| Summary: |
From the <b>New Testament</b> to <b>The Diary of Anne Frank</b> to current objections to the Harry Potter series–dubbed the most frequently challenged books of the 21st century by the American Library Association–the tradition of banning, censoring, and challenging books has been remarkably enduring. <br><br><b>Forbidden Fruit</b> is fundamentally an apologia for the freedom to read. Author Pearce Carefoote’s principal interest is not so much in the morality of censorship as in its ultimate futility. In a world where freedom of speech, ideas, and religion clash with various forms of fundamentalism, where, post—9/11, democratic societies debate the limits to freedom of speech, <i>Forbidden Fruit</i> calls on all of us to examine the long history of censoring ideas and reminds us that the impetus to ban books is still very much alive. <br><br>Many of the works discussed in the book are very familiar and most readers will be surprised to see the writing that has been and continues to be challenged in Western society. While most citizens of a democracy say that they oppose literary censorship and support the freedom of expression, Carefoote provokes us to face some of the thorny questions of modern censorship: Where do we stand when the nation’s largest bookseller decides not to carry Hitler’s <b>Mein Kampf</b>? How do we respond when a high school teacher has been disciplined for assigning <i>The Merchant of Venice</i> in a public school? Or when the only bookstore in a small town decides not to carry <b>The Satanic Verses</b> for fear of reprisals? Or when certain magazines and novels, fall into that grey area between literature and pornography. Ironically, it is the Internet, as Carefoote points out, that may finally force governments, schools, and families to talk about what is appropriate for reading and viewing and what is not–and, more importantly, why. |
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