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277th out of 4,072 books
—
19,786 voters
Ella Minnow Pea
by
Mark Dunn
Ella Minnow Pea is a girl living happily on the fictional island of Nollop off the coast of South Carolina. Nollop was named after Nevin Nollop, author of the immortal pangram,* “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Now Ella finds herself acting to save her friends, family, and fellow citizens from the encroaching totalitarianism of the island’s Council, which has...more
Paperback, 208 pages
Published
September 17th 2002
by Anchor
(first published October 1st 2001)
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Clever + Silly = waste of time and paper.
A ridiculous book, masquerading as something intelligent and thought provoking. There are plenty of far better books that raise issues of totalitarianism, censorship versus free speech, superstition versus science, loyalty to friends and family versus loyalty to the state, the power of language etc in more enlightening, entertaining and less gimmicky ways. I realise my opinion is very much a minority one, so perhaps I'm overanalysing and taking it too ser...more
A ridiculous book, masquerading as something intelligent and thought provoking. There are plenty of far better books that raise issues of totalitarianism, censorship versus free speech, superstition versus science, loyalty to friends and family versus loyalty to the state, the power of language etc in more enlightening, entertaining and less gimmicky ways. I realise my opinion is very much a minority one, so perhaps I'm overanalysing and taking it too ser...more
I found this book at the Wilderness Library and very nearly didn't buy it. Just looking at the title, the words didn't exactly compute and I thought, "hmmm, this book seems kind of silly." Then I read "A Novel in Letters" and my shameless snoop side came out. I love, love, love reading books that are comprised of letters, I feel like I'm really snooping in someone's mail or diaries, and it makes it so interesting. So I picked up Ella and on my way to the car, said the title out loud and the ligh...more
21 likes · like · see review
Georges Perec wrote a novel without using the letter "e" even once. Dunn works a similar gimmick by writing this epistolary novel about an island that bans the use of certain letters as these drop off, one by one, from the statute of the creator of the phrase, "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."
"Z" is the first to go, then "Q", then "J". Things get really difficult, however, when "D" falls off. Speech, indeed communication of any kind, gets increasingly difficult as the island's Coun...more
"Z" is the first to go, then "Q", then "J". Things get really difficult, however, when "D" falls off. Speech, indeed communication of any kind, gets increasingly difficult as the island's Coun...more
7 likes · like · see review
This book has been on my “to read” list for a long time. It sounded interesting: a book in which the characters revere language and the alphabet, and when letters fall from the statue that celebrates their culture, they are also dropped from the novel.
I’m pleased to report, first of all, that this book is wholesome, despite being on the national market and not just the LDS one (so many books I’ve picked up this year I’ve had to return to the library, unread).
And this book is good to boot. It’s l...more
I’m pleased to report, first of all, that this book is wholesome, despite being on the national market and not just the LDS one (so many books I’ve picked up this year I’ve had to return to the library, unread).
And this book is good to boot. It’s l...more
Oct 19, 2008
Kathryn
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
lovers of letters and language
Shelves:
tyler-and-kate-bookclub
Book Number Two in the "Husband-and-Wife" (aka Tyler-and-Kate) Book Club! ;-> Hugely successful! We both loved it. Wonderfully creative. Love-letters to the English language and the human spirit, and also a cautionary tale on the dangers of wearing blinders in politics and religion. A thoughtful tale, and a joy to read! Highly recommended to all my friends who love language and letters (both epistolary and alphabetical!)
8 likes · like · see review
Indeed this was fast, interesting read but from time to time extremely challenging. Namely my level of English is not on such a high level to be able to fully absorb what this lovely novel offers. There were so many words I never heard before so in spite the fact I could catch the context I wanted to know their exact meaning. Therefore I had to have dictionary beside me (also English-English one). But in spite "hard physical" work this read was really enjoyable!
