Comments on: Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn

By: Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn « Jenny’s Books

Ella Minnow Pea, Mark Dunn « Jenny’s Books — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 00:30:31 +0000

[...] at Sophisticated Dorkiness appreciates its wordy awesomeness Rebecca Reads loved it in spite of limited characterization, something I hadn’t considered because I was [...]

By: Rebecca Reid

Rebecca Reid — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 12:42:27 +0000

Penny, Glad you liked it too!

By: Penny

Penny — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 04:27:38 +0000

I just finished reading it, and really enjoyed it. My review (shorter and much less in-depth than yours), is found here:

http://ilovemybooks.blogspot.com/2009/03/ella-minnow-pea-by-mark-dunn.html

By: Rebecca Reid

Rebecca Reid — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 14:25:26 +0000

Nari, I agree on both accounts. Because it was so light-hearted, the 2-d characters didn’t bother me! I’ll add your link above.

By: Nari

Nari — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 17:09:59 +0000

I read this book a while ago and loved it. I thought the characters were a bit dull and 2-D. I think that worked for the novel though, in that this time of political dominance could happen to anyone, anywhere. This book does require a dictionary nearby though, I had to look up a lot of the words towards the end of the book!

By: Amanda

Amanda — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:31:26 +0000

I’m synesthetic, with color-grapheme synesthesia, and other that “u” and “y” (which have lost all color, sadly), “k” is the ugliest letter. It’s a dull brownish yellow. So my opinion is completely based on nothing at all, haha!

By: Rebecca Reid

Rebecca Reid — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:22:39 +0000

Amanda, ha ha and oops, I typed it wrong! Nollop himself would be quite displeased with me. I’d probably be banished from the island of Nollop. Nice noticing. Should be “jumps“. I fixed it.

As for the story-as-a-dystopia, like Natasha said, it could be completely ignored in this book and the book could be enjoyed as just a fun story. Probably most people that read this book will roll their eyes and think I’m reading too much into it. But really, I thought it was a utopia-going-wrong, which by definition, would be dystopia of some kind, right?

I think I’d be sad to loose k. I personally think it’s a prettier letter than c in names like “Katherine.” I must have known a mean “Catherine” in grade school or something.

By: Amanda

Amanda — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 19:30:50 +0000

Sounds interesting! I’m a big non-sci-fi dystopia fan.

Okay, I must be blind – I can’t see the “s” in that panagram! I’m a dork, I had to go check for each letter, and some were harder to see than the others, but I can’t find the “s” at all. Grr. I’ll have to see if I can come up with one of my own panagrams.

I’d say the k is rarely important in our language. You can pretty much substitute c for any place that k goes. Okay maybe not, but if I had to pick a letter to get rid of, the k would be it. It’s the ugliest color in the alphabet anyway.

By: Rebecca Reid

Rebecca Reid — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:46:42 +0000

Kathy, yes, quirky was the word they used on the cover of the book, but I think it quite appropriate.

Natasha, my mom’s book club decided not to read it because they didn’t think there was enough in it! I couldn’t believe that! I thought it was full of making fun: of religion, of “dystopias.” But yes, it is a light read and I don’t think it’s necessary to read “in to it.” But I think finding connections makes it fun!

By: Natasha @ Maw Books

Natasha @ Maw Books — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 17:30:27 +0000

I think I read this one more lightly than you did and didn’t think to much about a lot of the great points you brought up. I liked how the book became harder and harder to read as more letters were lost. It makes you realize how much we use all the letters of the alphabet and how used to them we are. After finishing, I closed the book, looked at the cover and thought “Oh! L, M, N, O, P!” Sometimes I feel like an idiot!

By: Kathy

Kathy — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 15:30:12 +0000

That book does sound quirky which means it’s for me because I love quirky!