Anchor Books Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters

The Story…Off the coast of America is an Island called Nollop. Named for the revered Nevin Nollop (deceased), creator of the pangram "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog."Nollop is not an advanced nation - it's not even keeping up with the rest of the world. But what Nollop lacks in technological advancement, it's makes up for with the adoration of language. The Nollopian's adore words - especially Ella. They adore words, and they idolise the aforementioned Nevin Nollop. A monument to his linguistic prowess stands proud for all to see - tiles with individual letters spelling out the famous pangram.One day, a tile falls from the monument - the letter Z. The governing body of Nollop - being so fanatically devoted - declare the falling of the tile to represent an instruction from Nollop himself! The message is interpreted to mean the Nollopians should never used the letter Z again. Not in speech, not in writing...and those who break this divine law are severely punished.The book is written as a series of letters from various Nollopians. As more tiles fall from the aging monument, the Nollopians are forced to abandon the variety of words they adore so much, until they can take no more...What I liked…The book itself is an example - albeit a very strange one - of totalitarian government, fanatical religious leadership and censorship. As the letters fall from the monument, so too are they removed from the book. Dunn writes very cleverly, managing to keep as much variety and love of language in each letter, despite the every increasing pressure caused by the rapidly decrease pool of usable letters. It is clever, not just because it is a physically difficult task, but also because Dunn manages to express so much emotion in so many ways, and when Ella's heart breaks, my heart broke too.The format itself, a series of somewhat connected letters, is a very novel and highly effective form of delivery. It was not just a gimmick - it brought the story to life. It took me a little while to get my head around it, and might have been irritating if the story wasn't so engaging.Finally, I loved the variety of 'authors' for the letters. The letters are written by many different characters; all with different views and ways of dealing with an incredibly difficult situation. Perhaps one of the most difficult, but most rewarding things about this book is that you find yourself questioning which of the characters approaches you think you would follow if you were in their place. Questions like this are what usually make books about totalitarianism very difficult, and often soul crushing to read - but the admittedly bizarre situation allows you to consider these ethical dilemmas, something which I find really important.What I disliked…Nothing. I loved it.Final thoughts...This book seems really strange. The premise is strange, the way it uses an ever decreasing pool of letters is strange. The use of letters instead of 'normal' prose is weird. BUT it is beautiful. It is challenging. It is insightful. It is art.This book may be better suited to those with an appreciation for linguistic acrobatics, and the art of words, rather than the casual reader - but I would still encourage the casual reader to try it and see. It's more than worth the effort.

I really feel like I should be trying to write an epigrammatic review of this book, which is one my favourites, and the book I usually recommend if I'm swapping recommendations with friends, as they are almost guaranteed not to have heard of it.If you like the idea of an 'epistolary epigrammatic fable', then you probably don't need to read this review to know that you'll enjoy this book. If you're not particularly enamoured by the idea of the escalating wordplay, you should still give it a go. The title character, Ella, is a delight, and the cast of minor character that are introduced while sticking to the ever-more-complicated constraints are all worth knowing. I re-read this regularly, and recently bought another copy because I'd forgotten who I'd lent it to last. Seriously, if you're considering it, you should give it a go.

I am yet to read the book but I am a little disappointed with the condition the book arrived in. It appears as though the envelope had been stuck to the cover and has subsequently torn off leaving a strip of brown cardboard on the book. On top of this there was only a small amount of glue holding the envelope closed and it was literally open when it arrived. How the contents were still present is beyond me

A really enjoyable read that was a little different from most of the books I usually gravitate towards. The eloquence of the characters and their obvious pain at having to skirt around restrictions placed upon them by the Nollop Island Council banning ever more letters of the alphabet was clear. The author's decision to write the story as a series of letters exchanged between the residents, consequently limiting himself alphabetically as much as the islanders, gives the tale extra sparkle.I would recommend this book to anyone.

OK, so you've done the hard part and actually discovered this little book. Now the easy part is shelling out a few pounds and buying it.Ella Minnow Pea is a truly original piece of work and you'll marvel at the authors craft. But the best thing is that he manages to tell a nice story which has allegorical layers too. It's farcical but not too far removed from real life.It's a very short book and you'll finish it in a couple of sittings but it will stay with you and you'll reflect on it later.Give it a go.