facebook

Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen (Paperback)

Greek to Me: Adventures of the Comma Queen By Mary Norris Cover Image
$15.95
Not in Stock. Available to Order.

April 2019 Indie Next List


“What a pleasure to again spend a few hours with Mary Norris. The author of Between You & Me is back with a second book, and this time her subject is all things Greek — the language, the people, the mythology, and the culture.Greek to Me recounts Norris’ experiences learning Greek and traveling the country while putting her new skills to the test. As in her first book, Norris is excellent company, spinning tales and charming readers. Blending memoir, history, and travel, all topped off with heaps of wordy nerdiness, Greek to Me is a joy to read.”
— David Enyeart, Common Good Books, St. Paul, MN

Description


“One of the most satisfying accounts of a great passion that I have ever read.” —Vivian Gornick, New York Times Book Review


Mary Norris, The New Yorker’s Comma Queen and best-selling author of Between You & Me, has had a lifelong love affair with words. In Greek to Me, she delivers a delightful paean to the art of self-expression through accounts of 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, and reveals the surprising ways in which Greek helped form English. Greek to Me is filled with Norris’s memorable encounters with Greek words, Greek gods, Greek wine—and more than a few Greek men.



About the Author


Mary Norris is the author of Greek to Me and the New York Times bestseller Between You & Me, an account of her years in The New Yorker copy department. Originally from Cleveland, she lives in New York.

Praise For…


A rapturous memoir of falling in love with a language.
— Rory Tolan - Washington Post

Norris is an uncommonly engaging, witty enthusiast with a nose for delicious details.
— Heller McAlpin - NPR

What a fantastic book! Not only is Greek to Me educational, entertaining, and gorgeously written, it shows us how intellectual curiosity coupled with a dash of bravery can pave the way for a more meaningful life.

— Ann Patchett

Norris’ vibrant prose flies off the page.… She brings it all together with insight and wisdom.
— Elfrieda Abbe - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Charming, ribald, highly informed, and always funny.… An adventure tale for intellectuals—and also for the rest of us.
— Steve Martin

[Mary] Norris… whose first book chronicled her passion for punctuation, here recounts, with the same contagious wit and enthusiasm, her obsession with Greece—its language, history and culture.
— New York Times Book Review

Beach reading for classicists and philhellenes… but with something more serious at stake.
— A. E. Stallings - Wall Street Journal

Norris is a jaunty companion, splendidly bookish, full of excellent little facts.
— Charlotte Higgins - Guardian

Norris has a remarkable gift for conveying and transmitting passion.
— Imogen Russell Williams - Times Literary Supplement

Delightful.
— Bethanne Patrick - Washington Post

Greek to Me bursts with a cheerful lust for all things Hellenic: the language, ancient and modern; the mythology; the wine; the sunshine; the sea; and, occasionally, the men.
— Susan Storer Clark - Washington Independent Review of Books


Product Details
ISBN: 9780393357868
ISBN-10: 0393357864
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
Publication Date: April 14th, 2020
Pages: 240
Language: English