I find it hard to believe that we still live in a world where books are banned (www.theguardian.com) and burned (www.theguardian.com). There is something sinister about a crowd cheering on as books are piled up and incinerated. Scenes like that are weighted by haunting images from ninety years ago. But, even without comparisons like that, it is a dumb, threatening, and violent act. It does nothing to challenge the ideas expressed in the works, it just obliterates them, in a way that can only be taken as intimidating and aggressive.
Of course, there are writings out there that are harmful, there are those that seek to incite hatred. There are those that have written in ignorance and, in their ignorance, potentially justify harmful ideology in the minds of others. What do we do about that, assuming that they ever get past editors and are published? Do we tear them from their platforms?
You might hope that the ignorant writer never sees their work published or that, when they are challenged, they respond and a healthy debate is developed. One that exposes harmful and ignorant ideas for what they are, and leaves only truth. Alas, I'm afraid that sometimes the ignorant are turned in to martyrs when they are challenged and dethroned. Even fools need a king or queen to glory under, a banner to fly.
Whatever. I weep for the world sometimes, and I yearn for one in which pastors don't burn young adult fantasy fiction in the name of Jesus Christ. Personally, I think the sight of a crowd jeering and throwing books onto an inferno is a greater advertisement for a life without Christianity than anything in those books!
In todays post, I am going to take five books from my shelves which have been banned in the past, and consider them, their contents, and how they caused offense . . .
1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
"We said there warn't no home like a raft, after all. Other places do seem so cramped up and smothery, but a raft don't. You feel mighty free and easy and comfortable on a raft."
Huck escapes from his alcoholic father by faking his own death, and so begins his journey through the Deep South, seeking his own way, and his freedom. This novel takes in themes of prejudice, bravery, and hope, and is considered a great American novel.
This book came to be controversial because of its coarse language, including the use of racial slurs and the way in which Jim, a runaway slave and key character in the novel, was portrayed. However, there is much in Twain's story that shows he strove to humanise the character of Jim, though this might fall short in the eyes of modern readers. Language in the book, especially the racial slurs, have inspired conversation about how to teach literature, and issues found within, in classrooms.
You can purchase The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain here.
2. Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence
"She had come to the real bed-rock of her nature, and was essentially shameless."
Constance Chatterley feels trapped in her sexless marriage to Sir Clifford. She is attracted to Mellors, her husband's gamekeeper, and she embarks upon a passionate affair with this man, an affair that brings new life to her stifled existence. This is considered one of the most controversial novels in English literature, it is an erotically charged exploration of adult relationships and class division.
How sex, language, and class are explored in this novel has shocked readers since its publication. When Penguin published a full unexpurgated edition in 1960, this novel was the focus of an obscenity trial in Britain. When a verdict of "not guilty" was returned, on 2 November 1960, it led to greater freedoms in publishing.
You can purchase Lady Chatterley's Lover by D. H. Lawrence here.
3. Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs
"Look down at my filthy trousers, haven't been changed in months . . . The days glide by strung on a syringe with a long thread of blood . . . I am forgetting sex and all sharp pleasures of the body - a grey, junk-bound ghost. The Spanish boys call me El Hombre Invisible - The Invisible Man . . . "
J. G. Ballard called this a "rollercoaster ride through hell", and as we follow the protagonist, William Lee, in this loosely connected series of vignettes, violent portraits of a junkie existence, it certainly feels that way. With raw and vivid use of imagery to convey the world in which this character lives, we are drawn into the surreal life of the addict.
There is much going on here in this novel from Burroughs. It takes in themes and images of violence, sex, and drug use; more than enough get a work banned! But, Burroughs was no shock writer - his life was a controversial one, containing within it much of its own drug use and violence.
You can purchase Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs here.
4. Wild Swans by Jung Chang
Unlike the other entries on this list, this is not a work of fiction but a history, recounting the lives of three generations of women. The author, Jung Chang, writes the biographies of her grandmother and her mother, and the book concludes with her own autobiography. In the telling, she takes in what it has meant to be a woman in China throughout the last century, the country's political landscape, and how violence and torture have been used there.
This is history as it has touched upon the author's family; epic and sweeping.
It is banned in mainland China. Obviously.
You can purchase Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang here.
5. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
We're all mad here.
When you fall in to Wonderland, you meet some unforgettable characters: the White Rabbit; the Mad Hatter; the Duchess; Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee; and the grinning, mad Cheshire Cat, amongst others.
So, why and where was this book banned? Well, in China's Hunan province, in 1931, the book was banned because the censor general was offended by how the animals were depicted. Maddened by how the animals had been allowed the use of human language, how they had generally been raised to the level of human beings, the book was banned.
You can purchase Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll, with illustrations by John Tenniel here.
Thank you for reading. Just before you go, can I ask you to consider supporting this blog with a coffee from ko-fi.com - the caffeine keeps me reading all those controversial books!
If you can, please do support this blog, with all my writerly ambitions, it really is a great boost. And I thank every reader and supporter, because you keep me going!
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