Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters in Ultimate Popsugar Reading Challenge

May 09, 2018 Megan rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: funny-humor-satire, american-stories, popsugar-reading-challenge-2018

I selected this as my pick for the 2018 PopSugar Ultimate Reading Challenge advanced prompt "an allegory." This epistolary novel was an incredibly fast and enjoyable read; I finished it in a single day. The story is set in Nollop, a fictional island off the South Carolina coast and home to the inventor the pangram The Quick Brown Fox Jumps Over The Lazy Dog. The inhabitants have erected a monument to the pangram and its deceased inventor; however, when the letter Z falls from the monument, islan ...more

Like · see review

Apr 20, 2010 Sarah rated it really liked it

Shelves: ya-fiction

Mark Dunn’s subtitle for this book is: A progressively lipogrammatic epistolary fable. Thankfully he goes on to define these terms in the introduction where it sets the stage.
This book is a collection of letters between two adult sisters, their 18 year old daughters and a few husbands, admirers and townspeople. The book is set on the fictional island called Nollop, a rural life, partially guided by Nevin Nollop the creator of the sentence the quick red fox jumps over the lazy brown dog.
One day a ...more

Like · see review

Feb 19, 2011 Angie rated it it was amazing

Re-read July 2022

It's just silly how much I enjoy this book. If I'm being honest, the first few chapters were a little annoying this read through, because I was just so anxious to get to the clever and challenging chapters. But still, a thoroughly enjoyable read. It doesn't matter that I've read it multiple times, I get to the letter from the Council about being able to write phonetically with alphabetical work arounds and I literally laugh out loud. It's just silly, brilliant language fun at th Re-read July 2022

It's just silly how much I enjoy this book. If I'm being honest, the first few chapters were a little annoying this read through, because I was just so anxious to get to the clever and challenging chapters. But still, a thoroughly enjoyable read. It doesn't matter that I've read it multiple times, I get to the letter from the Council about being able to write phonetically with alphabetical work arounds and I literally laugh out loud. It's just silly, brilliant language fun at that point (although slightly terrifying to watch what a group of power-control people can get away with.) I chose to read Ella Minnow Pea again as part of my personal "50 by 50" goal to re-read 5 of my favorite books. This one is simply a delight!

----------------------------------

Re-read March 2018

I'm nothing if not predictable... I'm hosting book club this month (with a different club than I was part of in 2014) so I pulled out this trusty favorite once again and offered it up as our monthly selection. Just as entertaining and delightful as ever. I'm anxious to hear reactions from my friends in the book club next week!

-------------------------

Re-read in May 2014

I'm hosting book club this month and wanted to pick something a little different and remembered how much I had enjoyed Ella Minnow Pea and thought it would be a fun one to share and discuss. I think I almost enjoyed the book more during this second read than during my first! Knowing what I had to look forward to in the later chapters of the book kept me excited throughout. It's such an ambitiously written story, with fun characters and delightful language. I especially enjoy the circumlocution and made-up words used to replace words containing illicitabeticals :) Just fun, all around! (Not to mention thought-provoking) Looking forward to book club discussion tomorrow night!

---------------------------------------
I absolutely LOVED this quirky little book! I had a hard time putting it down and I read it in several sittings. The language in the early chapters is challenging and I'd be lying if I said I understood all the words used in their elevated speech, but I was able to understand context fine and although the "big words" were challenging it was fun. Then it was CRAZY fun/funny to try to understand the language near the end. It was almost like a game and I found myself reading those last few letters very carefully to understand the communications. I found the book to be pretty thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining. Be sure to read the dates at the top of each letter as the book progresses :) Lots of giggles! ...more

Like · see review

Oct 21, 2018 Debbie rated it really liked it

While the story was simply outrageous - why would a falling letter from a statue on a remote island require us to stop using that letter? - the execution was exceptional. Ella and some of her friends and relations have lucky names that take a while to change due to falling letters; those names were not chosen accidentally. The epistolary nature of the story was endearing, since the narration of a regularly-told story would have to break the very rules that the citizens have to follow. (The autho ...more

Like · see review