Ella Minnow Pea

4.5 stars — This is such a weird little book and I love it. I would would call this a silly dystopian. In the fictional island of Nollop, a totalitarian government are so extreme, that they decide to ban letters of the alphabet.

Yes, sounds silly, but I guess that's the point, to create satire about fascism by creating an absurd dystopian scenario. And you know what? It works! This is a wonderfully written book told only through letters. The citizens of Nollop don't use technology, and communicate through means of written letters. As the government begins by banning the letter ‘Z' (believing this to be what their founder Nollop would want), and then so on with more letters of the alphabet, the way the residents communicate changes.

It was interesting to read. Mark Dunn is great at blending dystopian horror with humour. Yet, I wouldn't call this comedy, it has its funny moments, but Dunn has also managed to create a world where the impact of banning language seems realistic and sad. It is also lipogrammatic tale. Once a letter is banned, Dunn stops using that letter for the rest of the book. This must have been an difficult feat to write- impressive!