As Banned Book Week comes to a close, it’s time to delve a little deeper into some of the most controversial banned books worldwide. Whether the pages are riddled with sentiments of racism or are just downright gross, these novels have gotten people talking about sensitive topics and examining the role of governments in public readership. Chances are, you probably have more banned books on your bookshelf that you think.
Photo: Penguin Random House
American Psycho
by Brett Easton Ellis
Even before its publication in 1991, American Psycho was dropped by Simon & Schuster amidst public outcry, citing an “error of judgment” that led to the consideration of its publication. Bret Easton Ellis’ novel (and his writing abilities) have been hotly contested ever since. The book follows Patrick Bateman, the dizzyingly rich banker and sociopathic serial killer who subjects the bodies of women, children, and the homeless of Manhattan to gruesome treatments without the blink of an eye. Oh, and he also drinks his own urine.
Despite the refusal of many booksellers to stock it and it’s almost immediate vilification by the American public for its graphic sexual and violent content, the novel made its way onto The New York Times bestseller list. Its career was short-lived, however, as the Times removed it from the list because of in-house objections to its content. Later that year, it was also removed from the library of a naval base in Canada.
Worldwide, American Psycho was received with disgust and outrage. In Germany, the book’s sales and marketing were strictly limited from 1995-2000 after being deemed “harmful to minors.”
It received the R18 classification under both New Zealand and Australia’s national censorship legislation, requiring it only be sold plastic-wrapped to those over 18, and resulting in an Adelaide bookstore being “gently raided” in 2015 for selling the novel without the required plastic cover.
To date, the book has sold over a million copies stateside, gaining popularity as a cult-classic. It has been adapted into a film starring Christian Bale and had a short stint on Broadway as a musical.
Photo: Wikipedia Commons/Olympia Press
Lolita
by Vladimir Nabokov
After penning this story of a lustful English literature professor Humbert Humbert and his sexual relationship with his 12-year old step-daughter, Russian author Vladimir Nabokov found himself at odds with American publishers who were unwilling to publish such controversial content. He did find a willing buyer, Olympia Press, in Paris. At the time, Nabokov was unaware that Olympia was notorious for publishing pornographic pulp novels.
After being published in 1955, British Customs was ordered to seize any copies of the novel entering the UK. The same year, France banned sales of the book, and Australia followed suit a year later. Eventually, the countries of Burma, Belgium, and Austria would also block entry of the book.
While the Australian ban lasted until 1965, many of the country’s literature scholars attempted to smuggle in copies. A year before the ban was lifted, Dr. Bob Brissenden at the Australian National University assigned Lolita as a textbook for a course on American literature. His appeals to the Australian government to allow 30 copies into the country for his students rekindled discussions among the media, government, and the public about the book’s prohibition. Unfortunately for Dr. Brissenden and his students, his request was denied.
It was not until 1958 that the novel was published in the U.S. by G.P. Putnam Sons. Immediately, it was a bestseller but was banned on local levels for its controversial content. Luckily for Nabokov, attempts to remove the book from public consumption only fueled interest in it. Despite its socially-condemned content, Lolita is still widely acknowledged as a crowning achievement of 20th-century literature.
Mein Kampf
by Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler’s autobiography, Mein Kampf (My Struggle) has been legally prohibited from sale in Germany from after World War II until just last year when the ban was lifted. In the book that was originally published in 1925, the dictator presents himself as an “embittered, envious traumatized loser,” according to The New Yorker’s Adam Gopnik. For 70 years, the German state of Bavaria held the copyright to the blatantly anti-Semitic, racist text, refusing to allow printing of the book until the copyright expired in 2015, opening the reprinting rights up to anybody.
The newly published editions in Germany bear a plain, white cover, as images of swastikas and Nazi symbols are banned in the country. The edition holds a higher price tag in order to market it for scholarly and academic consumption and discourage the production of other editions by Nazi sympathizers. The price did not stop the book from selling an unexpected amount of copies, though it’s not very hard to make headlines as a bestseller in Germany. The reemergence of Hitler’s virulent manifesto has triggered significant concern that it may add fuel to the resurgence of right-wing parties throughout Europe.
Photo: Penguin Random House
Persepolis
by Marjane Satrapi
Marjane Satrapi’s highly-acclaimed graphic memoir of growing up during the Iranian Revolution was originally published in French and gained almost immediate popularity in the U.S. when it was published stateside in 2003. Both Time and The New York Times, among others, lauded Satrapi’s work as one of the most notable books of the year.
The graphic novel has been consistently challenged in local American schools under arguments that its brief depictions of sex, graphic imagery, and general religious topics are not appropriate to be taught in schools. It has received pushback in school districts of Oregon, Illinois, Chicago, and many others. Many parents make objections to the novel’s depictions of torture and use of graphic language. Persepolis is also used for discussions on Middle Eastern perspectives and cultural awareness programs, eliciting complaints from parents that religion should not be discussed in school.
Recently, the novel has even been challenged in higher education. In 2015, Crafton Hills College student Tara Schultz objected to the inclusion of four graphic novels in her required English 250 course. She and her parents raised significant concerns with the college about the assigned reading of Fun Home, Persepolis, Y: The Last Man, and The Sandman: The Doll’s House, saying that while she was aware that the course’s focus was on graphic novels, she “expected Batman and Robin, not pornography.” The professor defended his choice of reading in an email to Redlands Daily Facts, saying, “I chose several highly acclaimed, award-winning graphic novels in my English 250 course not because they are purportedly racy but because each speaks to the struggles of the human condition. As Faulkner states, ‘The only thing worth writing about is the human heart in conflict with itself.’ The same may be said about reading literature. The characters in the chosen graphic novels are all struggling with issues of morality, self discovery, heartbreak, etc.”
Thumbnail Image: Annie Spratt via Unsplash