The Genius of Language: Fifteen Writers Reflect on Their Mother Tongue (Paperback)

by Wendy Lesser (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Intimate, entertaining and thoughtful. . . . It is impossible to do do justice to all of the outstanding essays in this volume." --San Francisco Chronicle

“Charming, moving and funny reflections on childhood, family, nationality, and ethnicity as well

as language. . . . Genuinely transporting” --The New York Sun

“Eloquently explores the links between childhood and language.” —Chicago Tribune

"Provides readers not just with a peak inside the heads of these dazzling writers, but a trip to each of their homelands, from Russia to Italy to Chile." --Condé Nast Traveler

“This delightful collection É vividly recounts the process that anyone who loves words goes through: the process of falling under the spell of language’s seemingly infinite potential.” --Publishers Weekly

“Intimate, entertaining and thoughtful É this volume provides fascinating insight into the way that grappling with language is a way people also grapple with life.” --San Francisco Chronicle

“This is a collection that should heighten anyone’s awareness of the potential and the limitation of the English language.” --San Jose Mercury News

“Ms. Lesser’s contemporary Conrads — writers who write in English though it’s not their first language — have delivered charming, moving and funny reflections on childhood, family, nationality, and ethnicity as well as language.” --New York Sun

“I laughed and cried over this collection of stories embracing the English language. {One of the 25 best books of 2004}.” --Seattle Times and Post- Intelligencer

“A rich and surprising book brimming with love of culture and respect of language.” --Tucson Citizen

“Powerful for their brevity ... --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Review
"Intimate, entertaining and thoughtful. . . . It is impossible to do do justice to all of the outstanding essays in this volume." --San Francisco Chronicle

“Charming, moving and funny reflections on childhood, family, nationality, and ethnicity as well

as language. . . . Genuinely transporting” --The New York Sun

“Eloquently explores the links between childhood and language.” —Chicago Tribune

"Provides readers not just with a peak inside the heads of these dazzling writers, but a trip to each of their homelands, from Russia to Italy to Chile." --Condé Nast Traveler

“This delightful collection É vividly recounts the process that anyone who loves words goes through: the process of falling under the spell of language’s seemingly infinite potential.” --Publishers Weekly

“Intimate, entertaining and thoughtful É this volume provides fascinating insight into the way that grappling with language is a way people also grapple with life.” --San Francisco Chronicle

“This is a collection that should heighten anyone’s awareness of the potential and the limitation of the English language.” --San Jose Mercury News

“Ms. Lesser’s contemporary Conrads — writers who write in English though it’s not their first language — have delivered charming, moving and funny reflections on childhood, family, nationality, and ethnicity as well as language.” --New York Sun

“I laughed and cried over this collection of stories embracing the English language. {One of the 25 best books of 2004}.” --Seattle Times and Post- Intelligencer

“A rich and surprising book brimming with love of culture and respect of language.” --Tucson Citizen

“Powerful for their brevity É the richness and the range of the collection make this a valuable anthology.” --Kliatt (Massachusetts)

“This collection of essays is fascinating.” – Asheville (North Carolina) Citizen-Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Anchor (July 12, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1400033233
• ISBN-13: 978-1400033232
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #886,295 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This anthology is as unique as it is interesting to read. , October 15, 2005

By	Allan M. Gathercoal "fdoamerica" (Norcross, GA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

All fifteen authors have one thing in common: they love words. All of them were drop-shipped, via their parent's fiat, to worlds where their mother tongue was no longer heard. These are the stories of how they lived, learned, spoke and eventual wrote English. Initially, their minds were full of ideas, but the words to express them were no longer understood outside of their family. The need to communicate burned inside of them and drove them to English, and maybe drove to the unencumbered freedom found in writing.

If you are looking for a work in the field of linguistics, keep looking, for this book is a `niche' book that gives one an unusual vista on the joys of words via quasi-autobiographies. This anthology is as unique as it is interesting to read. Strongly recommended

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Reading!, November 5, 2005

By	W. Harwood "willyl" (Burlington, VT USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Wonderful collection of essays by first-rank writers on the transition from the native language to our American version of English. Starting of course with the example of Joseph Conrad they offer insights into their intial contact with English in their childhoods and how this shaped their perceptions of the US and ease their entry into our society. Since I have first hand experience with most of the languages and cultures described (living in Bangladesh, Poland, and Russia, Scottish grandmother), this rang true. Useful for linguists to see how their theories work, something I don't quite understand, but which they do as perceptive writers. The brief essays are well-crafted and easy to understand, much more accessible than their own writings may be or a sociological analysis of the transitions they outline.

5.0 out of 5 stars Anthology of Essays On Language from around the world, June 25, 2009

By	BYF "Backyard Flix" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

CONTENTS:


* Introduction - Wendy Lesser

Bangala
* The Way Back - Bharati Mukherjee

Chinese
* Yes and No - Amy Tan

Czech
* Trouble and Language - Josef Skvorecky

Dutch
* Circus Biped - Bert Keizer

French
* French Without Tears - Luc Sante

German
* Prelude - Thomas Laqueuer

Gikuyu
* Recovering the Original - Ngugi wa Thiong'o

Greek
* Split Self - Nicholas Papndreou

Italian
* Limpid, Blue, Poppy - M.J. Fitzgerald

Korean
* Personal and Singular - Ha-yun Jung

Polish
* On Being an Orphaned Writer - Louis Begley

Russian
* The Mother Tongue Between Two Slices of Rye - Gary Shteyngart

Scots
* Boswell and Mrs. Miller - James Campbell

Spanish
* Footnotes to a Double Life - Ariel Dorfman

Yiddish
* My Yiddish - Leonard Michaels