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Talk to the Hand : The Utter Bloody Rudeness of Everyday Life Hardcover – 24 Oct. 2005

by Lynne Truss (Author)

3.8 67 ratings

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Sticklers unite! The Queen of Zero Tolerance takes on the sorry state of modern manners, in the spirit of her three million copy worldwide bestseller, Eats, Shoots & Leaves. "Talk to the hand 'cause the face ain't listening," the saying goes. When did the world get to be so rude? When did society become so inconsiderate? It's a topic that has been simmering for years, and Lynne Truss says that it has now reached boiling point. Taking on the boorish behaviour that has become a point of pride for some, Talk to the Hand is a rallying cry for courtesy. Like Eats, Shoots & Leaves, Talk to the Hand is a spirited conversation, not a stuffy guidebook. It is not about forks, for a start. Why hasn't your nephew ever thanked you for that perfect Christmas present? What makes your builder think he can treat you like dirt in your own home? When you phone a utility with a complaint (and have negotiated the switchboard), why can't you ever speak to a person who is authorised to apologise? What accounts for the appalling treatment you receive in shops? Most important, what will it take to roll back a culture that applauds rudeness and finds it so amusing? For anyone who's fed up with the brutality inflicted by modern manners (and is naturally too scared to confront the actual yobs), Talk to the Hand is a colourful call to arms - from the wittiest defender of the civilised world.

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Print length

224 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Profile Books
Publication date

24 Oct. 2005
Dimensions

13.5 x 2.2 x 19.5 cm
ISBN-10

1861979339
ISBN-13

978-1861979339
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Review

The effect of her book is quite inspiring, giving hope -- Sunday Telegraph ― Australia

Wise and witty elegy for the decline of modern manners ― Red

Heads and shoulders above the usual array of stocking fillers ― The Week

Beautifully written... a much more interesting work than either a guide to manners or a more dispassionate analysis of rudery could ever be. -- David Sexton ― Evening Standard

She's opposed to rudeness but on occasion is rude herself - appallingly and wittingly so! ― Sydney Morning Herald

Funny and buoyant ― Sunday Times

This fine rant against boorish behaviour. ― Saga Magazine

An entertaining rant, dotted with acute observations. -- Libby Purvis ― The Tablet

Highly perceptive, passionately argued and extremely funny -- John Preston ― Sunday Telegraph

Perfect ― Sunday Express

I'm terribly fond of Lynne Truss's book on manners, Talk to the Hand. I'd love to take tea with her but I'd be a little nervous to do so. -- Patrick Marber ― Sunday Telegraph

(very) readable, (very) funny, (very) engaging ― Observer

Anyone who has a sense of "the utter bloody rudeness of everyday life" will identify with much of the Truss jeremiad... a pleasingly wrathful social documentary. -- Michael Bywater ― Telegraph

It's bound to make you laugh and thump the table in agreement. -- Sun Herald ― Australia

Always fair, often funny and above all sane. ― Ruth Rendell - Books of the Year 2005

So lively, so witty, so exhilaratingly splenetic.... It doesn't really matter how many times we may have shaken our heads in disagreement with her as the experience of reading what she has to say is always so pleasurable -- Craig Brown ― Mail on Sunday

Bloody funny and an effin good read -- Sunday Independent ― Dublin

About the Author

Lynne Truss is one of Britain's top comic writers and is the author of the number one bestseller Eats, Shoots & Leaves. It has sold over three million copies worldwide and won the British Book of the Year award in 2004. She has also written four comic books, Going Loco, Making the Cat Laugh, Tennyson's Gift and With One Lousy Free Packet of Seed, all available from Profile Books. She is a regular presenter on Radio 4, a Times columnist and a guest presenter for many other programmes. She lives in Brighton.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Profile Books; Main edition (24 Oct. 2005)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 224 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1861979339
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1861979339
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 13.5 x 2.2 x 19.5 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 760,279 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 116 in Cooking Humour
- 636 in Etiquette Reference
- 1,198 in Business Humour

Customer reviews:
3.8 67 ratings

About the author

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Lynne Truss

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Lynne Truss is a writer and journalist who started out as a literary editor with a blue pencil and then got sidetracked. The author of three novels and numerous radio comedy dramas, she spent six years as the television critic of The Times of London, followed by four (rather peculiar) years as a sports columnist for the same newspaper. She won Columnist of the Year for her work for Women's Journal. Lynne Truss also hosted Cutting a Dash, a popular BBC Radio 4 series about punctuation. She now reviews books for the Sunday Times of London and is a familiar voice on BBC Radio 4. She lives in Brighton, England.

