Peas & Queues by Sandi Toksvig

Peas & Queues

by Sandi Toksvig

How do you get rid of unwanted guests? What do you do if there's a racket in the quiet carriage? How should you eat peas, and behave in queues? How to behave, like how to punctuate, is an aspect of life that many are no longer taught - and getting it wrong is the stuff of comedy at best and humiliation at worst. Thankfully, Sandi Toksvig has come to the rescue with her entertaining guide to modern manners,with tips on what to do whether you're talking to a bore, or forgot their name in the first place. (Just call them 'darling'.)

The award-winning Radio 4 broadcaster and writer offers guidance on the social pitfalls of every phase of life, from christenings to condolence letters - and has uncovered fascinating details about how our manners have changed across time, from the earliest étiquettes (little cards to remind courtiers how to behave) to the changing nature of spoons. With characteristic wit and perceptiveness, and revealing the trickiest of her encounters along the way, she highlights decency rather than convention and provides an essential guide to twenty-first century behaviour.

Reviewed by brokentune on

2 of 5 stars

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Review first posted on BookLikes:
http://brokentune.booklikes.com/post/796530/peas-queues

Usually, I try to start my reviews with a quote that I think encapsulates what either what the book is about, or the mood, or something else that strikes me about the book.
I was having a hard time to find a quote from Peas & Queues that would encapsulate any of this.

When I went out for breakfast with a friend on Sunday, he - who likes Sandi Toksvig when she's on tv - asked me what the book was about, and for the first time in ages, I was actually stunned and unable to form a coherent thought that would describe my impressions of the book. Granted, I had only had one sip of my first cup of coffee - but usually I find it easy enough to talk about books.

So, having had the benefit of a few days' reflection, I think my main problem with the Peas & Queues is that I have no idea what the book is about:

In the preface it is explained that the book is aimed at the author's niece as a guide to modern manners and general advice. Then book starts off giving a background to manners and social conventions that became what is now known under the label of "manners". That part of the book is quite interesting - and the examples chosen from history are quite funny.

The subsequent chapters of the book are then devoted to different real life situations - living with other people, eating out, being invited, etc. And this is where the book loses the plot a little; where the descriptions become quite common sense, quite "uninteresting", for want of a better word. Also, there are fewer examples of famous incidents. All in all, the further into the book I advanced, the more it read like writing the book had become a task that had to be completed, but really, the author lost interest in it, too.

Or, maybe it is just me; maybe I just don't give a monkey's about manners.

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  • Started reading
  • 21 February, 2014: Finished reading
  • 21 February, 2014: Reviewed