Ella Minnow Pea is one of those books that once you've finished you want to run out and tell all of your friends to read. But then you sort of realize that it's also one of those books that is so unique, you can't really explain to them why they should read it. You're not even sure that they'd all like it.My friend Lili suggested this book to me, and was even nice enough to let my bumbling self borrow her lovely, pristine copy (don't worry, Lili, I took good care of it). I just thought this was a brilliant book that is an ode to language, words, letters, and even to writing. This story is told through letters sent back and forth between people, and in those letters language and words are celebrated, elevated to very high levels, and then throughout the novel, demolished and degraded as a result of a series of misguided edicts from an over-zealous town council that deems it necessary to regulate the use of various letters of the alphabet.
What results is an examination of language, and how its use reflects upon society, relationships, government, and community. I have no doubt that this was a challenging book for [a:Mark Dunn|9993|Mark Dunn|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1318358942p2/9993.jpg] to write, and I think he did a beautiful job of writing a work that is a love letter to language, and an interesting examination of the influcence of language on civilization.