Banned Books Week 2020!
It is Banned Book Week!
This week is recognised by the book world globally as a celebration of the freedom to read. It brings attention to books which have been banned and/or challenged in countries, libraries and schools around the world.
One of the most interesting parts of Banned Book Week is seeing the list of the top 100 challenged/banned books from the American Libraries Association. This list is always very telling of the issues which are "plagueing" our society year by year. Harry Potter and A Handmaid's Tale have made the list for several years in a row. As for 2019 - every single other book on the list was challenged for reasons relating to characters/themes of the LGBTQIA+ community.
If we have a look at the list below of past banned books, we can see how culture changes and how ridiculous it all seems when looking back. This trend of anti-queer literary sentiment will end soon and future generations will have a chuckle at just how out-of-touch we were.
So let's take a look at some of the most prevalent books which have been banned and why!
The Harry Potter Series by JK Rowling
- Banned in the UAE in 2007 & various schools and libraries across the globe
- Is the Most Challenged Book of the 20th Century!
- Reason: Witchcraft, Occultism, Satanism, Values in opposition to religious institutions
A Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood
- Banned in Several Schools and Libraries
- Reason: Sexual Content, Prostitution, Offensive
Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
- Banned in Huana Province of China (1931)
- Reason: Anthropormorphised animals with the same level of complexity as humans. Leaders where fearful of children treating animals as equal to people - which would be 'disastrous'
1984, Animal Farm & Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
- 1984: banned in Russia & several schools/libaries for explicit sexual content. Stalin also believed this was a criticism of his regime.
- Animal Farm: banned in Russia & Vietnam for being critical of communisim, and the UAE (2002) for depicting an anthromophic pig being unaligned with Islamic beliefs
- Homage to Catalonia: banned in Spain because of its alignment against fascist dictator Francisco Franco
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
- Banned in Bangladesh, Thailand, Egypt, Malaysia, India, Pakistan, Iran, Papua New Guinea, Kenya, Senegal, Kuwait, Singapore, Liberia, Sri Lanka, and more!
- Reason: Blasphemy against Islam and the Prophet Muhammad
- In 1989 the leader of Iran called a Fatwa against Rushdie and the publishers. This resulted in 2 deaths, 3 attempted murders and 37 people dying in an arson targeting the Turkish translator.
- There is an incredibly interesting BBC4 Podcast called 'Fatwa' if you would like more information
Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H Lawrence
- Banned in Australia (1929-65), China (1936), UK (1960), USA (1959) and Japan (1952-57)
- Reason: Obsene Sexual Content & Frequent use of certain 4-letter-words
- This book was the subject of several trials claiming it was breaking the obsenity act.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- Banned in apartheid South Africa (1955)
- The racist government deemed it contained 'obscene' or 'indecent' material
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
- Banned in Australia (1932-7) & Ireland (1932)
- Reason: References of sexual promiscuity - "it makes casual sex look fun"
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
- Banned in Argentina, Canada, France, New Zealand, South Africa, UK
- Reason: Obsenity, child sexual abuse
- It is still considered one of the greatest books of the 20th Century despite its content
Ulysses by James Joyce
- Banned in USA, Ireland Canada and England
- Reason: Obsenity
- Original Manuscripts where BURNT by authorities to stop its distribution
- When this failed, a trial was held for the anti-obsenities act and the book was banned
- Many first editions of this book come with the cover ripped off. This was so people would not get arrested when smuggling the book!
If you want more information on Banned Books Week - Head over to https://bannedbooksweek.org/
We have many of these books both in store and online (don't worry - it is legal!) so have a wee look and see what you can discover!
