The Gilmore Guide to Books

Connecting Books and Readers One Review at a Time

  • Home
  • About Me
  • Reviews
    • Reviews by Author
    • Reviews by Title
    • Reviews by Genre
  • Podcast
  • Policies
    • Review Policy
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Policy

The Grammarians by Cathleen Schine

September 17, 2019

grammarians

The Grammarians by Cathleen Schine
Published by Sarah Crichton Books
Publication date: September 3, 2019
Genres: Coming-of-age, Fiction, Literary
four-stars
Bookshop

The Grammarians is the story of identical twins Laurel and Daphne. They’re pretty, with deep auburn hair, and precocious—speaking in full sentences and reading by the time they’re five. They were born seventeen minutes apart, with Laurel being older. Daphne’s feelings about this is one of the first indicators of their unusual bond

“You were alive for seventeen minutes without me. I was never alive without you.”

At the same time, it is a vexation to her, because Laurel does everything first throughout their lives. Not just first, but often best. It seems ingrained in their cells and it isn’t until they are adults that their dynamic shifts, tilting their whole world upside-down.

Language is the nexus around which The Grammarians dips, spins, and dazzles. It begins with the girls and a secret language that follows them from their earliest years onward. Their father fosters it by bringing home an enormous dictionary when they’re still little. Webster’s New International Dictionary of the English Language is their favorite reading material and they fill notebooks of words they love. If they’re not reading, they’re talking. And talking. And talking. Often about words and how magical they are.

Despite the twinned world they inhabit, after college the girls begin to split apart. They live together in NYC, but only Laurel finds work thanks to learning to type. Daphne refused to learn, severely limiting in her job options. She finally lands a job as a receptionist at a tiny alternative newspaper. This professional pulling apart is a small tear, but then Laurel falls in love, marries, and has a baby, something Daphne doesn’t want.

On separate paths, the sisters still live lives immersed in language. Daphne becomes a well-known columnist, writing about the abuses perpetrated on the English language by the world around her. Laurel stumbles to find her footing, but an antique grammar book leads her to further reading from the past and slowly her belief in the vital importance of precise speech fades. She falls in the love with meaning behind the structure. She starts writing poems and with that the seam between the sisters disintegrates. Daphne is a prescriptivist (someone focused solely on the rules of grammar) and Laurel is a descriptivist. They cannot reconcile themselves to what each sees as the betrayal of all they once believed.

Not someone intrigued by grammar, words, and how to use both? Don’t despair. If you’ve been reading my reviews long enough you know I no longer remember most of the rules of grammar and punctuation. I’m sure my English professors would be horrified. The point is, The Grammarians is a story, not a grammar primer. Daphne and Laurel are two flawed humans with extraordinary minds and the weaknesses to match. Schine surrounds them with a complement of odd, endearing, and funny characters who bring needed perspective. She carries them through the novel with the sisters, as touchpoints to the world outside themselves.

Daphne and Laurel’s obsession with language combined with their primal connection and interactions as sisters makes for marvelous reading. They are masters of words and wordplay and The Grammarians is infused with their bon mots, puns, their linguistic creations. It’s clear that Schine herself must feel the same kind of love or she would not have been able to so perfectly capture their spirit in all its creepy charm. Much like properly used words, The Grammarians is both charming and stinging and left me quietly happy.

 

 

 

four-stars

Related Posts

  • Related Posts
  • Same Genre
  • 4 Star Books
boatmaker
The Boatmaker
beauty
Beauty: A Novel
death
Death is Hard Work
landslide
Landslide: A Novel by Susan Conley
home place
The Home Place
lost
Lost Women: Mini-Reviews
jaguar's children
The Jaguar’s Children
leave
Leave the World Behind
it's not you
It’s Not You, It’s Me: Today Will Be Different
impostor
Impostor Syndrome: A Novel
chanel
Mademoiselle Chanel: A Novel
part two
Creepy December: Part Two
silence
The Silence of the Girls
The Oracle Glass
The Oracle Glass
word exchange
The Word Exchange: A Novel

14 Comments
Filed Under: Book Reviews, Fiction Tagged: family, literary, Sarah Crichton

Comments

  1. Laila says

    September 17, 2019 at 7:57 pm

    I’ve enjoyed Schine’s books in the past, and hadn’t heard much about this one yet. Thanks for the great review!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 18, 2019 at 1:37 pm

      I’ve never read her before but I love her style. What else of her’s would you recommend?

