Download PDF Greek to Me Adventures of the Comma Queen eBook Mary Norris
Download PDF Greek to Me Adventures of the Comma Queen eBook Mary Norris
Download As PDF : Greek to Me Adventures of the Comma Queen eBook Mary Norris
The Comma Queen returns with a buoyant book about language, love, and the wine-dark sea.
In her New York Times bestseller Between You Me, Mary Norris delighted readers with her irreverent tales of pencils and punctuation in The New Yorker’s celebrated copy department. In Greek to Me, she delivers another wise and funny paean to the art of self-expression, this time filtered through her greatest passion all things Greek.
Greek to Me is a charming account of Norris’s lifelong love affair with words and her solo adventures in the land of olive trees and ouzo. Along the way, Norris explains how the alphabet originated in Greece, makes the case for Athena as a feminist icon, goes searching for the fabled Baths of Aphrodite, and reveals the surprising ways Greek helped form English. Filled with Norris’s memorable encounters with Greek words, Greek gods, Greek wine—and more than a few Greek men—Greek to Me is the Comma Queen’s fresh take on Greece and the exotic yet strangely familiar language that so deeply influences our own.
Download PDF Greek to Me Adventures of the Comma Queen eBook Mary Norris
"I loved the book. I want to (among other things) applaud the author’s insistence to always use the (ancient or modern) Greek names of gods and heroes, instead of their latinate versions. And, then, she decides to make an exception with... Hecuba -- the sound of which is, to modern Greeks, like something emanating from deepest Africa. But Norris loves the sound so much that she... makes it no less than twenty times!
There couldn’t have been any other culmination of this book than the “meeting†of the author with Patrick Leigh Fermor. She knocks at the door of his house in Kardamyli:
"I had stood outside a closed door and felt frustrated: if you can’t open a door, it might as well not exist. But a door that opens, as this one now did, framing Elpida, is an invitation to a whole world that had previously been denied."
Elpida is Leigh Fermor’s housekeeper -- but, kind reader, please note that it is also the Greek word for Hope..."
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Greek to Me Adventures of the Comma Queen eBook Mary Norris Reviews :
Greek to Me Adventures of the Comma Queen eBook Mary Norris Reviews
- I loved the book. I want to (among other things) applaud the author’s insistence to always use the (ancient or modern) Greek names of gods and heroes, instead of their latinate versions. And, then, she decides to make an exception with... Hecuba -- the sound of which is, to modern Greeks, like something emanating from deepest Africa. But Norris loves the sound so much that she... makes it no less than twenty times!
There couldn’t have been any other culmination of this book than the “meeting†of the author with Patrick Leigh Fermor. She knocks at the door of his house in Kardamyli
"I had stood outside a closed door and felt frustrated if you can’t open a door, it might as well not exist. But a door that opens, as this one now did, framing Elpida, is an invitation to a whole world that had previously been denied."
Elpida is Leigh Fermor’s housekeeper -- but, kind reader, please note that it is also the Greek word for Hope... - The first few pages were delightful. The author is an excellent writer and was humorous and irreverent. That didn't last very long though. She then started explaining everything in Greek, translations and etymology. I enjoyed the translations and etymology for a few pages, but that seemed to be the essence of the book. I tried skipping ahead hoping to learn more about Greece, a country that I love. Sadly, no the translations kept coming and I lost track of the story because of the distracting translations. Perhaps, the language of Greece was supposed to be the focus of the book, but if that was her intention and this was the wrong book for me.
- The reviews here are quite good, and I agree with most. Learning Modern Greek is tough for this old geezer too, and accenting the wrong syllable keeps me humble too. I promised my Squeeze I would take her to Greece if she learned some Greek, so I bought this book for her.
Been watching the PBS series, “The Durell’s of Corfu†based on Gerald’s book, but want to read Lawrence’s books now. (BTW, Corfu is what the Italians called the island, the Greeks call it Kerkira.)
Also, after Norris’ description, I want to see the statue of Athena in Nashville, Tennessee. Maybe before I travel to Athens. - Whether you love history, linguistics, traveling or Greece, (or all of them!) this book is delightful and engaging! Loved it so much that I bought two more as gifts! Enjoy!
- I hate this book! I’m on page 17 and I almost put it down. Are you kidding me? All I want to do is pick up my third passport and head back to Greece. I also grew up in Cleveland, on the Great Plains side. I can’t ask for a better description of how it feels to step off that plane, inhale that dry crisp air and head to monastaraki to buy tickets to anything at Herod Atticus. If I get through this book it going to be a miracle. I’ll take it with me. Bye.
- Very funny; a most enjoyable read and not just for nerds! Had me laughing out loud.
- CULTURAL TRANSVESTITES CUME IN ALL SHAPES AND SIZES.
- Writing of such grace and wit.
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