Some Favorite Books for Banned Books Week

When I was a young girl I discovered, as have many before me, The Twilight Zone. My favorite episode was called The Obsolete Man. It took place in a not too futuresque society, and starred Burgess Merideth as a librarian named Romney Wordsworth and Fritz Weaver as the totalitarian judge who finds him "obsolete". The reason for this obsolecence is that books have been outlawed, therefore removing the need for libraries and librarians. I was only about 9 or 10 when I saw this for the first time and it made a huge impression on me, as did seeing the film version of Fahrenheit 451 around the same time. (The scenes of books being burned in the film are devastating.)  By the time I read Ray Bradbury's masterpiece in college, I had developed a great abhorrence for the restriction of access to books, let alone their actual destruction.

I read that book in a class on Utopian and Anti Utopian literature, and after reading such works as 1984 and Fahrenheit 451, it wasn't hard to notice that one of the first things any totalitarian society was to restrict of alter books.  In college I proudly wore a button proclaiming "I Read Banned Books." In recent years such challenges have become even more common.  The target lately has been not so much actual destruction of books, though there have been several cases of Harry Potter being tied to the stake lately, and there was that pastor who wanted to burn the Koran a few years back. Book burnings lead to dramatic headlines and unfortunate comparisons to Nazis , so more recently censorship efforts have focused instead on restricting access, by challenging the presence of books in classrooms and libraries.

It was with all this in mind that the American Library Association (ALA) created Banned Books Week, some 30 years ago. It was chance to remind people of the preciousness of the privilege of reading, and of the importance of keeping a variety of works, and opinions  available to everyone.  And in honor of the occasion I have compiled a list of some of my favorite banned or challenged books.

Les Miserables and The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Censorship is nothing new, of course, and Victor Hugo was well acquainted with it. Tsar Nicolas I banned all of Hugo;s works in the 1850's (thus giving Les Miserables the rare distinction of being banned before it was written) and was on the Catholic Church's Index of Forbidden books until 1959. Ironically, some 20 years later I would write my senior English paper for my Catholic high school on "The Christian Message in The Hunchback of Notre Dame."  The more things change...

Leaves of Grass
New England indecency societies were trying to ban Whitman's poetry before the Civil War began, and people have been objecting to Whitman's frank sexual language and commentary of religion ever since.

A Wrinkle in Time
Somehow I missed out on the Madeline L'Engle  books growing up. I read them for the first time a few years ago, and have reread several since, and enjoyed them very much.  Besides, one of the chief heroines is named Meg.


Fahrenheit 451
 I once observed of the banning of this book that "Sarcasm is lost on the Intolerant".  Its always fascinating to watch a book become exactly what it warned of. In this case, not only have we seen attempts to ban and restrict books, but also the growing prevalence of television and interactive media that Bradbury warned of (she says, typing on the bluetooth keyboard communicating with the mobile device.) In one particularly ironic case in the 90's, a California middle school expurgated the books by taking magic markers to words they considered obscene.

The Light in the Attic
Widely considered among the best books of poetry ever written, but it has been challenged often as well, in part for encouraging disobedience and messiness.

Where the Wild Things Are
Maurice Sendak's classic has been challenged both for being too scary, and for Max's bad attitude and talking back to his mother.  Because kids never have temper tantrums.


The Lord of the Rings
Speaking of irony, the devoutly Catholic Tolkien would be appalled to know that his masterpiece has been challenged for detected themes of magic and satanism. As epics go, it may look a little small compared to more recent fantasy book series, but it's still the benchmark by which such works are judged.  Plus how many of the others get made into Oscar winning movies?

Harry Potter series
Someday people will look back on J K Rowling's  work and realize how much it changed children's literature, that such books could appeal across a wide age range, and that digital era children with their alleged short attention spans could still read really long works if they were engaged by the story. Unless, of course you are one of those people who want the book banned because you think fantasy magic and witchcraft equals Satanism.  Or the lady who rewrote the entire series as a fundamentalist adventure.


To Kill a Mockingbird
Perhaps the most beloved of the great American novels of the 20th century, It has also been one of the most challenged, for its adult themes, and use of certain objectionable language and conduct. My personal opinion is that such material is acceptable when it is true to the historic context, or when it's made clear in context that such behaviour is unacceptable. There are  compensating lessons to be learned from the integrity and courage of all the positive characters in the book.

In various ways, all of these books have enriched my life.  Many are books are I have reread repeatedly.  I dipped in and out of several this week, revisiting old friends The world would be a poorer place without them, or without access to them.

How about you.  Do you have a favorite banned or challenged book?

credit:ALA

For more information please visit the American Library Association's Banned and Challenged Books page.

