ELLA MINNOW PEA is the masterpiece of a very creative mind. Some approach this story thinking that perhaps the book is meant mostly for English majors or those individuals who just love words. They would be right and also wrong. This is a very clever story filled with interesting word play that everyone can enjoy. It's also an imaginative fable that is told in the form of letters that are written in lovely prose.
The story takes place on the fictional island of Nollop that was named after Nevin Nollop, the author of the very famous pangram* sentence, "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." Mr. Nollop is revered by the islanders and most especially by the officials who are members of the town council. On the island there's a monument to honor Mr. Nollop and beneath it the famous pangram is printed,"THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG." One day the letter Z falls off the word LAZY and as time passes more letters continue to fall from the monument. The council members decide that the voice of Nevin Nollop is speaking to them from the grave and telling them to discontinue the usage of the fallen letters. Severe penalties are issued to the islanders if they use any of the forbidden letters in dialog or in print. As the letters progressively drop from the statue they also disappear from the novel. Ella Minnow Pea, a young girl living on Nollop, now finds herself acting to save her friends, family, and fellow citizens from the encroaching totalitarianism. The result is both a hilarious and moving.
One must admire Mark Dunn not only for his lively imagination but for his awe-inspiring power over words. It is fun to see how he manages to continue telling his story while avoiding use of a growing number of letters in the alphabet. You'll reach for your dictionaries, but find that soon they don't help, and you don't need them.
*pangram: a sentence or phrase that includes all the letters of the alphabet
“This exceptional, zany book will quickly make you laugh.” --Dallas Morning Herald
(A pangram with 46 letters)
Even though this book is for everyone, the teachers in the group seemed to like it more. As they read, all kinds of activities to do with a class came to mind.
ReplyDelete