Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn

20 reviews

laguerrelewis's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I have heard nothing but praise for this book, and I’m happy to say it certainly met my expectations!! In equal measure heartwarming & funny as it is horrifyingly relevant, this is a quick read that paints an unfortunately believable picture of censorship and the slippery slope to totalitarianism. Reminds us of how important language, community, and our freedoms truly are.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Confinement, Xenophobia, Violence, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, and Death

Minor: Suicide attempt

blipbloopsie's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation and Grief

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder

ninasloft's review against another edition

challenging funny reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Definitely a must-read for logophiles & those with an unquenchable passion for words & the English language. I don't consider myself largely able to read or speak in complex terms, however I really enjoyed the word play & the enthusiacally eccentric way they speak in the book. If you've ever seen the episodes containing Paige Sinclair from Bojack Horseman, that is how I imagine the characters in this book to speak & I personally adore it. Definitely not everyone's cup of tea, but a wonderful book with a unique, interesting idea. My only wish is that it were a little longer so that we as the reader were able to connect more deeply to the characters. A strong recommendation nonetheless, especially for those who are fond of the writing style such as myself, I foun  it to be a fun & quick read. Although it glosses over some intense subject matter, which might be off-putting to some.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation and Police brutality

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, Violence, and Ableism

annaavian's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

1.0

This book attempts to portray itself as something deep and thought-provoking, but ultimately falls flat. While the book's characters write clever and emotive letters, they're still just letters, leading to a pedantic recounting of events. As a result, the characters have no life or vibrance, and the reader is left with nothing but the dull experience of reading letters from strangers. 
There are many better books that explore similar themes of totalitarianism, censorship, free speech and the power of language in more captivating and inspirational ways. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry and Police brutality

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, and Violence

Minor: Ableism and Suicide

picnicatthehangingtree's review against another edition

funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

A clever and funny, if overly simplistic and expository, story of totalitarianism and freedom of speech. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Death of parent, Deportation, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Mental illness, and Violence

zealforneil's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

I read Ella Minnow Pea back-to-back with Riddley Walker, a curious pairing of books linked by their central crux being the decay of language. In many ways some of the ways the citizens of Nollop use language after letters of the alphabet are progressively banned mirror how Riddley’s post-apocalyptic tongue conveys meaning. In both novels however, the decaying language is more than just a puzzle and a challenge for the author. Mark Dunn has indeed set himself, and the reader, a tremendous challenge with the premise of this novel, but drapes it in sufficient plot and briefly-summarised relationships to make it gripping, intimate and a real (though I hate the phrase) page-turner. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Suicide attempt and Violence

qrschulte's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book had an interesting premise, but the focus on staying true to the “joke” of the book about letters being removed from a society’s vocabulary being told through letters (epistolary), was a bit much in my opinion. The characters weren’t that compelling, and a whole lot of nothing happened for it all to get resolved real quick in the last 20 pages (which incidentally were pretty blank).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Self harm, and Deportation

Moderate: Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, Grief, Death, Death of parent, and Classism

Minor: Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Torture, Religious bigotry, and Confinement

anton13's review against another edition

challenging medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

Yeah no. It’s at most like 3.5-3.75 stars. It’s not for me. There where parts I liked and it’s definitely well written but it was boring. The whole premise is a great idea and I honestly think if it was executed a bit differently I’d have enjoyed it more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Police brutality

Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Deportation, and Death

Minor: Abandonment and Suicide attempt

yoursam's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Before retiring, though, I shall turn to my dear husband and say, "Today we queried, questioned, and inquired. Promise me that come tomorrow, we will not stop asking why." And Amos, being Amos, will chuckle and perhaps respond, "We'll never stop asking, dear. Now to sleep. Quiet, dear. Quiet, quiet. To sleep."

p.28

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence, and Death

Minor: Suicide attempt

lynn_z's review against another edition

dark funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Alcoholism, and Suicide

Minor: Death