It's Banned Books Week!

From September 25 to October 2nd, it's banned book week.

Thanks to The Rejectionist and Pimp My Novel's boss Eric, Banned Books Week was brought to my attention. Even in this day and age where reading, while not being discouraged, is put on an intellectual pedestal. Books are still getting censored all the time.

This year's uproar seems to be around Laurie Halse Anderson's YA novel Speak, but I haven't read it (it's a whopping 8$ on Amazon though). Surfing the American Library Association website, I discovered that plenty of books I've read are getting challenged. Here's a few...

The Great Gatsby, by F. Scott Fitzgerald

It's been challenged only once, in 1987 by the Baptist College of Charleston, South Carolina. For language and sexual references. My point is, if you're going to challenge The Great Gatsby, I don't know what are your expectations of literature. It's as good as it gets. The Bible itself has more sexual references than The Great Gatsby. Challenging this book is stupid and there's no redeeming factor. You can't argue sense into it.

Ulysses by James Joyce

No explanation given, but copies of the book were burned in Ireland, England and Canada over the 1920s. I can't think of any good reason to ban Ulysses also, but maybe fear. I mean, you fear what you can't understand right? Joyce's masterpiece was confusing enough to make mobs regress to the monkey stage.

Beloved by Toni Morrison

This one breaks my heart. It's been challenged many times again for being too violent, having sexual content, bad language, usual idiocy. Beloved depicts the institutionalized tragedy that was slavery. It's important to talk about it and it's important to show slavery like it happened. Beyond literary accuracy, it's a question of honesty. Toni Morrison stepped up to the challenge and was rightfully rewarded by the literary world. Too bad some people are too stupid to understand. It's not an easy read, but it's a powerhouse.

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner

Once again banned and challenged all over the place. I want to point out that it's been challenged in 1994 in Louisville, Kentucky. Get ready for this...for questioning the existence of God. It's a shame people still can't have an opinion on the issue even 50 years after they died.



That said...



I'm not a leftist buttwipe who thinks everybody should yell out loud everything they think. There are certain books I don't have problems being discussed and even banned in some places.


Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov

Let's be smart. Nabokov wanted to piss people off with this one. It's an incendiary novel made to shake up a dormant culture. Reading Lolita is challenging you as a human being and not everybody can deal with such an assault.

120 Days Of Sodom by Marquis De Sade

I can't think of a single reason why you should read this book. Worse, I can't find a good reason why I did. The way I see it, it's been written with great anger. Like "You want a fucked up book? I'LL WRITE YOU A FUCKED UP BOOK, BUNCH OF PRUDES". It's really horrific in the feces to mouth kind of way...and it's long. I'm sort of happy I read it, but it wouldn't read it again, wouldn't watch the Pasolini movie and would be OK if that whole story disappeared. You can read it if you want, but I won't. You can have my copy if you read french.