Eats, Shoots & Leaves by Lynne Truss

Eats, Shoots & Leaves
by Lynne Truss
New York, NY:
Gotham Books, 2003.

Achieving what some would call the impossible, Lynne Truss actually makes punctuation interesting. From the six common rules of the comma (plus one not so common) to the history of the semicolon, Truss thoroughly enwraps her readers in a diatribe on the uses and abuses of modern grammatical markings. At her wittiest, she lashes out at grocers and their misuse of apostrophes in plural words (i.e. “Banana’s on sale!”) and the movie business for leaving out the same mark in titles like Two Weeks Notice. At her most informative, Truss identifies the most eloquent moments and horrific mistakes made by authors, journalists, advertisers, and politicians. As commentary and instruction, it is a great read both for those that have ever been a grammatical “stickler” and others that just want a few pointers on how to correctly use an ellipsis. For weeks after reading it, you’ll find yourself questioning every comma you use, and wondering whether Lynne Truss would approve.

Plainsong by Kent Haruf - because everyone likes a minimalist (in literature, anyway)

Haruf, Kent.
Plainsong.
New York:
A.A. Knopf, 1999.

For anyone who has ever wanted to experience the feel of smalltown life (in a non-anticy way) this is probably a book you should read. In Kent Haruf's Plainsong, non-urban life is depicted through the eyes, experiences, and interactions of a handful of residents of the community of Holt, Colorado. The novel intertwines the lives of a diverse range of characters: from Gunthrie, the newly divorced high school teacher, to his two young sons to a old pair of bachelor ranchers to the pregnant teenager they reluctantly take in. The story that emerges from these intertwining lives never tries to moralize or create a false reality. Rather it paints a moving picture of smalltown life.

This piece of fiction can only be described as minimalistic. The story is not seen from the front, but rather in glances and peripherally. The story never hits you over the head with the chance meetings and communications of the characters. Rather, the story develops naturally, without an omniscient presence guiding the action. It never lacks passion. It never lacks depth. But it does lack a lot of irrelevant prose and details that would destroy the narration. Haruf's tale is one that doesn't hold you on the edge of your seat, but it will keep you engaged until the very end. And really, what more do you want from a minimalist?

Maybe it fits my multiple personalities.

I'm still reading Eugenides' Middlesex. For some reason, my reading is slow, but the book is enthralling. There are three plot lines weaving throughout the narration. The protagonist is telling the story of his grandparents while simultaneously talking about his own past and present. I am amazed at how quickly the narration jumps from one time period to the next, but I'm even more shocked at how easy it is to follow.

These types of changes - the going back and forth between stories with barely a pause - they are the bees knees for me (that's right, the bees knees). One of my most treasured experiences in reading is during Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. In Chapter 3, there are three different scenes taking place, one after the other. At first, each goes on for pages. Gradually, they begin to intertwine, and take up only paragraphs, but are still separated. As each scene only gets sentences, they begin to crash into one another, follow each other, and push to keep attention. It's absolutely gorgeous. I think I read it three or four times before I could move on to the next chapter.

Though in a completely different pattern and presentation, Middlesex is kind of like that. One story is prominent right now, but every once in a while, another will cross and step in, even if for just a moment. I don't know whether they'll crash or simply begin flowing into one another, eventually allowing another plot line to overcome as the story progresses, but it's thrilling to watch them roll back and forth. The reading is seamless, but the moments are all over the place. I'm in love.