Ella Minnow Pea
Ratings70
Average rating4.1
I've previously read this book with an appreciation of its style, love of words, and clever writing by the author, who drops the use of each letter as the letter's use is forbidden in the book. In rereading the book now, I am struck by the terrifying, nonsensical authoritarianism on the fiction island of Nollop, which feels all too real. The book is both cathartic and a hopeful reminder of the power of resistance and resilience.
Really clever; a bit of a love poem to the English language. That said, the characters are fairly indistinguishable and just there to move along the device.
Ella Minnow Pea is a contrived fantasy set on an island of people who delight in flowery language. It features a small, old-fashioned courtship during what I would more likely describe as “a plague of letters”.
It's fun and diverting. It's not difficult to read even when, about three-quarters through, it switches to using homophones instead of restricting words themselves.
The pace never rises above a gentle saunter. Don't think of it as some great literary achievement, but enjoy it for what it is.
I basically finished this entire book almost in one sitting. It was so fun, so weird, and so creative! It's not going to be everyone's cup of tea though, because the whole crux of the premise lies in the words it uses to tell the story, so a lot of big words and confusing made-up words are used. I personally love that kinda thing, so this was right up my alley. This was a 4.5 star read for me, slightly rounded down.
The story is about a fictional island off the east coast of the USA that was founded by Nevin Nollop, also the author of the pangram: “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” A statue commemorating him and his famous pangram stands in the town center. This is also an epistolary novel, where we just read letters written between characters in the story, mainly between two cousins who live on different parts of the island, Ella and Tassie. Everyone on this island seems to be very literary and use VERY big words in their letters, but almost in a very satirical way so I was pretty into it. In the first chapter, the “z” tile from Nollop's statue drops off and the Council governing the island takes it as a divine manifestation that the letter should be eradicated from their language, so everybody above the age of 7 must no longer use the letter in speaking or writing. More and more letters drop off and are banned from use until only LMNOP remain, appropriately foreshadowed by our heroine's name, Ella Minnow Pea.
The premise sounds pretty humorous and absurd, but the book actually has a pretty dark tinge of dystopia in it. The Council quickly devolves the island into a cult-like totalitarian state, worshipping Nollop and his “Omniglory”. It almost feels like A Handmaid's Tale but with the premise of banning alphabets. Not all characters make it out alive from this regime. While the premise sounds childish, this isn't a book for children. The letters between the characters are almost purple-prosey with how many multisyllabic words they use, and then devolve so much that I had to verbally read it out to decipher what they were saying. This is a book most suited for adults who love wordplay in creative forms.
The premise is by far one of the most refreshingly unique ones I've read about in a while and I appreciate the book for that. Because of that and the short length, I couldn't put the book down and basically finished it within a couple of hours. The only reason why this wasn't a full 5 stars for me was just because I got incredibly confused with the relationships of the characters writing to each other, as well as where they were. For a long time I couldn't figure out if Ella or Tassie were both in the same place or not, or where they were, and who was attached to whom. In the bigger picture it didn't really matter that much, but I wish I had more clarity on that.
Overall, this was such a fun and short read. I'd recommend it to anyone who loves wordplay and letters, and a narrative that isn't afraid to play around with that to tell a story.
A crazy concept for a dystopia. Yet one which feels familiar in this era of book banning and curricular censorship. Clever writing which illustrates the way that speech becomes difficult and banal when powerful groups ban forms of discourse.??
This book was a quick and easy read with an interesting premise told though a series of letters between a number of characters. I found it entertaining and dreaded each time another letter was removed from the language of Nollop residents, intrigued to see how characters and the author communicated without those letters. I liked it overall but would have liked the ending to be more developed - I felt like it cut off short and was a bit disappointed.
I thought this was delightful!
Certainly not a perfect book (main thing is probably the extremely thin romances), but I had lots of fun exploring the language. I normally find epistolary novels kind of boring, but I was engaged the whole time and read it pretty quick, so props to Mark. The characters were fun and quirky and there was a combination of really sweet moments and higher stakes than I expected.
In Nollop, a fictional island of the coast of South Carolina, Nevin Nollop is revered. The creator of the pangram “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” has even had a monument erected with the phrase tiled on. However, when the letters start to fall the council rule that they can no longer be used in writing or speech.
Written as a series of letters (but aren't all books
ABC*E*GHI**LMNOP*RSTUVWXY*
Such an interesting novel, not to mention creative! I was so blown away by the author's ability to tell this story while removing an increasing number of letters from his availability. This novel got my thought secretions going about our language use, plus how much communication can collapse once enough letters have been given extraction. While absorbing this novel, the persistent thought that characters might want to resort to sign language when necessary gave me regular pause; I was so content once a comment on sign language was given mention. I also was really happy with the balance of character growth and plot evolution through all the letters between characters. Honestly, I believe not this writing might be any more consummate. I certainly plan to suggest it to everyone possible in the time to come.
