*grumble grumble*
*sigh*
How times change. Used to be I'd be the last person to pick on a book's poor grammar, even in the case of such atrocities like Twilight. Fragments were a favorite sentence usage of mine. Look back at my old fics and you can see plenty of instances where this is the case. I used to sigh in irritation whenever someone called themselves a "grammar Nazi", because yes, it is a stupid name and should not be a compliment.
Now, after a thorough crash course in elementary grammar courtesy of the lovely Dana over at Reasoning with Vampires, I can barely look at a page of bad grammar without feeling near physical pain.
Such was the case when I attempted to read The Hunger Games last night.
*pulls out Kindle*
*clears throat*
"Of course, she did." Inappropriate use of comma.
"My little sister, Prim, curled up on her side, cocooned in my mother's body, their cheeks pressed together." Not only is it a very long fragment, but the comma abuse is atrocious and most of these are not separate thoughts that would warrant commas.
"In sleep, my mother looks younger, still worn but not so beaten-down." INAPPROPRIATE USE OF COMMA.
"Mashed-in nose, half of one ear missing, eyes the color of rotting squash." Not only is it a fragment, but it's an easily avoidable fragment (add "It had a" to the beginning of the sentence and it would be perfectly acceptable). It's not even a fragment with enough emotional impact to warrant using a fragment!
"He hates me. Or at least distrusts me." Should be one sentence, could easily be one sentence WITH A COMMA.
First half of the first page, y'all. I mean, maybe I could ignore these in a proper book, where the text is smaller and I tend to find myself skimming a lot more. But part of the reason I like the Kindle is that I can read thoroughly and catch all the little meanings without agonizing for ten minutes over a page, which used to be my usual modus operandi beaten into me by school. And so, much as I wish I could, I cannot ignore those! And no, I don't care that it's first person present tense. Not that I'm a fan of present tense, mind, but just because it's first person doesn't excuse her from speaking in incomplete sentences.
*sob* I want to like this book! This is supposed to be the next Awesome Book, with all kinds of positive messages and good characters. And yet, how am I supposed to ignore those? I would love to ignore those, and yet every time I see an inappropriately used comma or a needless fragment, especially so many back to back...it's like a needle screeching on a record!
For fuck's sake, The Help was in three different first person present tense perspectives, two of them from African American house maids with the most rudimentary of educations, and it didn't make me wince every other line with its formatting!
How times change. Used to be I'd be the last person to pick on a book's poor grammar, even in the case of such atrocities like Twilight. Fragments were a favorite sentence usage of mine. Look back at my old fics and you can see plenty of instances where this is the case. I used to sigh in irritation whenever someone called themselves a "grammar Nazi", because yes, it is a stupid name and should not be a compliment.
Now, after a thorough crash course in elementary grammar courtesy of the lovely Dana over at Reasoning with Vampires, I can barely look at a page of bad grammar without feeling near physical pain.
Such was the case when I attempted to read The Hunger Games last night.
*pulls out Kindle*
*clears throat*
"Of course, she did." Inappropriate use of comma.
"My little sister, Prim, curled up on her side, cocooned in my mother's body, their cheeks pressed together." Not only is it a very long fragment, but the comma abuse is atrocious and most of these are not separate thoughts that would warrant commas.
"In sleep, my mother looks younger, still worn but not so beaten-down." INAPPROPRIATE USE OF COMMA.
"Mashed-in nose, half of one ear missing, eyes the color of rotting squash." Not only is it a fragment, but it's an easily avoidable fragment (add "It had a" to the beginning of the sentence and it would be perfectly acceptable). It's not even a fragment with enough emotional impact to warrant using a fragment!
"He hates me. Or at least distrusts me." Should be one sentence, could easily be one sentence WITH A COMMA.
First half of the first page, y'all. I mean, maybe I could ignore these in a proper book, where the text is smaller and I tend to find myself skimming a lot more. But part of the reason I like the Kindle is that I can read thoroughly and catch all the little meanings without agonizing for ten minutes over a page, which used to be my usual modus operandi beaten into me by school. And so, much as I wish I could, I cannot ignore those! And no, I don't care that it's first person present tense. Not that I'm a fan of present tense, mind, but just because it's first person doesn't excuse her from speaking in incomplete sentences.
*sob* I want to like this book! This is supposed to be the next Awesome Book, with all kinds of positive messages and good characters. And yet, how am I supposed to ignore those? I would love to ignore those, and yet every time I see an inappropriately used comma or a needless fragment, especially so many back to back...it's like a needle screeching on a record!
For fuck's sake, The Help was in three different first person present tense perspectives, two of them from African American house maids with the most rudimentary of educations, and it didn't make me wince every other line with its formatting!