Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters

This is quite possibly the greatest book I have ever read. The writing style is nothing short of genious. Usually, it takes me forever to finish a book, but I flew straight through this one. I can't emphasize enough how wonderful this author's mastery of our language is. So, I won't bother trying. But, seriously, read it.

Words Words Words. “We are so sick of words” or so the hierarchy of Nollop would have you believe. The art of communication is transformed as one by one the memorable letters used to create words are outlawed. Who would ever think of doing such a thing? U knw wht I mn. Lol

It's as if Jonathan Swift suddenly reappears in the 21st century to comment on our society. I still can't figure out how the author could craft the story using only a fraction of the alphabet. Confused? What am I talking about? You'll just have to read it.

This book was recommended by a member of our bookclub. 8 of us read the book and had a discussion with questions found on the web. I giggled all the way through the book and thought it effectively used word play, but a greater lesson on how people with power don't want to lose their power and can't see the change that needs to come about with their thinking. I thought it could be a great book for discussion with youth in government classes and in family discussions.

I ran into this book by shear accident, bought it and read it in 2 hours. It is a very short book and is written in the form of handwritten (typed in print obviously) letters to and from the characters. It is definitely a different style of novel, but it is stated in the title "A Novel in Letters". What Dunn does in this book is very interesting, and impressive, and explains why its a short book. I felt like it was lacking an in person dialogue between characters especially as characters are together at times, but you read the dialogue second-hand in form of a letter to another character. I feel like he missed an opportunity to show a side of dialogue outside the letters where characters actually chat using the forbidden letters among those they trust. The premise of the story is far-fetched at best and would have felt more plausible in a different time period. He tries his best to explain away things that happen, but towards the end the climax of the story is more of an inevitability and you find 2 hours to be rather long in getting there. It has some great vocabulary with some fun words I guarantee you have never read before.
Overall, a fun afternoon read for people who are interested in the versatility of the English language.

This is the most creative novel written! It is about words and letters written in letters between characters. The vocabulary is tremendous and the creativity to meet the changing demands of a falling society is amazing. I'm buy extra copies to share with my classes at school.

Great read anytime of year. I can not imagine the writing challanges for the author. I don not think I am disappointed but I had a different ending in mind as I was finishing the book. My wife and I took turns reading the book outloud to one another. At times it was a bit of a linguistic challange.

This is not only laugh out-loud funny and adorable, it could be a very valuable teaching tool. It holds the mirror up to so many human faults, failures, fears, strengths and beliefs. As another reviewer said, I don't want to ruin it for others. It's a quick read and so worth time time.

Mark Dunn has created a believable world of rules and regulations related to the alphabet. However, he challenges himself as a writer and creates fun for the reader as letters become unavailable for us.

Mark Dunn has created a believable world of rules and regulations related to the alphabet. However, he challenges himself as a writer and creates fun for the reader as letters become unavailable for us.