Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen

By Mary Norris

Book Overview

In her New York Times bestseller Between You & Me, Mary Norris delighted readers with her irreverent tales of pencils and punctuation in The New Yorker's celebrated copy department. In Greek to Me, she delivers another wise and funny paean to the art of self-expression, this time filtered through her greatest passion: all things Greek.

Greek to Me is a charming account of Norris's lifelong love affair with words and her solo adventures in the land of olive trees and ouzo. Along the way, Norris explains how the alphabet originated in Greece, makes the case for Athena as a feminist icon, goes searching for the fabled Baths of Aphrodite, and reveals the surprising ways Greek helped form English. Filled with Norris's memorable encounters with Greek words, Greek gods, Greek wine--and more than a few Greek men--Greek to Me is the Comma Queen's fresh take on Greece and the exotic yet strangely familiar language that so deeply influences our own.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1324001275
• ISBN13: 9781324001270
• Release Date: April 2019
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.86 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.8" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

The introduction is like having a conversation with a friend.

In Mein Kampf, H-i-t-l-e-r explains his perspective and then dives in. The same here: Mary Norris provides an excellent introduction to her perspective, and in chapter 1, she dives in. Warning! She talks of many things, of cabbages and kings. So, keep your computer query page handy. Much of this you know already and are just looking for the author's angle or thoughts. However, in the process, with subject changing and comparisons, you may have to look some things up. Maybe because I took two years of German, I can relate to the author's surprises and joys as she immerses herself in all things Greek (including the language). One usually overlooked factor is that how the information is being conveyed is as important as what is being conveyed. Mary Norris writes well. Instead of using old-time writing styles or forced grammar, it is like sitting down and having coffee with a friend. She made me feel old when stating that “uppercase” and “lowercase” are anachronistic. And the only reason there is only one space after my periods is that I am using a grammar checker that insists. In the first chapter of this book, as popular science makes the layman feel that he knows quantum mechanics, this book makes me feel that I know more about the alphabet without being bogged down. It makes a good starting point for people who want to learn more. No source pages. No footnotes to distract you. No fair looking ahead to see who done it. The fun is in the details, so do not be in too much of a hurry, as you will want to think while you read.