Exclamation Marks!

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Exclamation Marks!

Last weekend I went to see 'Oliver!' in Derby. It was a fine show, full of urchins, smoke effects, cock-er-knee accents, and all the trimmings (including raffle). As the chorus warbled away, I couldn't help but ruminate on the exclamation mark that Lionel Bart so freely used in his title.

I guess it was to indicate that compared to the original book - plain 'Oliver' - his show was full of fun, life and excitement, thus 'Oliver!' It made me wonder whether any other classic works of fiction should be similarly enhanced upon their next editions for our modern, excitement-craving souls.

I suggest the first masterwork to receive this treatment should be Chekhov's gloomy study of agricultural shenanigans -

'The Cherry Orchard!'

Any other suggestions?

Vicky
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Bleak House!
moya_
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Emma!
Liana
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Anna Karenina!!
markbrown
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Animals without Backbones! (It's a Pelican textbook that I always see in charity shops)
Tom Saunders
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Brave New World!
zyv
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Westward Ho! I submit this on behalf of Charles Kingsley. It is also a village in Devon and a Trivial Pursuit answer, so you get good value for your money! My own suggestion is: Trainspotting!
andrew pack
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The Unbearable Lightness of... Being! (see, I banged in an ellipsis to, to heighten the fun element - ellipsis(plural is tricky - ellipsi?ellipsises?) are always amusing. )
Matt Purland
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As you rightly say, ellipses + exclamation marks = almost limitless title/punctuation fun, q.v. - The Complete Book Of ... Men's Health!
andrew pack
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I love the upside-down question mark they use in Spanish - you have to imagine the first one is upside down, but it would be "? Why is Heskey still playing up front for England?" I like it because you know at the start of the sentence that this is going to be a question - and in writing, questions are tres dramatic. With those little emoticon things, it can only be a matter of time before some bright spark releases a text-annotated MacBeth, with little smileys at the end of the lines to indicate the expression and mood of the character. (Damn, why am I giving away a perfectly lousy idea that could be turned into one of those tiny books that cost four quid that are always by the tills in bookshops?)
Andrea
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I've got a book intriguingly entitled... ?The Male...Hormone!!!??
Matt Purland
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But that's the thing, Andrew - they're *always* by the tills in bookshops and never leave them. Does anyone buy them? Because I've never seen a text messager in full flow actually referring to one of these mini dictionarys. Or are they learnt by heart in darkened bedrooms.....?
andrew pack
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I think The Little Book of Calm sold nearly as many copies as Captain Pretentious' Mandolin, Matt, that's why there are so many knock-offs. They must be dirt cheap to print, there are about three thousand words in those things for four quid. I cite a quotation I'm thinking of using for the front page, from a literary agent:- "When I'm asked what sort of writing is most lucrative, I would have to say ransom notes. "
justyn_thyme
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In the biochem section: "How to Make A Hormone!"
Emily Dubberley
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War :-( and Peace :-)
Andrea
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Crime??? And Punishment!!!
Matt Purland
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1984!
justyn_thyme
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1776! Bridget Jones's....Diary! Interview with a...Vampire!
Andrea
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Noddy and Bigears!!!!
Andrea
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Er....it WAS BE, wasn't it???
Matt Purland
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English Grammar In Use! by Raymond . . . Murphy! (Actually I thoroughly recommend this text book for English teachers for its multiple pages of grammar exercises!)
pete
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Native Son! (The Musical)
zyv
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Filth!
Peter Kalve
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Serial Composition!! AND Atonality!!!
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