Rebel with a Clause

May 2, 2022
Jovin (English at Work), cofounder of a communication training firm, documents in this zippy account her trip across America with a pop-up grammar advice table. In 2018, she set up shop in Manhattan’s Verdi Square answering “grammar questions from passersby.” Her endeavor was a success, and soon she took the show on the road across 47 states. Whether she’s discussing Oxford commas (“a national obsession, but... surely not a global one”) or contractions (evading them can sound robotic), Jovin uses a combination of intuition and established guidelines to demonstrate that there’s almost always more than one correct answer to questions of communication. Along the way, she shares funny anecdotes about the interactions at her booth and how it functioned as an outlet for individuals to passionately express their points of view: “The semicolon inspires an array of emotional and intellectual responses: curiosity, anxiety, indifference, affection, and disdain,” for example. Jovin’s emphasis is always on fun—chapters have silly titles (“Semicolonphobia!” and “Whom Ya Gonna Call?”), and stick-figure drawings illustrate the concepts. The result reads less like a how-to guide and more like a usage-centered memoir. Fellow language lovers will enjoy the ride. Agent: Victoria Skurnick, Levine Greenberg Rostan.

Starred review from June 15, 2022
A grammar expert takes on vexing questions and pet peeves. Jovin, the author of several books on writing and grammar, describes her experiences traveling across the country answering the public's questions about language use. In 49 lively chapters, she recounts her conversations on punctuation, conjugation, spelling, pronunciation, and contentious word choices while offering sage and sensible advice on common areas of confusion. She writes about passersby who air their grievances about the misuse of apostrophes, and she offers jaunty but exceptionally clear illustrations of their appropriate deployment. Individual chapters cover some familiar problem areas--affect and effect, lie and lay, whoever and whomever--along with broader reflections on the evolution of verbal conventions in the digital age and the significance of a respect for language itself. The conversations that unfold on her tour are, she rightly observes, "filled with humor and feeling for the complex linguistic glue that binds us together as human beings and distinguishes us from other living creatures." Jovin's charm as an explainer of sometimes-esoteric rules and as a defender of common sense and clarity in communication is a major strength of this book. Another is her lighthearted but incisive commentary on people's emotional investments in grammar. A large part of the book's comedy comes from her descriptions of how disagreements about proper expression can pit people against one another, poisoning otherwise successful relationships. Many of the chapters describe people venting about others' grammatical lapses, and Jovin positions herself, convincingly, as not just a linguistic, but an emotional counselor, fostering healthy communication rather than judgement. The invitation she poses in her introduction--"Now, please lie down on a nice couch with this book and let's have some grammar therapy"--is well worth accepting. A delightful, educative journey through some prickly regions of English grammar.

COPYRIGHT(2022) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 10, 2023
A few years back, Jovin set up a card table on a New York City sidewalk with a sign reading, "Grammar Table." She was instantly approached with questions, joys, and complaints. Americans proved very invested in effective contemporary English. The success of the Grammar Table took Jovin on the road, setting up roving tables in Chicago, Austin, Spokane, New Orleans, Venice Beach, Fargo, and dozens of other towns. Jovin conversed with editors, schoolteachers, and grammar snobs, who had predictably firm takes on English rules. Perhaps surprisingly, Jovin also heard strong grammar opinions from young people, the supposed murderers of proper language use. The book is broken down by common grammar lessons, from hyphens versus em dashes to gerunds, to their, they're, and there. For each topic, Jovin explains the most widely accepted interpretation of the rule, shares a few endearing encounters from across the nation, and repeatedly proves her point: that there is a thoughtful evolution to language over time, and that the future of language is bright.

COPYRIGHT(2023) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.