There is one big thing in common with the below five books: at some point in their life, they has been banned. These bans can be as small as individual schools pulling them from school libraries and curriculums, but sometimes they are bigger. Sometimes whole governments ban books, and for various reasons. Here is a recap on some of the best books that have faced a ban.
1. 1984 – George Orwell
Of all the banned books on this list, this is probably the least surprising. A novel about a totalitarian government that is always watching was bound to face some legal trouble. In its lifetime, this book has seen many bans of different levels in many places. However, despite all this it still remains at the top of many Must Read lists and has sold millions of copies worldwide.
2. The Catcher in the Rye – J. D. Salinger
Despite being a novel which focuses specifically on the challenges of teenage angst (and therefore having been adopted by the young adult genre), this book has been repeatedly deemed inappropriate for its age group for it use of language, among other things. However, this has not stopped the book from becoming a classic.
3. The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Great Gatsby is considered to be one of the great American novels, and continues to be revered some ninety years later. However, this does not mean it has not faced its own challenges. Use of language and sexual references were reasons behind the banning of this novel – a bit of a theme developing here.
4. The Harry Potter Series – J. K. Rowling
Although this has come to be recognised as classic children’s reading, the Harry Potter books have faced many challenges. The complaints most commonly lodged against these books are about the promotion of dark magic amongst children, although they have also been reported for being too scary and violent as well.
5. The Perks of Being a Wallflower – Stephen Chbosky
This bestselling young adult novel has also faced many legal challenges. The reasons for the banning of this particular book seem to go on and on: inappropriate for age group, drug references, sex references, I think you get the idea. Despite all these complaints (or perhaps because of some of them) the book continues to sell well as a great coming-of-age story, and has even been adapted for film featuring Emma Watson.
Have you read any of these books? Do you think they should have been banned? Get the conversation going over on our Twitter @hcaberdeen!