The idea is incredibly original an...more
The idea is incredibly original an...more
10 likes · like · see review
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8 likes · like · see review
I loved this perky, word-exacting fable; it was a quick read--a touch zany at times but thoroughly enjoyable.
And yes, I did intentionally use all the letters of the alphabet in the first sentence. It is, admittedly, harder than it seems.
The book is in the form of letters written among the inhabitants of a small island nation who prize, above all, their literary and vocabulary skills. When letters begin to fall from the city's motto (The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog), the city council...more
And yes, I did intentionally use all the letters of the alphabet in the first sentence. It is, admittedly, harder than it seems.
The book is in the form of letters written among the inhabitants of a small island nation who prize, above all, their literary and vocabulary skills. When letters begin to fall from the city's motto (The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog), the city council...more
11 likes · like · see review
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This may be one of my top 5 or 10 novels of all time. It has the perfect blend of crazy concept and beautiful execution that I love. It reads like a collaboration between Mark Z. Danielewski, Jorge Louis Borges, and Jose Saramago.
This may be one of my top 5 or 10 novels of all time. It has the perfect blend of crazy concept and beautiful execution that I love. It reads like a collaboration between Mark Z. Danielewski, Jorge Louis Borges, and Jose Saramago.
4 likes · like · see review
Mar 15, 2008
Alison
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
lovers of words, language, and letters; everyone
Shelves:
rgbookclub
Every once in a while, a broad, far-reaching concept can be scaled down and illustrated beautifully through simple, subtle story-telling as in parables and fables. This is one such example.
There's no real need to try to tell anyone the "story" behind this self-proclaimed "novel of letters". If you're a reader...just dive in and enjoy. It's fresh, clever, and fun. It's like reading a book and playing Scrabble at the same time...skimming a newspaper while doing a crossword puzzle. It's a wild, bri...more
There's no real need to try to tell anyone the "story" behind this self-proclaimed "novel of letters". If you're a reader...just dive in and enjoy. It's fresh, clever, and fun. It's like reading a book and playing Scrabble at the same time...skimming a newspaper while doing a crossword puzzle. It's a wild, bri...more
4 likes · like · see review
Feb 10, 2009
Kat
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommended to Kat by:
Emma
Shelves:
read-in-2009,
borrowed-from-library
I decided to read this book after my friend Emma said it was one of the most creative books she's ever read. I admit, this one was certainly refreshing.
Told in the epistolary style, Ella Minnow Pea follows the trials of the island residents of Nollop as they struggle to maintain control of their language as more and more letters fall into disuse. The reader gets to know the characters through the notes they write to each other. When members of the alphabet start being banned across the island, i...more
Told in the epistolary style, Ella Minnow Pea follows the trials of the island residents of Nollop as they struggle to maintain control of their language as more and more letters fall into disuse. The reader gets to know the characters through the notes they write to each other. When members of the alphabet start being banned across the island, i...more
4 likes · like · see review
i have scanned other reviews, and most of what other people said - "clever" "fun" "a puzzle" - certainly applies. and perhaps i should scan all the reviews, but i am a little surprised that no one on that first page seems to mention the book being a very succinct little allegory illustrating quite tidily the dangers of creeping fascism.
anyway, i really enjoyed it. unlike others, i was not irked by the sudden introduction of phoneme substitution at the end of the book - it seemed only reasonable...more
anyway, i really enjoyed it. unlike others, i was not irked by the sudden introduction of phoneme substitution at the end of the book - it seemed only reasonable...more
4 likes · like · see review
This book was REALLY interesting. I already have someone in mind who I'm going to let borrow it, because I know she'll get a big kick out of it!
