Semicolon

The Past, Present, and Future of a Misunderstood Mark

By: Cecelia Watson

Narrated by: Pam Ward

Length: 3 hrs and 47 mins

Publisher's summary

A pause-resisting, existential romp through the life and times of the world’s most polarizing punctuation mark.

The semicolon. Stephen King, Hemingway, Vonnegut, and Orwell detest it. Herman Melville, Henry James, and Rebecca Solnit love it. But why? When is it effective? Have we been misusing it? Should we even care?

In Semicolon, Cecelia Watson charts the rise and fall of this infamous punctuation mark, which for years was the trendiest one in the world of letters. But in the 19th century, as grammar books became all the rage, the rules of how we use language became both stricter and more confusing, with the semicolon a prime victim.

Taking us on a breezy journey through a range of examples - from Milton’s manuscripts to Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “Letters from Birmingham Jail” to Raymond Chandler’s The Big Sleep - Watson reveals how traditional grammar rules make us less successful at communicating with each other than we’d think. Even the most die-hard grammar fanatics would be better served by tossing the rule books and learning a better way to engage with language.

Through her rollicking biography of the semicolon, Watson writes a guide to grammar that explains why we don’t need guides at all and refocuses our attention on the deepest, most primary value of language: true communication.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2019 Cecelia Watson (P)2019 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"An audiobook devoted to the semicolon? Unlikely as that might sound, this little history of grammar's most misunderstood punctuation mark is, at just under four hours, brisk, lively, witty, and provocative; it is a genuine pleasure for the ear. Narrator Pam Ward is particularly skilled at rendering topics that might seem narrow, highly specialized, and intended only for a niche market. Her narration is purposeful and expressive, and at the same time unhurried and unforced; in other words, it is a fine artistry of pacing and balance that enlivens without dramatizing. Here, given so many noteworthy authors and fine passages to quote - she simply shines." (AudioFile Magazine)

Thoughtful and entertaining exploration

As someone who has struggled with a learning disability and has been equally mocked and praised for my punctuation, while never understanding the rules, this book has been a form of vindication! I loved it. It is written clearly while being entertaining for the casual listener. Repositioning punctuation for a contemporary context.

Let’s hear it for the semicolon; a subtitle

Great research into the life of the semicolon; written with humor and a touch of sarcasm here and there.
Pam Ward did an outstanding job of narration; making a wonderful text come to like.

Why many writers and students deride semicolons

Narration is clear, but I do not appreciate the sarcastic tone.

Nor do I believe that proper use of semicolon is all that difficult to learn or that preoccupation with using correct grammar stanches creativity.

Author’s attitude explains why so many students who have taken English 101 evidence poor writing skills.

This audio is important in that it unflinchingly mocks those of studiously attending to and using this and many other useful punctuation marks.

Well written and insightful; for all writers

Overall, this book is an opinionated essay about the past and present use of semicolons and of their perception. It is somewhat straightforward in that goal. The topic of semicolons is very niche topic, however the author uses the issue at hand to address a wider concern about the nature of language; she believes that language is foremost about communication and that rules have stifled that ability. Whether or not you agree with her, the book is a fine read because it opens up an important discussion about writing, and likely expands your grammatical ability as a result.

A potential issue is that it is an advanced read, and you will likely find little value in the book without high literacy skill.

I appreciate that the author does not force you into dogmatically preaching her beliefs, she provides ample direct sources and examples, and that she does not use unfair arguments. Additionally, the book is concise. It's about 4 hours long, and writing about a single key on the keyboard for longer than that would be monumentally ridiculous, but this length is enough to fully support its message.

I am only an amateur writer, and I went into this book hoping for a quick and replicable rule on the use of semicolons, since I had faced so much confusion around them before. Unfortunately, this book does not provide that; it is still 4 hours long after all. But I don't believe that this is the fault of the author. The book itself discusses how that kind of concrete use likely isn't possible for the semicolon. What struck me the most was my realization that the commonly accepted rules for English were created by authors who published style books, ones which were made for profit, and which competed with other publishers, making English grammar undeniably malleable in some way.

Ultimately however, this book did allow me to come to my own conclusion about semicolons, and my use of them in this review should be proof of that. It is intrinsically an unnecessary addition to English grammar, but a helpful tool that can be used to change the way an author's voice is eccentuated. It is also useful as a kind of "grammatical synonym" to a comma, colon, or occasional period, and slightly changes the sentence for the purpose of flow.

In regard to the audio, the narrator is simply excellent. She never falters in pronunciation or in enthusiasm, and I feel as if it the author herself reading the book aloud. It is difficult to show how semicolons are used without providing text, but because her inflection is so great, you can hear the impact that a semicolon had on that sentence. It is truly an impressive feat to do that, and I wish more narrators had that kind of ability.

Awesome

It is impossible to write a.book about a semicolon but it’s awesome that this lady did it. It was so interesting that l had a hard time putting it down. And now I use it easily. This boo goes beyond setting rules. It helps you understand that you can’t write hampered by rules

Silly me; I thought it was about semicolons

This book should be entitled My many marvelous opinions. I think the title of the actual book is misleading.