10 Banned Books You Should Read.
The year is 2022 and books are still causing enough outrage to make headlines, cause violence or be banned. For me, even though it is sad that this is still the case, it also shows how powerful books still are. I'm sure a lot of people are similar to me in that whenever they hear a book has been banned somewhere or caused mass outrage it immediately makes me want to read it. Furthermore, a lot of the 'controversial' novels I've read have also been some of the best writing that I've ever encountered. In fact, I'm sure that almost every novel I've ever loved could be considered controversial to some extent. One of my uni tutors used to say "nice writes white" which I think meant that if you only wrote about 'nice/safe' things then you wouldn't really have anything interesting to say. Imagine trying to write a novel that had no controversial themes, no characters with controversial traits and wouldn't upset anyone who read it. It would probably be awful or aimed at children under 6. Anyway, here are 10 books that have been banned at some point (8 were banned by actual governments) that I think are worth reading.
#10 - For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway (suppressed by Spanish authorities).
If you ever want to read classic literature that isn't remotely pretentious then you can't go wrong with Ernest Hemingway. He writes simple prose that is completely accessible to anyone whilst losing none of the grandiose of the moving and profound stories he portrays.
#9 - Lady Chatterley's Lover by D.H. Lawrence (banned for obscenity laws).
It's almost a shame that Lawrence is so famous for his gratuitous (for the time) sex scenes because what I think he is best at doing is portraying place. You really feel you can see, smell and hear all of the settings he creates, so much so that they stay with you once you have finished the book.
#8 - Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov (banned for being obscene).
It's gross and disturbing but it is also one of the best examples of an unreliable narrator that I have ever read. You really feel as if you are hearing the thoughts of a highly disturbed and delusional individual.
#7 - The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck (banned for unflattering portrayal).
A long book that largely takes place during a long, difficult journey across the United States. You are rooting for the characters the whole way and, in a time of the cost of living crisis, it probably feels more relevant now than ever.
#6 - The Autobiography of Malcolm X (banned for criticising white supremacy).
I always admire an autobiography where the author doesn't try to portray themselves as a perfect person. This autobiography feels brutally honest and tells the life story of an often misunderstood man.
#5 - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (banned for using racist language).
Banning a staunchly anti-racist book set in the 30's for having 'racist language' is probably one of the stupidest things I've ever heard and this only happened in schools in America a few years ago. Anyway, it's one of those classic novels that lives up to every bit of hype and should be read by everyone.
#4 - Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell (banned for satirising Stalin).
A book that is still referenced constantly and for good reason. It was also the book that got me into 'serious' reading as a teenager and helped set my life on a better trajectory.
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#3 - Another Country by James Baldwin (banned for being indecent).
The first thing I thought when I read this book was how ahead of its time it was. It feels as if it could be written now and not feel at all aged. The fact that Australia banned it for being, 'continually smeared with indecent, offensive and dirty epithets and allusions' should be reason enough for you to want to read it.
#2 - Brave New World by Aldous Huxley (banned for portraying promiscuous sex).
I've always viewed Brave New World as being an even more accurate dystopia than Nineteen Eighty-Four when compared to the world around me. Do you remember when people were bizarrely upset at Gordon Ramsey recently for choosing which lamb he wanted to eat because we've become so disconnected from where our food comes from that we can't handle someone being even remotely hands on with the meat they eat? That's the kind of thing that still makes me think of Brave New World on a regular basis.
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#1 - The Color Purple by Alice Walker (banned for too many reasons to list).
This is the perfect book to be at number one. Partly because I consider it one of (if not the) greatest novels ever written and also because it addresses so many sensitive issues that have caused other books in this list to be banned at some point. It does this all with an incredibly strong narrative voice and a story that makes you think and feel more than most other books I've ever read.
Which other 'banned books' should people read?
