Mark R. Dunn

5***** and a ❤

On a fictitious island nation off the coast of South Carolina, the people pride themselves on their literacy and writing. Their founder, Nevin Nollop, is credited with writing "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog." A sentence that contains all the letters of the alphabet, and which is memorialized in the town square. But when a letter tile falls from the monument, the Council takes that as a "sign" from above, and decrees that they should no longer use THAT letter. show more The far-reaching ramifications of this, and subsequent, decrees (as more letters fall from the monument) test the imagination, strength and patience of the residents.

The novel is told in epistolary form, and their missives adhere to the ever more restrictive rules as the book progresses. From finding synonyms to creative substitute spellings and even use of numbers, Ella and her friends and family try valiantly to maintain communication. You wouldn’t think the loss of one letter of the alphabet would have much impact. But what if you lost “V” and could no longer express your love? Or “H” and could no longer worship? More importantly, as residents flee the restrictions (or are forced out due to violating the laws), the entire society begins to crumble. Still, Ella and a handful of family and friends fight against the edicts and with the hope of returning their beloved island nation to a place where literacy is once again appreciated.

I had read this before and had a lovely discussion about it with my college roommate’s daughter. A few years ago she gave me the special illustrated gift edition, which has been sitting patiently on my shelves along with other “special” books. I’m so glad I took it off the shelf and read it at this time. This is a wonderful little satire on the use/abuse of power, but it is also a love letter to all of us who love and cherish words.

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UPDATE: 02Dec14 - reread the book and updated my review.

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UPDATE: 08Sep20
I read this again and am horrified to recognize behavior in our current government's leaders that mimic the behavior of the leaders of this island nation. I didn't find it so funny this time around. Nor quite so enjoyable. Instead I felt anxious and afraid ... much like Ella and the other citizens of Nollop as their society crumbles. Still, I'm leaving my rating as it is. show less

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book when I started reading it. Sure, it'd gotten a great review in the Christian Science Monitor, which is where I'd first heard of it, but the whole thing sounded gimmicky and contrived. But it was an epistolary novel, which I generally like, so I plunged in. And yes, it's contrived--it has to be--but it works. And in between the vanishing letters (and the author's cleverness in being able to write with less and less of the alphabet available to him) show more is a tale of political tyranny and a tribute to freedom of expression: not bad for a novel of only 208 pages.

Oh, and I enjoyed reading something not dumbed down to the lowest common denominator--it's been a while since I've read a novel where I needed to look some words up in the dictionary. show less

Clever writing!! Interesting study of linguistics while also a commentary of irrational governments. I was sucked right in and flew through this in just a few hours. A small island nation's government inexplicably determines a supernatural force is guiding the changes to their language. Drunk on the power they wield over the ever shrinking populace, their proclamations become ever more ridiculous and destructive to their people and culture. Almost too far gone to be saved by anyone, an show more accidental turn of phrase is enough to save the few remaining natives and restore emigrants to their former lives while taking down the corrupt counsellors. As a lover of language, watching the tale unfold with fewer and fewer letters at the author's disposal was indeed fascinating all by itself! show less

This was a delightful little tale of censorship and abuse of power by parochial bureaucrats. On the fictional utopian yet luddite island of Nollop, home of Nevin Nollop, coiner of the pangram "The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog," letters from the famous phrase begin to fall off the memorial to this honored ancestor. The High Council decides that it is the will of Nollop that the fallen letters be stricken from the spoken and written language of the unusually articulate show more Nollopians.

The story is told in the form of correspondence among the Nollopians that progressively eschews the forbidden letters as they fall one by one.

The eponymous heroine (eventually reduced to signing her letters "LMNOP") persists in trying to save the day with a clever word game, remaining witty even when down to those five letters: "No mo Nollop pomp! No mo Nollop poo poo!"

This was the funny, clever novel I'd hoped The Eyre Affair would be but wasn't. It was charming, it was clever, it had me looking in the dictionary, and it had me scribbling on my bookmark right along with Ella as we tried to solve the puzzle that could save Nollop.

The original hardcover edition's subtitle, "A Progressively Lipogrammatic Epistolary Fable," suits the tone of the text to a T, but I have to say that the punnishing "A Novel in Letters" isn't entirely out of place either. show less