Synopses & Reviews
Talk to the hand, 'coz the face ain't listening This expression has become so widespread that Lynne Truss need not even mention the name of the TV talk show where you first heard it. It's a perfect example of how boorish behavior has become a point of pride in society today. Talk to the hand? when did the world stop wanting to hear? When did society stop valuing basic courtesy and respect? In the spirit of her runaway hit, #1 New York Times bestseller Eats, Shoots and Leaves, Lynne Truss analyzes the apparent collapse of manners in our daily lives, and tells us what we can do about it.
Why are our dealings with strangers becoming more unpleasant day by day? When did please and thank you become pass When did the words hello, good-bye, and good morning fall out of common usage? Why do people behave as if public spaces are their own chip-strewn living rooms? Talk to the Hand is a rallying cry for a return to civility in our eff off society and a colorful call to arms? from the wittiest defender of the civilized world. BACKCOVER: The Queen of Sticklers takes on the sorry state of modern manners.
Without knocking anyone down on your 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 New York Times Book Review
Yes, people are now ruder than ever, and no, there's no excuse for it: The outraged and slighted can find solace in Talk to the Hand.
?New York Post
Lynne Truss is the Doyenne of Do's and Don'ts.
?Newsday
The hilarious British fusspot is back with Talk to the Hand? in which she trains her zero tolerance wit on rude behavior, from the death of thank-you notes to the ubiquity of the F- word.
?Glamour
She's cranky, she's articulate, and she's absolutely right. Just as she fomented a revolution in language, now she foments a revolution in behavior. You'll find yourself nodding in agreement; then you'll find yourself speaking up.
?Victoria Skurnick, Editor-in-Chief, Book-of-the-Month Club
She can make 201 pages fly by as you snicker and chuckle, recognizing your own modern world in every paragraph. ...] Reading Talk to the Hand, you can enjoy a good laugh to offset the daily rudeness.
?The Kentucky Herald-Leader
Synopsis
A battle-cry for civilised behaviour from the author of the multi-million selling Eats, Shoots and 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 and 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 the actual yobs), Talk to the Hand is a colourful call to arms from the wittiest defender of the civilised world.