Reading about commas might sound as boring as staring at pencil shavings, but Norris manages to portray the common comma, as well as other marks of punctuation, as pretty funny characters worth following. (If you’re curious why a “comma shaker” maintained a prominent place on a colleague’s desk, you definitely need to read this book). But you’ll learn stuff, too, so be prepared. Chapter 3, entitled “The Problem of Heesh,” is a fascinating look into the world of sex and gender, as they relate to grammar. You might break out into hives if I tell you that you’re going to learn a little something about German grammar cases (nominative, accusative, dative, and genitive), but it’s not very painful; and it informs Norris’ larger discussion concerning the continued quest for a commonly accepted gender-neutral pronoun: “s/he” hasn’t proved to be all that popular.
This week’s book reads like a memoir because it is, but it’s also a very readable guide to language. The memoir part — the author’s path from swimming pool foot-checker to milkwoman (“milkman” wasn’t right, but announcing herself as “the ‘milkmaid’ was a little too fanciful”) to esteemed “comma queen” at “The New Yorker” — is indeed a charming story. But the entire book should delight anyone who has the slightest interest in language, thorny bits and all.