So the premise of this book is that there's a group of people living on a fictional island off the coast of South Carolina (called Nollop), and on this island, they have a statue of a guy named Nevin Nollop, the original author of the pangram "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog," where a pangram is a sentence that uses every letter of the alphab...more
So the premise of this book is that there's a group of people living on a fictional island off the coast of South Carolina (called Nollop), and on this island, they have a statue of a guy named Nevin Nollop, the original author of the pangram "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog," where a pangram is a sentence that uses every letter of the alphab...more
2 likes · like · see review
It wasn't until I told someone, out loud, what I was reading that I realized the title, Ella Minnow Pea, really sounded like the "LMNOP" of the alphabet song. Now, of course, I have no idea how I missed it. Ella Minnow Pea. LMNOP. Obvious. So obvious I wonder what else I missed. Such a clever title. Such a clever book.
Ella Minnow Pea resides on the fictional island of Nallop, off the South Carolina shore, where all the residents are brought up in reverence of syntax and language. The founder and...more
Ella Minnow Pea resides on the fictional island of Nallop, off the South Carolina shore, where all the residents are brought up in reverence of syntax and language. The founder and...more
I love the concept of this book: letters of the alphabet are being banned one by one, so the book uses fewer and fewer letters as it progresses, and the people are fighting against this governmental oppression.
For the first half I thought it was fantastic, but I was disappointed by a couple of things later on. First, I expected that as letters were removed the author would continue to use normal spellings, but there came a point when that was given up as too difficult, and the author resorted to...more
For the first half I thought it was fantastic, but I was disappointed by a couple of things later on. First, I expected that as letters were removed the author would continue to use normal spellings, but there came a point when that was given up as too difficult, and the author resorted to...more
My god.... this is what I hate about 'hype.' I was so looking forward to reading this book... I thought 'what a cute idea!' (my voice actually squealed a bit) and 'what a great cover!' and----- I'm an idiot. I should know enough by now to not let my hopes get so high.
Stupid...stupid... stooopid.
Okay, it's a cool idea. Really. The whole revering the language but also revering a man who came up with a sentence that doesn't really revere the language because it's celebrating creating a pangram. Ya...more
Stupid...stupid... stooopid.
Okay, it's a cool idea. Really. The whole revering the language but also revering a man who came up with a sentence that doesn't really revere the language because it's celebrating creating a pangram. Ya...more
May 14, 2008
Sarah Null
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
wordsmiths, vocab-lovers, Jasper Fforde fans
On the fictional, language-obsessed island of Nollop, a statue stands erected to the memory of the man who composed the famous pangram, "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." One day, a letter-tile falls from the pangram and as a result the island Council outlaws use of that letter. As more tiles fall, more letters are banned, and the island dwellers must fight for freedom of speech in its most literal sense.
This is a cute, clever, witty, and original book which I loved. The epistolary f...more
This is a cute, clever, witty, and original book which I loved. The epistolary f...more
Someone I trust recommended that I read this book some time ago but when I went to pick it up it was just seemed too weird (and boring. Last week a good friend (who loves the English language and books) whose taste in books overlaps with mine to a great extent told me that she thought I would like it so I gave it a try. I did like it even though it was more than a little difficult to suspend disbelief (the book is about an island where letters of the alphabet are being banned from use one at a t...more
Feb 21, 2008
Michelle
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone who loves words and the english language
It's a quick read as the story unfolds in letters written between family members and friends. Here's the description:
"Ella Minnow Pea is a girl living happily on the fictional island of Nollop off the coast of South Carolina. Nollop was named after Nevin Nollop, author of the immortal pangram,* “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Now Ella finds herself acting to save her friends, family, and fellow citizens from the encroaching totalitarianism of the island’s Council, which has banned...more
"Ella Minnow Pea is a girl living happily on the fictional island of Nollop off the coast of South Carolina. Nollop was named after Nevin Nollop, author of the immortal pangram,* “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Now Ella finds herself acting to save her friends, family, and fellow citizens from the encroaching totalitarianism of the island’s Council, which has banned...more
While not the most compelling story ever written, this book has a gimmick, and if it's something you love it's something you'll love. If not, then not. And there it is.
