Thursday 24 July 2008

A Question About Apostrophes

Don't think that the irony is lost on me. This morning I rant about would-be writers pestering me and this evening I'm asking a question that would-be writers might be able to answer. Alternatively, this one is for those with degrees in punctuation or jobs in editing and are willing to answer the question of an aging amateur hack.

Is there anybody out there who can explain the following?

I’m currently reading ‘London Fields’ by Martin Amis and at the beginning there’s a bit that has me confused. He writes:

“There followed some more information about the perfumes, ‘Scandal’, ‘Outrage’, and minor lines called Mirage, Disguise, Duplicity and Sting, and beneath, in double quotes, accompanied by an address and telephone number, with misplaced apostrophes: Keith’s the Name, Scent’s the Game.” (Martin Amis, ‘London Fields’, p. 12)

Now, I’ve been pondering this all day and I still haven’t figured it out but what ‘misplaced apostrophes’?

I thought an apostrophe indicates either possession or omission. Here, in both cases, doesn’t the apostrophe represent the missing ‘i’ of ‘is’? ‘Keith is the name, Scent is the Game’? Or have it all wrong and I must go back to basics and learn how to use an apostrophe?

Of course, there might be some super intelligent textual game the narrator or Amis is playing.

And while I’m about it: why are ‘Scandal’ and ‘Outrage’ enclosed in single inverted commas but Mirage, Disguise, Duplicity and String go unpunctuated?

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

i reckon you should gatecrash one of his creative writing seminars and demand an answer.

Uncle Dick Madeley said...

We'll do it together, Elberry. You get his legs while I sit on his chest and ask the questions.

Anonymous said...

...and we should politely ask for an introduction to his agent, while we have him on the floor.

Anonymous said...

...and we should politely ask for an introduction to his agent, while we have him on the floor.

Uncle Dick Madeley said...

You've clearly been thinking this through.

We could copy 'King of Comedy'. Amis would be Jerry Lewis, you can be Rupert Pupkin, and I'll be Sandra Bernhard.

Uncle Dick Madeley said...

Seriously, though, you don't know the answer? I've asked a few people today and I think there's a natural reticence towards disagreeing with Amis, no matter what logic suggests.

okbye said...

I asked my friend the English teacher and she said the apostrophes were correct.

Anonymous said...

As far as i can tell Amis is talking shit but i'm no expert on grammar.

Uncle Dick Madeley said...

Thanks Barbara. I asked my friend who has a Ph.D. in English and he said that the apostrophes were correct too but he couldn't explain what Amis is up to or how he could have made such a mistake.

I know it's pedantic but it's been rattling around my brain all day.

Uncle Dick Madeley said...

Elberry, I think you're spot on. I'm beginning to think that the book is either badly proofread or he's trying to imply that his narrator isn't very reliable.

That said, I am enjoying it. Some fantastic writing. He should be in our book club.

Devonshire Dumpling said...

Well, "Keith's" looks ok but you can have scents rather than scent's so I can understand one misplaced apostrophe but Amis is crap....

Uncle Dick Madeley said...

Ah, good point, Devonshire. I suppose it would be 'scents are the game', so perhaps he means 'scent'. I'm beginning to think it's just badly proofread (or over proofread -- fixing his deliberate mistake). Or the sentence implies that he fixed the apostrophes... I don't know. Just so long it's not me.

I know why people dislike Amis as much as they do but he really is one of the finest literary critics around. His collections of essays are worthy of all the acclaim he has received for them. I've not actually read much of his fiction but I'm determined to finish 'London Fields'.

All Shook Up said...

Well I'm assuming here, because as you say, the apostrophes are correct. My guess is that because he's tidied up the text from the ad in his narrative - he has to TELL us it originally included misplaced apostrophes.

As for the inverted commas... without them, the first two names of the perfumes would (strictly speaking) be part of the sentence and therefore make no sense, so they had to be put in quotes to make it clear (to a pedant) what they were. The second batch were preceded by the word 'called', so needed no such clarification (to a pedant).

Hope this helps. If not, good luck with sitting on his chest.

okbye said...

I had forgotten earlier but I asked my friend tonight about the quotation marks and she said she wouldn't have used them but it is a judgment call for the writer, neither is right or wrong. Whichever they choose though should be consistent through the piece so she would have marked that part wrong as well. (She teaches English and creative writing at uni for reference.)