Never Let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You: Chiasmus and a World of Quotations That Say What They Mean and Mean What They Say

by Mardy Grothe

Book Overview

What do Mae West, John F. Kennedy, Victor Hugo, and H. L. Mencken have in common? They all indulged in chiasmus-a literary device in which word order is reversed to hilarious or poignant effect. When... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0670878278
• ISBN13: 9780670878277
• Release Date: July 1999
• Publisher: Viking Books
• Length: 126 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.4" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

NEVER KISS A FOOL OR LET A KISS FOOL YOU

What a great little book. If you like wordplay, philosphy, history and pop culture, you'll love reading chiamus quotes from then and now. Chiasmus stretchs and delights the mind. I bought the book as a guide to my teenage daughter...you know...for the kissing part, but it has also become a delightful source of information as well as entertainment. We have fun trying to make up our own chiasmus lines. If you subscribe to Grothe's weekly Chiasmic Quotes...you'll discover a new puzzle and antedote. It always gives a moment of thought or mirth; giving new pleasure to the announcement to 'you've got mail'.

If you like wordplay you'll love this book

This is one of the more fun books that I've ever read, I found myself sitting up all night looking at the different phrases in the book, and working to restrain myself so that it wouldn't be over too soon. The sheer amount of chiasmus that is assembled in this book is very impressive, and it makes for a very fun read. I would reccomend it to anyone who likes words or chiasmus.

An Invitation to a Feast: The World of the Chiasmus

There are books that you can really get into, and there are books that really get into you. Dr. Mardy Grothe's "Never Let a Fool Kiss You or a Kiss Fool You" is one of the latter. It is a book to be savored like a hearty soup. If you encounter the book or the wonderful web site chiasmus.com as I did, you will come in the door not knowing what a "chiasmus" is, and afterwards you will find examples everywhere. You will even start making them up. There are books one reads for information and others one reads for pleasure. This book is wonderfully informative. As for pleasure, that word is too bland to describe the delights in store for the reader. The knowledge of chiasmus will expand and stretch you, helping you see things you never saw before and challenging you to think in ways you've never thought before. God bless you, Mardy Grothe, for the gift of this book!