Banned Books Challenge-Les Miserables

We often hear about books that have been banned or challenged without being read. But Victor Hugo's Les Miserables was banned before it was written. In 1850 Tsar Nicholas I, displeased with Hugo's depictions of monarchy and Church hierarchy banned all of Hugo's works,published or yet to be published. Hugo's works were also on the Catholic Church's Index of Forbidden Books until 1959. (To show how much some things can change, in the late 70's I attended a Catholic High School and wrote a paper on "The Christian Message in The Hunchback of Notre Dame", a book that would have been a sin to read 20 years before.) Victor Hugo was in fact in exile in England when he wrote this book, having incurred the wrath of Napoleon III, Hugo makes several references to not knowing what certain places look like at present.

Recently I sat down to thoroughly reread Les Miserables, as preparation for going to see the movie. I have dipped into before, but never read it straight through. The book is daunting to look at. On my Nook it runs 4188 pages. I chose use my e-reader though because print copies are either huge, or employ tiny print.

One reason for the great length is the huge cast of characters and their back stories. We learn a lot about just about everyone in the book. Valjean, Cosette, Javert, Fantine and Marius are only the beginning. By the end of book we know all the characters intimately. Because of this we never feel a character has been stuck in the book only to make a speech.

Another reason is the Hugo's lengthy discourses on a variety of historic topics, including several historic locations, convents and the Paris sewers. This information always relates to the narrative, though its not always clear how at first. To cite the most famous example:  Hugo devotes 19 chapters to an account of the battle of Waterloo, only to inform the reader of the chance meeting of two characters during the battle.

If you are reading the book for the first time I have a few suggestions. Younger readers might actually consider an abridged edition.  This isn't a suggestion I would normally make, but I know from experience having read an abridged version of Hunchback at about 13, and the full edition at 17, Hugo can be very daunting for a young reader.  I  recommend aquiring Cliff Notes, or an annotated edition. so you have help keeping everyone straight, and can understand the more obscure references.

Having said all that, I still highly recommend the book.  It is probably one of the most compassionate works ever written, and indeed compassion as a force in the world is a large part of what the book is about.  Compassion for the less well off (Victor Hugo knew all about the 47%), compassion for those we may be in authority over, compassion for those in our daily lives.

It is also a story of redemption through love.  Jean Valjean spends 19 years in jail for stealing a loaf of bread. He was stealing the bread to feed his sister's children, but was caught.  When he comes out of jail he is housed by a bishop, whom he by stealing his silver.  When Valjean is caught again, the bishop astonishes him by telling the police that the silver was a gift, but tells Valjean he must use the silver to make an honest man of himself. "Jean Valjean my brother, you know longer belong to evil but to good.  It is your soul I buy back from you.; I withdraw it from bad thoughts and the spirit of perdition, and I give it to God. " Unable to find employment because of the strictures against convicts, Valjean jumps parole, changes his name, becomes a factory owner noted for his kindness to his workers, and later mayor of his town.  But he is forever pursued by Inspector Javert, a man who knows only the rigidity of the law, and has no sense of compassion at all. He is truly a man who sees the world in black and white only without a single shade of grey even, let alone color. Javert takes advantage of Valjean's compassion by following accounts of unusually generous persons. He track s him down just as Valjean is trying to help a dying prostitute named Cosette retrieve her daughter from abusive caretakers.  When Cosette dies, Valjean takes custody of her, and in caring for her learns the meaning of human love.  In essence, the bishop saves his soul, and Cosette opens his heart.

But always they must stay one step ahead of Javert. Cosette grows up and falls in love with a young revolutionary named Marius.  Stories intercut back and forth, until Valjean is placed in a position where he can kill Javert, but sets him free instead.  Javert is so unable to reconcile the conflict between mercy and compassion that he kills himself.  In the end, with Cosette  and Marius united, Valjean is able to die in peace. 

And the musical? I enjoyed it hugely, finding it did justice to both the stage show and the book.  The actors did amazingly well, the technique of filming the songs live (not lip synced) added much quality to the acting.  Songs that moved me to tears in the show (Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, Bring him Home, and the finale were even more devastating seen in their context on film.  I attended it with my daughter, a huge Anne Hathaway fan, who enjoyed the film but didn't think it was that sad, and a dear friend who is a voice teacher and felt the musical performances excellent.

Can I see why Nicholas I and the Catholic Church banned this book? I certainly can.  The book is still an uncomfortable read for those who prefer privilege for a few over compassion for the have nots. Even now Hugo's emphasis on personal faith over church hierarchies and the ultimate communion with God through loving one's fellow man would disturb some.  This is one of those great works written for a specific time and place but relevant for all times and places