      Reply
  2. Susie | Novel Visits says

    September 18, 2019 at 5:39 am

    I’ve looked at this one several times, but am never quite sure. I think I worried that it might be a little too heavy on the grammar angle, but your review has me reconsidering. This might be a great one for me in November or December when life gets calmer!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 18, 2019 at 1:36 pm

      Ha! Susie, you know I massacre grammar with every review I write so if it didn’t bother me it won’t bother you. It’s more funny than anything else. They’re sticklers for every dangling participle, but the way they communicate with each other is wonderful. Plus, the whole sister thing is so well done- it’s the heart of the novel. How they let something so minor split them apart. In its own way it reminded of Wendy and Violet in The Most Fun.

      Reply
  3. Brittany says

    September 18, 2019 at 10:59 am

    I am a new follower of your blog (started following after hearing you on Sarah’s Book Shelves Live) and really enjoy the books you share. This one wasn’t on my radar at all and sounds like something I would enjoy!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 18, 2019 at 1:32 pm

      Thank you so much for stopping by! The podcast with Sarah is always fun, even if our picks don’t work out every time.

      This novel hit the sweet spot of smart, quirky, and still kind of touching. It was the right book at the right time for me!

      Reply
  4. Lauren says

    September 19, 2019 at 9:18 am

    The title grabs me, as does the content. But dude, I’m not going anywhere near that cover. This looks like THE OMEN meets THE EXORCIST meets ROSEMARY’S BABY(IES). *shudder* 🙂

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 19, 2019 at 2:10 pm

      Or THE SHINING. Dead little girls and blood in the hallway. Maybe have a stiff drink while you read? Because I see this as being right up your snarky alley.

      Reply
      • Lauren O'Brien says

        September 20, 2019 at 4:56 pm

        FUDGE. That’s the one I really meant to mention. It’s like they’re standing in that creepy hallway.

        I will take your rec and put something over the cover and have a bourbon with this one.

        Reply
        • Catherine says

          September 21, 2019 at 2:44 pm

          Ha! I want to hug you and throw back a cocktail with you. I’m stuck with: trust me on this one. And then report back- even if you hate it.

          Reply
          • Lauren says

            September 23, 2019 at 9:30 am

            Ha! I’ll take both. I signed up for the audio version. Figured at least then I wouldn’t have to look at the cover. Plus that will be the fastest way to get to it. I’ll keep you posted. Bottoms up!

          • Catherine says

            September 28, 2019 at 10:43 am

            You’ll either be highly amused or annoyed. I’ll hope for amused. Don’t forget the bourbon!

  5. susan says

    September 20, 2019 at 4:46 am

    Hmm. So there is quite a bit about Grammar in the story? I used to copyedit so that part might interest me. I like books on grammar & style. (but i’m no expert either. some rules are for breaking, right?) ha. Freak!

    Reply
    • Catherine says

      September 21, 2019 at 2:47 pm

      To some degree, yes, because they love words so much. But there is a sly humor throughout that made me laugh out loud. Their conversations are so witty, but cutting…I just loved it.

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Goodreads
  • Instagram

Save time and subscribe via email

No time to keep checking for new reviews? Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email. No spam!

Bookshop

Currently Reading

Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle
by Emily Nagoski
The Dutch House
The Dutch House
by Ann Patchett
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
Wild Game: My Mother, Her Lover, and Me
by Adrienne Brodeur

goodreads.com

Affiliate Disclosure

I’m an affiliate for Bookshop. If you click on a link that takes you to their site and make a purchase I’ll earn a small fee, which goes towards the costs of maintaining this site. Your support is appreciated. Thank you!

Archives

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 United States License.

Theme Design By Studio Mommy · Copyright © 2025

Copyright © 2025 · Beyond Madison Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in