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3.8 out of 5

67 global ratings

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Gemma T

Funny and provocative

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 November 2005

Being a fan of Lynne Truss's writing I was looking forward to reading what she had to say on modern manners, and I haven't been disappointed. Although I enjoyed Eats, Shoots and Leaves I have to confess that the issue of punctuation is not one that is close to my heart, whereas who hasn't wanted to punch the pillock having a noisy conversation on their mobile on the train, or the person who blithley ignores us as we hold open a door for them. However this book is not merely a rant, although the parts that are verging on it are probably the funniest, rather it is an attempt to understand why people today appear to be so ill-mannered. Truss explores whether it is merely perception, or if modern manners have changed then what has precipitated it and why do we feel so aggreived by it. This is something that anyone can relate to, and wrapped up in the same great writing that made Eats, Shoots and Leaves the number one read last Christmas this book will be enjoyed enormously by anyone who reads it. And you never know, it just might start the modern manners revolution!

196 people found this helpful

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G. L. Haggett

Highly readable battle-cry for the grumpy old (wo)man

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 December 2005

Verified Purchase

I avoided "Eats, shoots and leaves" like the plague, for fear that its necessary prescriptiveness might infuriate me.
This book, however, leaves one in no doubt whatsoever about Lynne Truss's writing skills. It is a pacy. articulate cri de coeur for the grumpy old (wo)man generation, picking up on those quaint but important everyday customs and courtesies which can go such a long way to making life a little more bearable.
More quizzical than preachy, it is highly recommended to anyone beginning to feel their age and to wonder whatever happened to those standards which, once apparently so important, seem to have been allowed to disappear without so much as a wistful murmur.

24 people found this helpful

Helpful

Cheshire Tiger

Could be better

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 October 2023

I found a pristine new copy of this on one of our bookshelves, unread. I wonder why we got it; and why it was unread. In fact it's not that good. It's the third Lynne Truss book I've read and the other two are better. It's a bit dated and rather turgid and wordy, and if you want a quick read you can skim through it quickly. I'd recommend the books by Kate Fox and Jeremy Paxman instead.

Having said that, I'm giving it three stars rather than two because it has some humorous bits and things I can identify with: ringing call centres, for example. And also the lack of deference. The British National Anthem has long since been booed in Scotland and to a degree in Wales and this is now spreading to England. It was booed at the FA Cup Final at Wembley, as was the President of the Football Association, possibly because he's Prince William.

Two other points. Something Ms Truss could have included is the "no reply/no show" culture, which I've encountered all too often often. It's very rude and when challenged, the offenders are as likely to become aggressive as to apologise. My second point is that the author is a Londoner. I had the misfortune to live in the south for many years, and take it from me, and others, people are far ruder there. I've lived in Cheshire for some time now, and the only person who's shouted abuse at me (over a parking space) had, guess what, London (cockney) accent.

The book goes to the charity shop tomorrow.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 November 2005

Truss attacks rudeness and boorishness after her campaign on how we use punctuation today. If you liked her last book, you’ll probably like this. However, if you didn’t like her last one, I’m not sure this would convert you.
Truss is amusing and her writing is very readable. She takes on computer lingo, irresponsible mobile use, eating in public (some thing my father abhorred) and many other such social grievances.
A book to dip into and at times sympathise with. I’m sure it will make a good Christmas present, but let’s not take it too seriously else we would be forever grumpy!
As Oscar Wilde wrote in Lady Windermere's Fan
'Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong.'

112 people found this helpful

Helpful

NicNic

Boring

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 August 2019

Struggling to find any humour in this book. It's just the depressing repetitive ramblings of a grumpy old woman who likes to use as many big words as she can fit in one paragraph. As dull as dishwater and in some places rather insulting and offensive in her generalisations of particular groups of society. Unimpressed and bored by it.

2 people found this helpful

Helpful

LadyGrey

A fun book that makes you think...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 May 2013

Verified Purchase

'Eats shoots and leaves' was always going to be a hard act to follow! This is an interesting little book with some great lines, but it is a little tedious in places.

One person found this helpful

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The consumer's best friend

Nail hit firmly on the head!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 29 January 2017

Great book about the severe lack of manners - and therefore decency - in society. Things like cyclists riding on pavements. Some of the negative comments here kind of prove her point. The fact that it doesn't resonate with them suggests they think our poor manners are not a problem. They are probably ill-mannered themselves and didn't like being called out by her.

Helpful

Wiggly's mum

Not what I expected at all

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 28 November 2019

Verified Purchase

Didn’t enjoy this at all. Nothing like its predecessor, Eats, Shoots and Leaves. Very disappointing. Not nice language in it either.

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Amazon Customer

Ummmm

Reviewed in India on 10 October 2018

Verified Purchase

It would have been more useful if the author did not complain so much and if she gave practical tips.

stephfo

article non conforme

Reviewed in France on 6 August 2017

Verified Purchase

C'est bien l'ouvrage que je souhaitais mais je suis surpris de recevoir un article - bien qu'en excellent état - qui n'est visiblement pas neuf (présence d'un ex-libris au stylo !

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