(Original review before editing to remove certain "illegal" letters)
Such an interesting and creative book! I was so blown away by the author's ability to tell this story while removing an increasing number of letters from his availability. This book made me think about our use of language and how much communication would deteriorate once enough letters are removed. While reading this book, I kept thinking that the characters could resort to sign language when necessary, and I was so pleased once a comment on sign language was mentioned. I also really enjoyed the balance of character development and plot development through all of the letters between characters. Honestly, I don't think this writing could be any more perfect. I definitely plan to recommend it to everyone possible in the future.
entertaining, interesting, and memorable!! I loved reading through these letters and seeing the creative ways that the author chose to speak as he slowly lost letter by letter!!! I love a novel in letters :D
4.5 stars — This is such a weird little book and I love it. I would would call this a silly dystopian. In the fictional island of Nollop, a totalitarian government are so extreme, that they decide to ban letters of the alphabet.
Yes, sounds silly, but I guess that's the point, to create satire about fascism by creating an absurd dystopian scenario. And you know what? It works! This is a wonderfully written book told only through letters. The citizens of Nollop don't use technology, and communicate through means of written letters. As the government begins by banning the letter ‘Z' (believing this to be what their founder Nollop would want), and then so on with more letters of the alphabet, the way the residents communicate changes.
It was interesting to read. Mark Dunn is great at blending dystopian horror with humour. Yet, I wouldn't call this comedy, it has its funny moments, but Dunn has also managed to create a world where the impact of banning language seems realistic and sad. It is also lipogrammatic tale. Once a letter is banned, Dunn stops using that letter for the rest of the book. This must have been an difficult feat to write- impressive!
Witty and fun to read, a satisfying ending, . Really a great book, bogged down just a bit by the overarching (and overbearing) theme of “religion is bad and government based on religion is even worse”
An interesting concept but wasn't for me. Mark Dunn must have spent a long time working on this and I appreciate his thought process and quirky play with language. However, I didn't enjoy reading it as it become quite tedious and mind boggling.
Tässä hauskassa tarinassa asutaan Yhdysvaltain rannikolla lojuvaa Nollop-saarta, jossa sanat ovat avainasia ja kirjallisuus kaikkiaan rakasta. Pulmia syntyy, kun tämän utopian aloittanutta Nollopia kuvaava patsas alkaa pudottaa pangramminsa kirjaimia ja Nollopin viisas hallitus päättää: patsaasta poistuvat kirjainsymbolit ovat jatkossa luvattomia käyttää, ilmaisua on siis karsittava.
Ratkaisusta koituu monipuolista sortoa ja ahdinkoa ja alkaa kiivas taisto vapaan ilmaisun hyväksi. Samalla Dunn satirisoi vallanpitoa ja vallanpitäjiä, hiukan uskonnollisia hullutuksiakin. Kirjoista ja lukuhommista pitävä lukija voi kohdata paitsi hiipivää kauhua, myös runsaita naurunpurskahduksia, siinä määrin taidokkaasti Dunn romaaninsa punoo. Tämä on dystopiatarina, mutta huvittava ja näkökulmaltaan aivan muuta kuin ankara. Kirjatoukkatytöt nauttivat kirjan vahvasta naispääosasta varmasti, vaikka valitun formaatin vuoksi hahmot jäävätkin vähän ohuiksi.
Taitavana lipogrammina, siis valikoituja kirjaimia poisjättävänä, laadittu nootti- ja muistioromaani on kaunis lukunautinto, joka viihdyttää takuuvarmasti kaikkia taipuisan sanailun ystäviä. Myös pangrammit, joissa on samassa sanapötkössä mukana koko valikoima, mutta mahdollisimman vähän samanlaisia kirjaimia, ovat kirjan maukasta ydintä. Sanakisailua rakastava on kuin kotonaan.
Tätä kirjaa onkin mahdoton kääntää, niin vahvasti tässä nojataan vaativaan sana-akrobatiaan. Nauttikaa siis tämä kirjallisuuskarkki originaalissa asussaan. Suurta kirjallisuutta arvioitava kirja lopulta tuskin on, mutta viihdyttävä, ajatuksia nostattava ja sympaattisuutta luova kylläkin. Nähtävästi myös arvioijaa inspiroiva, toista näin hauskaa arvion laadintaa muistini kätköistä on mahdoton löytää. (13.6.2009)
