The Grammarians: A Novel by Cathleen Schine: book review

The Grammarians (2019) is set in America, in 1980s Manhattan.

Identical red-headed twin girls, Daphne and Laurel Wolfe, both love language and words, and each other. As children, they speak their own “twin language.” They “collect” words–and even call their dog Webster after the Webster Dictionary.

But as they grow older, their interest in men tests their twinship. Laurel and Larry: Daphne and Michael. On their double-wedding day, everyone is blissfully happy. But things change: “And then Laurel made herself a little bit more different. Laurel got her nose fixed.” First appearances, then grammar!

Their devotion to language moves in opposite directions: “There was something wayward in the twins’ relationship now, a devious shift” that their mother Sally sensed.

Daphne is now a grammar columnist, writing the People’s Pedant, determined to preserve the strict rules of grammar in the English language. Laurel is now a poet, determined to experiment with language, its interpretation and intent. Where once they were following the same path, the twins are now in dispute. Push comes to shove when they fight over custody of their valuable family heirloom—a dictionary. Not just any dictionary, but the Webster’s New International Dictionary of the English Language, Second Edition, Unabridged.

This novel is comical, and absurd, but entertaining and witty. Which view do readers take? Who’s side are you on? Can you be ambiguous, indecisive, and indeterminate, taking both points of view? The twins don’t think so—it’s one or the other. This is sibling rivalry to its linguistic and comic end.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of: Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

Comments

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. That

Flaws in the Glass, a self-portrait by Patrick White: book review

The manuscript, Flaws in the Glass (1981), is Patrick Victor Martindale White’s autobiography. White, born in 1912 in England, migrated to Sydney, Australia, when he was six months old. For three years, at the age of 20, he studied French and German literature at King’s College at the University of Cambridge in England. Throughout his life, he published 12 novels. In 1957 he won the inaugural Miles Franklin Literary Award for Voss, published in 1956. In 1961, Riders in the Chariot became a best-seller, winning the Miles Franklin Literary Award. In 1973, he was the first Australian author to be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature for The Eye of the Storm, despite many critics describing his works as ‘un-Australian’ and himself as ‘Australia’s most unreadable novelist.’ In 1979, The Twyborn Affair was short-listed for the Booker Prize, but he withdrew it from the competition to give younger writers the opportunity to win the award. His autobiography, Flaws in the Glass

Sister cities discussed: Canberra and Islamabad

Two months ago, in March 2015, Australia and Pakistan agreed to explore ways to deepen ties. The relationship between Australia and Pakistan has been strong for decades, and the two countries continue to keep dialogues open. The annual bilateral discussions were held in Australia in March to continue engagements on a wide range of matters of mutual interest. The Pakistan delegation discussed points of interest will include sports, agriculture, economic growth, trade, border protection, business, and education. The possible twinning of the cities of Canberra, the capital of Australia, and Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, were also on the agenda (i.e. called twin towns or sister cities). Sister City relationships are twinning arrangements that build friendships as well as government, business, culture, and community linkages. Canberra currently has international Sister City relationships with Beijing in China and Nara in Japan. One example of existing

FEAST OR FAMINE

Search This Blog