Talk to the Hand by Lynne Truss

Talk to the Hand

The Utter Bloody Rudeness of Everyday Life (or six good reasons to stay home and bolt the door)

by Lynne Truss

Profile Books, 2005, hardcover, dustjacket, ISBN 1861979339

Near Fine Condition, book has minor rubbing on edges, dustjacket has very minor shelf and edge wear, otherwise as new

'Talk to the Hand is not a book about manners or etiquette.  It is about the rudeness of the modern world, and the sense of outrage that infects us everyday as we discover that other people are - generally speaking - crass, selfish, and inconsiderate.  That man just dropped a cigarette packet on the floor.  Should you do anything?  You say to the shop assistant, "Can you tell me the price of this?  There doesn't appear to be a label". she says, "What do you think I am, psychic?" In her follow-up to Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Lynne Truss asks why rudeness is a universal flashpoint and examines specific sources of affront.
It's a big rant essentially.  But on the plus side, it's quite short and has virtually no hard facts to detain the reader or slow the argument.  Potential readers are advised that there is nothing about pandas or punctuation in this book, and that anyone scouring the text for grammatical errors will be considered a bit of a bore.  Is that a rude thing to say?  As always, it isn't easy to be categorical.'