactions with people, and from examples sent in to her as a result of her radio show or columns in newspapers.
Just as Truss makes it cool to be a grammar pedant (she did mention in a seminar I attended, that she was described as the leader of the pedants' rebellion!) she also makes it acceptable to be one of life's complainers about the decline of manners.
This is a personal rant, yet it is something everyone can relate to, because it is something we all see unless we are truely a hermit or eschew all human society for whatever reason.
One can hardly fair to laugh out loud, or at the very least, snort disgustingly whilst on the bus where laughing loudly would be frowned upon or lead you to being sectioned. Truss' wit is without comparisson.
I loved this book and it will strike a chord
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"Character - the willingness to accept responsibility for one's own life - is the source from which self respect springs."
Joan Didion (1934 - ), 'Slouching Towards Bethlehem'
