Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters

Very creative

A highly creative and very enjoyable read. Yes, the climax happens first and we learn how the villagers life change via letters written back and forth between the people. This story can be read and merely enjoyed but it can also be read at a deeper level about government decisions & how it affects people.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Hated but Loved

Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn is a book that when you read it you hate it, but in the end you love it. The reason is for the straightforward way it presents a look at the world around you. Though I do not live in Nollop, I can see similarities to conditions there to the world around me. The book is strong and shocking, and will change the way you look at the language you speak and the world around you.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Gleamingstar

*appears and picks up the kits and puts them in a tree* wats going on?

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

A fantastic read! A cautionary tale about blind obedience that

A fantastic read! A cautionary tale about blind obedience that all should read!

Blackbramble

O-kay... whatevs.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highlky recommend it

Very imaginative and entertaining!

Ha!

Theres no s in the quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog!

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Too funny

Refreshing

A Yearning to Read Review

Ella Minnow Pea lives on Nollop, an island off the coast of South Carolina. It was named after the esteemed Nevin Nollop, a man who had created a thirty-five letter sentence using all of the letters of the alphabet, called a pangram. A statue of Mr. Nollop was built, and above it, thirty-five tiles portrayed the wonderful sentence that started it all: "The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog."


Then one day the first tile falls, and while most of the citizens of Nollop don't realize it, the statue has been there for a long time, and there's a good chance it's deteriorating. Instead the island citizens believe it is a sign from Nollop beyond the grave. As each tile falls a new letter is banned from the alphabet. The only thing that can save them is a new pangram with thiry-two letters or less. In the face of almost certain banishment, Ella and her friends work their hardest to try to deliver their small island from complete destruction by loss of letters.


I enjoyed this book from start to finish. Mark Dunn is imaginitive and I was very inspired by his incredible use of words. The idea alone, however, was enough to reel me in. Because of my love for words, I can't imagine not being able to use...let's say...the letter "M". My mom's name starts with "M". My dad's name has an "M" in it. My last name, my sister's name, not to mention Monday, or Mugs, or March, May, or November. How would - how could we live like that?

Mark Dunn gives the perfect picture of life without literature, words, and talking. Of abbreviations and offenses against Nevin Nollop. Of underground word organizations and of a sentence puzzle that was the only hope for survival for the small island of Nollop and its literate citizens.

Epistolary Fun

Ella Minnow Pea is an epistolary novel set on a quaint little island called Nollop, off the Carolina coast of the United States. The island is thusly named Nollop after Nevin Nollop, who was the creator of the sentence: "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." This is the shortest sentence known to include all letters of the alphabet. The other thing one needs to know is that the chief form of communication on the island is through letter-writing. Thanks to some over-zealous government officials and the decaying monument dedicated to Nollop, it becomes forbidden to use certain letters in the written or verbal form. This is a very quick, witty read and I certainly appreciate all of the lengths the author (and quite possibly editors) went to in order to align the writing with the events of the storyline.

Delightful Read (and I'm not entirely sure I've ever ised the word "delightful" before, but it just fits).

As much as you can say a book is light, quick, easy, etc... that isn't always the case. This book was all of those. It was very clever and innovative, and I ended up looking at every letter on every page. It's a book that draws you in, but only because you enjoy it so much.

Awesome Book, even recommended at SCHOOL!!!

I am a seventh grader at a magnet school in Austin, Texas. We had to choose a novel from a list, and everyine choose this story. The teachers looked really surprised. I read the book and i LOVED IT!! The teachers gave us a reading plan to stick to, but it was no use to me because I finished it so quickly! I couldn't put the book down! Reading some other reviews, I noticed it said English preofessors would like this book, but that's not true. I'm not an English professor and I really really enjoyed the book. READ IT!!!

loved it!

Ella Minnow Pea was a great book, especially for girls 13+ and adults. The author has an clever writing style. I was hooked from the very beginning! You'll fall in love with the characters, and wonder what will happen to Ella's community. A great read.. highly recommended. :)

Hilarious

This book was brilliantly written. I love the names of the dates on the letters when certain letters are banished. It is a clever use of the English language. The synopsis may sound strange, but it is so funny.

A wordsmith's dream

A creative and impressive work. As a language teacher and word lover, I was absolutely smitten.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

loved it

I read this book because i found the title to be interesting. I found myself repeating it and thinking to myself 'how clever!' I loved this book. It was a great read and i especially found the style of writing to be funny. It was enjoyable to read and i recommend this book to anyone because it is not a difficult read either.

so clever

The writing in this book is so much fun. Ella Minnow Pea lives on the Island of Nollop, off the coast of South Carolina. The island is named for Nevin Nollop, who invented the sentence 'The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over the Lazy Dog'. This sentence is written in tiles on a statue, and one day, a tile falls off. This story tells of what happens to the island, its inhabitants, and their vocabulary each time a tile falls off the statue. An absolutely hilarious read, and it's so much fun to 'decode' what people are saying.

a total MUST-read

This is now my favorite book. Dunn's creativity in the letters back and forth to people as letters of the alphabet grow more scarce is outstanding. His writing style is so unique and produces a truly GREAT book that everyone has to read. Studiers of the English language should particularly enjoy this book, but anyone should be able to find humor in the story line.

Ella Minnow Pea

Ella Minnow Pea is a fantastic novel about the struggle to try to live with out being able to use every letter of the alphabet. Mark Dunn is able to pull off a fantastic book that is written only in letters from one person to another.

A nice spring time read

It was a cute book, not what i expected but still nice. The language sounds inspired as if my Jane Austen.