The plot takes place on a fictional, English-speaking island where letters of the alphabet are slowly getting banned (don't ask why, it's ridiculous). The story, told through correspondence between two characters, is subject to these same rules, so the characters have to communicate without them. It's surprising how much you lose...more
The plot takes place on a fictional, English-speaking island where letters of the alphabet are slowly getting banned (don't ask why, it's ridiculous). The story, told through correspondence between two characters, is subject to these same rules, so the characters have to communicate without them. It's surprising how much you lose...more
Dunn's first novel is an impressive work of art that shows an amazing love for words and language. On the nearly Utopian island of Nollop, named after the creator of the pangram "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog", Ella's picture perfect life begins to fall apart as letters from the alphabet are banend from use when they fall off the plaque on a statue of the town's namesake. This cleverly crafted novel told entirely in correspondence is partly a government satire, partly a literary ch...more
Really, I'd probably give this book a 3.5, but since that isn't an option I had to make a choice.
I love that this book is a compilation of letters. It is playful, creative, quirky and imaginative.
The book certainly begs the question....which letter do you love the most and how would you cope with its abscence?
The story reminded me of the musical Urinetown (which I love) in some ways. Both use something that we take for granted and an oppressive regime restricts it. Whether it is the right to...more
I love that this book is a compilation of letters. It is playful, creative, quirky and imaginative.
The book certainly begs the question....which letter do you love the most and how would you cope with its abscence?
The story reminded me of the musical Urinetown (which I love) in some ways. Both use something that we take for granted and an oppressive regime restricts it. Whether it is the right to...more
I was seriously underwhelmed by this book, which actually meant I was very disappointed. The concept is great and I admire the author's skill and perseverance at finding words to convey a story through diminishing letters, but I still wasn't grabbed by it. I felt cruel and wicked not liking poor Ella.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Ella Minnow Pea is a girl living happily on the fictional island of Nollop off the coast of South Carolina. Nollop was named after Nevin Nollop, author of the immortal pangram,*...more
FROM THE PUBLISHER
Ella Minnow Pea is a girl living happily on the fictional island of Nollop off the coast of South Carolina. Nollop was named after Nevin Nollop, author of the immortal pangram,*...more
I saw reviews of this book in Bookmark Magazine and it intriqued me. It is a zany storyline about a fictitious island that worships the alphabet (title: LMNOP) and word usage(both real and contrived). It is told through a series of letters and I really enjoy epistolary novels.
It reads like a classic novel, rather than one written in 2001. The characters live on the island of Nollop off the coast of S. Carolina. It was named after Nevin Nollop, "author of the immortal phrase containing all the...more
It reads like a classic novel, rather than one written in 2001. The characters live on the island of Nollop off the coast of S. Carolina. It was named after Nevin Nollop, "author of the immortal phrase containing all the...more
This is the book I spent the month telling everybody they should read.
It’s a seemingly light-weight epistolary novel set on the fictitious independent island-nation of Nollop, off the coast off South Carolina. Nollop was named after Nevin Nollop, author of the immortal phrase containing all the letters of the alphabet, ‘The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.’ In fact, a statue with Nollop’s name and said pangram stands in the town square, and when letters start falling off, the Town Fath...more
It’s a seemingly light-weight epistolary novel set on the fictitious independent island-nation of Nollop, off the coast off South Carolina. Nollop was named after Nevin Nollop, author of the immortal phrase containing all the letters of the alphabet, ‘The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.’ In fact, a statue with Nollop’s name and said pangram stands in the town square, and when letters start falling off, the Town Fath...more
May 10, 2013
Marie-Claude Plourde
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
favourites
J'ai tellement aimé ce livre que je l'ai traduit! Je suis l'auteure de la traduction française! N'hésitez pas à me poser des questions!
