use strict;

my $wr = qr/[-\w.,;:'"()]+/;    # needs tuning

sub trunc {
  my $max  = shift or return '';
  my $text = ' ' . shift or return '';

  $text =~ s/^((?:\s+$wr){0,$max}).*$/$1/;
  substr($text, 0, 1) = '';
  $text =~ s/\([^)]*$//;
  return $text;
}

DB<1> p trunc(5, "  'Twas (brillig), and the (slithy toves) did gyre and gimble in the wabe:"
  'Twas (brillig), and the