Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters

by Mark Dunn | Literature & Fiction |
ISBN: 0385722435 Global Overview for this book
Registered by wingwaterfallingwing of Rockledge, Florida USA on 1/30/2016
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5 journalers for this copy...
Journal Entry 1 by wingwaterfallingwing from Rockledge, Florida USA on Saturday, January 30, 2016
trade-size paperback.

from the back cover:
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 acting 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 statue of Nevin Nollop. As the letters progressively drop from the statue they also disappear from the novel. The result is both a hilarious and moving story of one girl's fight for freedom of expression and a linguistic tour de force sure to delight word lovers everywhere.

Journal Entry 2 by wingwaterfallingwing at Rockledge, Florida USA on Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Released 7 yrs ago (4/5/2016 UTC) at Rockledge, Florida USA

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Sent on as requested for the GenLit VBB.

Journal Entry 3 by ReallyBookish at Horsham, Pennsylvania USA on Sunday, April 10, 2016
This book arrived in yesterday's mail, but since it was snowing(!!!) here, I didn't make the trek to the mailbox until today. Apologies for the slight delay in journalling. Thanks for sending it!

Journal Entry 4 by ReallyBookish at Horsham, Pennsylvania USA on Thursday, April 21, 2016
Quite clever and charming! I almost rated it nine stars, but the book was a bit hard to get into in the beginning, so an eight feels like a more suitable rating. Had it started out with the same panache that it eventually worked up to, it would undoubtedly have been a nine-start read!

This witty book is full of wordplay. Author Mark Dunn's love for and enjoyment of words is fully on display. It is also that rarest of specimens -- a truly novel novel! The premise is entirely unique, at least as far as I am aware. I have certainly never read another book like "Ella Minnow Pea."

As a bonus, it turned out to be a quick read! Enjoyable and recommended, particularly to lovers of language.

Released 7 yrs ago (4/22/2016 UTC) at Wishlist Tag Game, By Mail/Post/Courier -- Controlled Releases

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This is headed out to dabercro as part of the wishlist tag game. Enjoy!

Journal Entry 6 by dabercro at Clinton, Utah USA on Saturday, April 30, 2016
Arrived in yesterday's mail. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!! I have been interested in reading this book for awhile. It has made its way into the Gen Lit VBB a few times but has always been chosen before the list has made its way to me. To the top of Mt. TBR it will go.

Journal Entry 7 by dabercro at Clinton, Utah USA on Tuesday, May 24, 2016
I really enjoyed this epistolary novel. I loved the wordplay as the letters disappeared, especially near the end when they were phonetically spelling with the letters they still could use. There was an underlying story beyond the loss of the use of individual letters. The censorship, loss of freedom, the enforcement by the island's Council, and individuals turning each other in for letter use infractions.

Thank you again, ReallyBookish, for the RABCK!

Journal Entry 8 by dabercro at A Fellow BookCrosser, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- USA on Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Released 7 yrs ago (6/9/2016 UTC) at A Fellow BookCrosser, -- By post or by hand/ in person -- USA

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Passing on to Aberpeter when I visit her.

Journal Entry 9 by Aberpeter at Kirkland, Washington USA on Saturday, June 11, 2016
thank you dabercro

Journal Entry 10 by Aberpeter at Kirkland, Washington USA on Sunday, July 3, 2022
If I would have read this book 20 years ago, I probably would have found humor in the censorship of letters and how the islanders coped with the changes. While I still find that aspect of the novel humorous, I also find it somewhat scary how a government, while claiming/believing it's doing what is best for the people, is actually doing more harm than good.

Journal Entry 11 by Aberpeter at Renton, Washington USA on Tuesday, February 7, 2023

Released 1 yr ago (2/7/2023 UTC) at Renton, Washington USA

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Adding to the Books I've Read and Journaled bookbox.

Journal Entry 12 by tabby-cat-owner at Bellingham, Washington USA on Saturday, February 11, 2023
This book got such high reviews I thought I'd give it a try. I'm taking this out of the Read It Journaled It bookbox.

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