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Postface de la traductrice Marie-Claude Plourde à l'édition française:
ÉCRIRE, TRADUIRE ET VIVRE SOUS LA CONTRAINTE, mars 2013
L'idée d'écrire en s'imposant des contraintes n'est pas nouvelle. En fait, rares sont les oeuvres qui ne sont régies par aucune règle : la plupart du temps, un auteur respectera de façon minimale style associé au type de discou...more
-------------
Postface de la traductrice Marie-Claude Plourde à l'édition française:
ÉCRIRE, TRADUIRE ET VIVRE SOUS LA CONTRAINTE, mars 2013
L'idée d'écrire en s'imposant des contraintes n'est pas nouvelle. En fait, rares sont les oeuvres qui ne sont régies par aucune règle : la plupart du temps, un auteur respectera de façon minimale style associé au type de discou...more
1 like · like · see review
Ella Minnow Pea is a girl living happily on the fictional island of Nollop off the coast of South Carolina. Nollop was named after Nevin Nollop, author of the immortal phrase containing all the letters of the alphabet, “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” Now Ella finds herself actin to save her friends, family, and fellow citizens from the encroaching totalitarianism of the island’s Council, which has banned the use of certain letters of the alphabet as they fall from a memorial statu...more
This book is a literary masterpiece. I can't even begin to think about the creativity and grasp of the English language that would be required to write this book. It was difficult enough to read it! (But in a good way. You should absolutely read this book.) This book is made up of letters written by people on the island of Nollop, named after the creator of the sentence that uses all 26 letters of the alphabet, "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." As the letters of the sentence begin t...more
Nollop, a fictional island and independent nation off the coast of South Carolina, gives homage to Nevin Nollop, the 'genius' who came up with the phrase 'The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.' Life is almost Utopian in Nollop until letters start falling off the '...quick brown fox...' inscription on a statue of Nollop. The counsel believes the letters falling are a sign from Nollop himself to cease use of the falling letters. One by one, Nollopian's over age 7 are banned from speaking or...more
Ex Bookworm group review:
I can’t quite remember quite where I came across this book but it sounded too quirky and original for me to pass up on. I love words, word games, puzzles, puns, figures of speech and anything you can do with words so a very brief synopsis of Ella Minnow Pea suggested I would enjoy it, so I chose it for us. And I did enjoy it. I hadn’t heard of lipograms but I think I grasped quickly what a challenge it might be trying to convey your thoughts in the absence of some letter...more
I can’t quite remember quite where I came across this book but it sounded too quirky and original for me to pass up on. I love words, word games, puzzles, puns, figures of speech and anything you can do with words so a very brief synopsis of Ella Minnow Pea suggested I would enjoy it, so I chose it for us. And I did enjoy it. I hadn’t heard of lipograms but I think I grasped quickly what a challenge it might be trying to convey your thoughts in the absence of some letter...more
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Mark Dunn is the author of several books and more than thirty full-length plays, a dozen of which have been published in acting edition.
Mark has received over 200 productions of his work for the stage throughout the world, with translations of his plays into French, Italian, Dutch and Hungarian. His play North Fork (later retitled Cabin Fever: A Texas Tragicomedy when it was picked up for publica...more
More about Mark Dunn...
Mark has received over 200 productions of his work for the stage throughout the world, with translations of his plays into French, Italian, Dutch and Hungarian. His play North Fork (later retitled Cabin Fever: A Texas Tragicomedy when it was picked up for publica...more
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“Lately, I haph startet painting my torso in pretty, motley hews. I sit in phront oph the mirror in the sleepy-room. I atmire my hantyworg. I am a hooman apstrat paining.”
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9 people liked it
“On Wednesday, July 19, the Council, having gleaned and discerned, released its official verdict: the fall of the tile bearing the letter "Z" constitutes the terrestrial manifestation of an empyrean Nollopian desire, that desire most surely being that the letter "Z" should be utterly excised--fully extirpated--absolutively heave-ho'ed from our communal vocabulary!”
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7 people liked it
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updated Mar 02, 2013 03:33am
Mar 02, 2013 02:46am