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Talk To The Hand
The Utter Bloody Rudeness Of The World Today, Or Six Good Reasons To Stay Home And Bolt The Door
by Lynne Truss


7.8

based on 14 reviews
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based on 6 votes
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Hey, we're talking to you here--do you mind getting off your cellphone? That's more like it. The author of "Eats, Shoots & Leaves" (we hope we punctuated that correctly) returns with an examination of a societal phenomenon even worse than bad grammar: bad manners.

Gotham, 216 pages
11/08/2005
$20.00

ISBN: 1592401716

Nonfiction
Social Sciences

All reviews are classified as one of five grades: Outstanding (4 points), Favorable (3), Mixed (2), Unfavorable (1) and Terrible (0). To calculate the Metascore, we divide total points achieved by the total points possible (i.e., 4 x the number of reviews), with the resulting percentage (multiplied by 100) being the Metascore. Learn more...

Daily Telegraph John Preston

Highly perceptive, passionately argued and extremely funny.

Library Journal M.C. Duhig

Truss examines the death of civil language, the transfer of customer service from those who serve the customers to the customers themselves, the refusal to live by any rules but one's own, the pervasiveness of profanity, the dismissal of criticism, and the universal lack of responsibility. Each examination is not merely an opportunity to rant but a thoughtful and well-researched effort to understand the behavior. [1 Nov 2005, p. 102]

The Globe And Mail [Toronto] Gale Zoe Garnett

The best thing about this articulate, frequently funny rant is that you can shout back at the book (if you are alone) and take comfort in knowing that the ways in which we collide and/or dismiss are not noticed by each of us alone. To use one of my least-favourite expressions, Thank you, Lynne Truss, for sharing. [19 Nov 2005]

The Guardian

Truss is clearly keen to cement her highly profitable status as a grumpy old woman and scourge of modern sloppiness.

The Independent Susie Boyt

Talk to the Hand does occasionally read like a thank-you letter extended ambitiously to the second side of the notepaper. Yet it addresses an important subject with intelligence and humour, and for that we should certainly be grateful.

Daily Telegraph Michael Bywater

Anyone who has a sense of "the utter bloody rudeness of everyday life" will identify with much of the Truss jeremiad, which, as a piece of pleasingly wrathful social documentary, is on far firmer ground than her Eats, Shoots and Leaves, which was mostly a bewailing of tempora mutantur.

The Onion A.V. Club Tasha Robinson

A fun, quick read as well as a smart one.

The Spectator Philip Hensher

A faintly apocalyptic scenario where manners, concern, the imaginative sympathy which underlies any kind of good manners are all on the decline. [29 Oct 2005, p. 40]

USA Today Bob Minzesheimer

For a book on manners, Truss does a lot of yelling.

Wall Street Journal John Derbyshire

This kind of material makes a good newspaper opinion column, or even an eight-page magazine article, but becomes wearying at book length.

The New York Times Book Review Bob Morris

Beyond her comic ranting and frenetic fuming, Truss makes a sincere and well-researched attempt to shed light on the dismal decorum of this darkest age. If she fails at the task, she does so winningly.

Los Angeles Times Patt Morrison

"Talk to the Hand" is a book that should have been shorter and funnier--or longer and more serious. [11 Dec 2005]

Publishers Weekly

Truss expounds on [her] themes with fine ire, mordant humor and many examples, but it must be said that the result is not so much a book as a heavily padded magazine article.

The New York Times Janet Maslin

A promising-looking volume that turns out to be a thin and crabby diatribe.

The average user rating for this book is 7.8 (out of 10) based on 6 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Kate B gave it a9:
Isn't it interesting how the UK reviews were largely positive, while the US reviews were not quite so. It speaks of the difference in manners between the two countries. "Talk to the Hand" should be read as a trans-Atlantic primer.

Ann R gave it a0:
Ms Truss insults coeliacs and shows she is both insensitive and rude herself.

Charlie L gave it a9:
Another great book from Lynne Truss. She is right on target with her feelings about how insulated we have become from one another. Funny, and insightful, it's a must read.

Jay S gave it a10:
Even better than "Eats, Shoots and Leaves" A broadside against rudeness at every level. Funny and practical.

Lee W gave it a10:
"Talk to the Hand" is not only a look at bad manners but a study of society. It lacks the flavor of Ms. Truss' first book but definitely packs some punch.

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Talk To The Hand The Utter Bloody Rudeness Of The World Today, Or Six Good Reasons To Stay Home And Bolt The Door by Lynne Truss

Talk To The Hand
The Utter Bloody Rudeness Of The World Today, Or Six Good Reasons To Stay Home And Bolt The Door
by Lynne Truss