#95 Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn
The people of the Island of Nollop have a passion for language and Nevin Nollop, the man responsible for the phrase “The quick brown fox
jumps over the lazy dog,” a simple phrase which contains every letter in the alphabet in only thirty-five letters. They even have a statue erected of Nollop with his famous phrase displayed on tiles. Then one day, the Z falls off of the statue, and the island's Council is convinced that it is a message from Nollop himself. They declare that henceforth, the letter Z should not be spoken, written, or read. First punishment for violating this will be a verbal warning. The second is humiliation in the stocks, or a public flogging. The third is banishment from the island itself.
One thing I love about book clubs is it encourages you to read books you may have otherwise put off, or never intended to read in the first place. When I heard that the readwonderland bookclub had settled on Ella Minnow Pea for it's monthly selection, I was admittedly a little disappointed. The premise sounded a little ridiculous, and I didn't know if I wanted to read it. When I saw that it was barely over 200-pages, I decided that it was worth a shot, and I'm so happy that I decided to read it. Ella Minnow Pea is a delightful and clever little book. Written in an epistolary style, the novel made me yearn for a time when we still wrote letters to each other instead of facebook updates. One thing that I found interesting was the fact that the novel was so lighthearted, given the somewhat grim nature of the plot, which includes murder and the public whipping of children. I think this is mostly due to the structure of the novel, as despite it's dark moments the novel was always fun to read.
One thing I found interesting was the setting of Nollop itself. The people of Nollop are notorious for rejecting technology. There are no computers, and even the phone gets little use, making written letters the primary form of communication. This style of communication, combined with the characters sometimes old fashioned way of speaking gave the novel a rather quaint feeling. Another thing I appreciated was how well Dunn managed to write the novel given the restrictions of the plot. Z is not the last letter to be censored. As the novel continues, more tiles fall from the statue, and the characters have to restrict their language even more throughout each section. I was impressed that the novel managed to continue to be enjoyable, even when the people of Nollop lost vital letters such as D or I and O.
Ella Minnow Pea was a surprisingly enjoyable novel, and the most lighthearted book about censorship I've ever picked up. I would recommend it for people who enjoy novels written in letter format, as well as people looking for a fun light read.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: I was listening to the audiobook, but the print version is 207 pages
Source: Lewiston Public Library
Similar book: The style reminded me of Sorcery and Cecelia OR the Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Caroline Stevermer and Patricia C Wrede
Other books I've read by this author: this is my first
xposted to bookish , temporaryworlds , and goodreads
jumps over the lazy dog,” a simple phrase which contains every letter in the alphabet in only thirty-five letters. They even have a statue erected of Nollop with his famous phrase displayed on tiles. Then one day, the Z falls off of the statue, and the island's Council is convinced that it is a message from Nollop himself. They declare that henceforth, the letter Z should not be spoken, written, or read. First punishment for violating this will be a verbal warning. The second is humiliation in the stocks, or a public flogging. The third is banishment from the island itself.
One thing I love about book clubs is it encourages you to read books you may have otherwise put off, or never intended to read in the first place. When I heard that the readwonderland bookclub had settled on Ella Minnow Pea for it's monthly selection, I was admittedly a little disappointed. The premise sounded a little ridiculous, and I didn't know if I wanted to read it. When I saw that it was barely over 200-pages, I decided that it was worth a shot, and I'm so happy that I decided to read it. Ella Minnow Pea is a delightful and clever little book. Written in an epistolary style, the novel made me yearn for a time when we still wrote letters to each other instead of facebook updates. One thing that I found interesting was the fact that the novel was so lighthearted, given the somewhat grim nature of the plot, which includes murder and the public whipping of children. I think this is mostly due to the structure of the novel, as despite it's dark moments the novel was always fun to read.
One thing I found interesting was the setting of Nollop itself. The people of Nollop are notorious for rejecting technology. There are no computers, and even the phone gets little use, making written letters the primary form of communication. This style of communication, combined with the characters sometimes old fashioned way of speaking gave the novel a rather quaint feeling. Another thing I appreciated was how well Dunn managed to write the novel given the restrictions of the plot. Z is not the last letter to be censored. As the novel continues, more tiles fall from the statue, and the characters have to restrict their language even more throughout each section. I was impressed that the novel managed to continue to be enjoyable, even when the people of Nollop lost vital letters such as D or I and O.
Ella Minnow Pea was a surprisingly enjoyable novel, and the most lighthearted book about censorship I've ever picked up. I would recommend it for people who enjoy novels written in letter format, as well as people looking for a fun light read.
Rating: four and a half stars
Length: I was listening to the audiobook, but the print version is 207 pages
Source: Lewiston Public Library
Similar book: The style reminded me of Sorcery and Cecelia OR the Enchanted Chocolate Pot by Caroline Stevermer and Patricia C Wrede
Other books I've read by this author: this is my first
xposted to bookish , temporaryworlds , and goodreads