Mark Dunn – Arthur Hofn

It’s a universe in itself.

Each book is a world, thought out and destined by the writer. The author has full control over the lives and the events of the character’s lives. Therefore a bookshelf is many universes sitting side by side. In some we recognise something close to our actual reality; a true story or a book on a historical period for example. Some other books just slightly change the world as we know it to accommodate their tale.

It’s a well-known trope to set the novel in what feels like reality only to be said to be happening in a fictional town or country, but as if it were part of our geography. Of course in Science Fiction we have actuality plus, and in some cases plus plus. In Fantasy it is, of course, the whole point.

There are some books, however, that just throw all the laws of physics out the window and make everything bend to the story.

For example The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster is a universe in itself. While it’s a children’s book, there is a lot of clever devices and intelligent observations that make this enjoyable for any age. The concept is that a young lad finds the eponymous tollbooth in his room with a map to the Lands Beyond. Not realising what will happen he uses his toy car to drive through the tollbooth and soon ends in a completely different reality.

As the novel progresses it becomes clear he has a mission, but this doesn’t stop the tale and the author taking the reader to some pretty strange places (there are The Mountains of Ignorance where people therefore live in Ignorance) and introducing some strange characters (the Princesses Rhyme and Reason who were taken away, hence the land no longer has Rhyme or Reason).

“And illegal barking,” he added, frowning at the watchdog. “It’s against the law to bark without using the barking meter. Are you ready to be sentenced?”
“Only a judge can sentence you,” said Milo, who remembered reading that in one of his schoolbooks.
“Good point,” replied the policeman, taking off his cap and putting on a long black robe. “I am also the judge. Now would you like a long or a short sentence?”
“A short one, if you please,” said Milo.
“Good,” said the judge, rapping his gavel three times. “I always have trouble remembering the long ones. How about ‘I am.’? That’s the shortest sentence I know.”
Everyone agreed that it was a very fair sentence, and the judge continued: “There will also be a small additional penalty of six million years in prison. Case closed,” he pronounced, rapping his gavel again. “Come with me. I’ll take you to the dungeon.
― Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth

The whole point is a big wordplay, where idioms are true, and a commentary on our life. Therefore like a lot of stories that at first don’t seem to represent what we know as real, this eventually becomes a reflection of the points about society the author wants to make.

Elsewhere some novels are said to be set in our world but the events are so bizarre that there is no way they can be. Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters by Mark Dunn is set on an island apparently off the coast of the USA. It is said to be the home of the man who invented the saying “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.” The concept is that a statue on the island commemorating this has the phrase on, however a tile falls off and the government decide to ban that letter. As the book goes on more and more letters fall from the monument and the alphabet decreases. Because the story is told as a series of correspondences between characters these letters also disappear from the actual book and the wording and spelling of words gets more inventive as the plot goes on to accommodate the new laws. It’s very strange but also clever and just the right length so the concept doesn’t become tiring.

“U” is gone. I suppose you’re aware. The 1st aeiouy to go. Up until now the other graphemes were not aeiouys. When the aeiouys start to go, Ella, writing to you turns exponentially more grueling. I will not throw in the towel, though. I trust that you won’t either. I truly relish our partnership.”
― Mark Dunn, Ella Minnow Pea: A Novel in Letters

The fact is if you are a writer and you have that blank page you can do literally whatever you want, there is no need to stick to our logic if you want to invent your own. “Any story” means whatever your imagination can create, there really are no limits in fiction.

Buy The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster
Buy Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn