Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn

23 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

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

starlitpage's review against another edition

challenging funny fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment and Deportation

Moderate: Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Gun violence

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

mlwe's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

3.0

Summary:
There are 26 letters in the English alphabet. How often do you use all of them? What would you do if you couldn't?

The citizens on the island of Nollop, named after the author of "the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy brown dog," must confront this very issue. The alphabet monument honoring Nollop is crumbling apart, which the Council interprets as a command of the cessations and censoring of the island's letters. Thus, any citizen found to be using these graphemes will be exiled or executed. However, not everyone agrees with this divine interpretation of an old structure, and community ties begin to resemble the dilapidated signage. Factions form. Fear begins crumbling the Nollopian's futures. Hope feels lost unless the citizens can unite and resist the oppressive regime that has overtaken their land, life, and language.

My Thoughts:
Definitely not the fairy tale I was expecting! I was thrown by some of the darker themes the novel tackles and the stark parallels to modern society. I'd probably benefit from a reread, as the plot was quite clever and interesting to follow. The characters were fun to meet, and I enjoyed seeing the different perspectives on the events unfolding in Nollop. However, as it is an epistolary novel, it could be difficult to identify which character was narrating without turning to the signature at the end of the letter. I got some spoilers flipping back and forth, but enjoyed having small, succinct 'chapters' to piece together and pace myself. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism and Confinement

Moderate: Death, Abandonment, Murder, and Death of parent

Minor: Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Alcohol, and Alcoholism

Oppressive Regimes, Social Isolation

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

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

breezer's review

challenging reflective medium-paced

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

2.5

I really really wanted to love this but it was a tough read 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry and Police brutality

cheye13's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Deportation and Suicide attempt

Minor: Police brutality, Ableism, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Violence, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Death

The R slur is used in casual passing on pg 131 (hardback edition). Most other tags relate to the enforcement and punishments with regard to the illegal letters. Being epistolary, there is a casualness and distance from the actual events described.