Review by Brendan Donaghy -- Why Do We Quote?

[Brendan Donaghy]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Why Do We Quote?" by Ruth Finnegan.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Ruth Finnegan is a distinguished academic with a background in classical languages and literature, though much of her work over the years has been in the field of social anthropology. Professor Finnegan notes in the preface her fascination with why we quote, about why we feel the need ‘to echo the voice of others’ in our own speech and writing. It is her opinion that, while previous academic studies have shown much scholarly interest in quotations, the essence of why we quote has been ignored. Why Do We Quote? is her attempt to mix a ‘down-to-earth account of people’s contemporary quoting’ with what lies behind it.

The author’s research for this book is based partly on her personal experience, but also on the opinions of two hundred others, members of what the writer calls her ‘Mass Observation' panel of writers. Assisted by this group, she focuses on selected aspects of quoting. She starts by looking at contemporary tastes, at what she terms the ‘here and now of quoting’. She teases out the fact that people use quotes more than they know. Citing Shakespeare, the Bible or some other high-culture source may be most people’s idea of quoting, but Professor Finnegan demonstrates that most of us quote without even realizing we are doing it. Whether that takes the form of recycling old, familiar sayings (‘many hands make light work’), or phrases borrowed from family members (‘as my mother used to say…’), or lines from popular songs or television shows, most of us pepper our speech with quotations on a regular basis.

In later chapters, the author moves out from the present to look further afield. She takes us through the history of how quotes were marked out on the page from earliest times, including the diple arrowhead marks found in the books of the ancient Greeks. She looks at the way in which quotes have been gathered and stored, giving us a long history of quotation anthologies as an example.

The writer has obviously spent much time researching and writing this book. Yet if her scholarship is to be lauded, the presentation of her work is perhaps not to the same high standard. This is, literally and figuratively, a difficult book to read. Perhaps the difficulties were exacerbated by the fact that I was reading an electronic version of the book, but the choice of fonts and the small text sizes made reading it very difficult at times. The writer’s use of supporting illustrations and photographs also adds to the impression of impenetrability. She gives us photographs of original, handwritten contributions from her Mass Observation panel, together with photographs of seventh-century scribal citation marks and passages from an eighth-century manuscript of Bede’s Commentary on Proverbs. There are many other similar examples. Not only are these difficult to decipher, but they also do little to add to the reader’s understanding or enjoyment of the book.

I also picked up more typographical mistakes than one would expect from a leading academic. Words are missed out at times, others are misspelled. At one point, an ‘error code’ message appears in the text in place of an illustration. Punctuation is used inconsistently; the writer alternates between putting a colon before quotes and leaving it out altogether, for example.

I enjoyed very much the author’s discussion of contemporary quoting. I also enjoyed reading quotes that I had not encountered before. I did not find so much to enjoy in the history of quotation signs in ancient texts, nor did I like the physical appearance of this book. For these reasons, I would give it three out of four stars. Those with an interest in quotes may find it worth reading. Such readers should be aware, however, that the author does not edit or censor original quotations, so there are a handful of profanities to be found in the text.

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Why Do We Quote?
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[Shrabastee Chakraborty]

This is one book I have been meaning to read for a long time. No matter how interesting the topic is and how well-researched the book is, I suppose it will prove difficult to me. Thanks for the very insightful and honest review!

[kdstrack]

This is an interesting topic. The author's findings and research sound enlightening. Thanks for your review.

[Brendan Donaghy]

This is one book I have been meaning to read for a long time. No matter how interesting the topic is and how well-researched the book is, I suppose it will prove difficult to me. Thanks for the very insightful and honest review!

I'd certainly recommend the first part of the book, the bit in which she deals with contemporary quoting and the different ways quotes find their way into our everyday speech. That was the most interesting slice of the book, for me anyway. Thank you for taking the time to post a comment!

[Brendan Donaghy]

This is an interesting topic. The author's findings and research sound enlightening. Thanks for your review.

I certainly found it interesting. Thanks for your comments!

[Letora]

I've honestly never thought of the reasons behind why we quote. I know specifically why quotes have meaning to me, but taking a deeper look into the history of quotes is an interesting topic. Thank you for reviewing

[Brendan Donaghy]

I've honestly never thought of the reasons behind why we quote. I know specifically why quotes have meaning to me, but taking a deeper look into the history of quotes is an interesting topic. Thank you for reviewing

I'd never considered the 'personal' element of quoting before I read this book. By that, I mean the habit we all have of using words or phrases we associate with family and friends, often to recall them after they've passed on. I wouldn't have considered that as quoting, but now I do. Thanks for taking the time to post a comment!

[Mai Tran]

Thank you for the review. I tried reading this book, but it's rather long at 400 pages and, like you say, very hard to read. The author raises an interesting question. I do wonder what her findings are after such an extensive research.

[Brendan Donaghy]

Thank you for the review. I tried reading this book, but it's rather long at 400 pages and, like you say, very hard to read. The author raises an interesting question. I do wonder what her findings are after such an extensive research.

Excellent question! I wouldn't say that the author reaches any kind of definitive conclusion, unless it's that we quote more than we realise, and that we've been at it from way back when. The book is difficult to read, no doubt. It makes me wonder what the print copy is like - maybe that's a bit more readable, who knows. Thank you for taking the time to comment!

[Nisha Ward]

As someone with an interest in memes, the look at quotes and why we use them would normally interest me, but I can't bring myself to look past so many errors and a flawed visual presentation from an academic.

[Brendan Donaghy]

As someone with an interest in memes, the look at quotes and why we use them would normally interest me, but I can't bring myself to look past so many errors and a flawed visual presentation from an academic.

I can understand that. It's such an interesting subject too, which makes it all the more frustrating! Many thanks for your comments!

[Wambui-nj]

This is an interesting read. I haven't given much thought to Quote, but can definitely look into it. Thanks for the review.

[Brendan Donaghy]

This is an interesting read. I haven't given much thought to Quote, but can definitely look into it. Thanks for the review.

Thank you for your comment!

[Erin Painter Baker]

Wow. I agree that this sounds like a fascinating subject matter. It is really sad that the formatting issues detracted from the information presented.