For those who are looking to get away from the dry prose of textbooks or who are looking for a new and unique read, “Ella Minnow Pea” by Mark Dunn might be the next book to add to your reading list. Dunn tests the limits of language in an exciting, fresh way which keeps readers hanging onto every word—even as those words disappear with every turn of the page.
The novel begins with a series of letters between the title character, Ella Minnow Pea, and her cousin Tassie. Both live on the fictional island of Nollop, which is located along the eastern coast of the United States. The island itself is an independent country named after the creator of the famous sentence that includes all 26 letters of the alphabet: “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” In fact, the citizens of Nollop look up to this literary masterpiece so much, they dedicate their lives to language. Instead of texting or emails, letters are the primary form of communication. From a young age, citizens like title character Ella are taught to value language and speak with care, all out of respect for the author of that iconic phrase. In fact, “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” is even emblazoned in the town square, placed there to be admired by every generation of Nollop’s citizens.
That is, until a letter falls off the revered inscription. Although most would have attributed the destruction of one of the sentence’s letters to old age, others in Nollop are not so sure. The government calls an emergency session and declares the broken letter to be a sign from a higher power. It is a challenge directly from the sentence’s long-dead author, calling on citizens of Nollop to stop using the fallen letter entirely.
Throughout the rest of the novel, protagonist Ella has to grapple with the consequences as more and more letters fall off the inscription. With each fallen letter, fewer letters and words are available to the citizens of Nollop—and to readers. As the story progresses, the actual words in each page change to reflect the loss of each letter. By the end of the novel, only a handful are left, forcing readers to adapt with the characters in the story as letters disappear. To readers, it seems difficult to believe they can read dozens of pages without a hint of an “a” or “d,” yet as they flip back through the pages they find it is possible. Dunn’s truly ingenious use of language, from new vocabulary to outrageously spelled words, is remarkable, especially as the novel reaches its final pages.
The further you read in this book, the more impossible it seems that one can live in a world with fewer and fewer letters. By the end, readers are hanging on in suspense as they wait to see if a solution—a newer, shorter sentence using all 26 letters—can be crafted. As the letters dwindle and characters become more and more desperate, readers see Dunn’s message about the importance of language in our lives. Written with a unique sense of elegance and rhythm, “Ella Minnow Pea” is a must-read for anyone looking for a new favorite to capture the imagination.
