WWI novel banned by Canadian School Board

[George Armstrong Custer]

The first entry in the 'Banned Book Advent Calendar' project tells how The Wars, Timothy Findlay's award-winning 1977 novel about a young Great War officer, had recently been banned by a Canadian School board: Banned Book Advent Calendar

George

[centurion]

I understand that the banning was due not to it's WW1 content but because it was thought that it's depiction of gay sex in a brothel was thought unsuitable for juveniles. Whatever one's opinion of this it's probably outside the scope of this forum other than possibly an entry in Skindles.

[George Armstrong Custer]

Whatever one's opinion of this it's probably outside the scope of this forum other than possibly an entry in Skindles.

Really. Just as well we don't depend on you to decide what is and isn't Skindles material then, eh?

George

[hen190782]

George

As this sub-forum is for book reviews, perhaps you would like to go away, read the book and then provide a review.

[centurion]

Really. Just as well we don't depend on you to decide what is and isn't Skindles material then, eh?

George

Please learn to read English before issuing insults. I wasn't saying what should or should not be in Skindles - merely suggesting that it might not be a WW1 topic. I think we all have a right to do that.

[AlanCurragh]

There are plenty of threads in this subforum that are about books, without being reviews, and as this is clearly a thread about a WW1 book, there's no reason why it should be in Skindles. That's my opinion, anyway...

[George Armstrong Custer]

Please learn to read English before issuing insults. I wasn't saying what should or should not be in Skindles - merely suggesting that it might not be a WW1 topic. I think we all have a right to do that.

After your usual google, you zeroed in on one episode of the novel in your post - the gay sex - which you now say might not be a WWI topic. It would only not be a WWI topic if you're suggesting that there was no gay sex in the Great War. Are you?

George

As this sub-forum is for book reviews, perhaps you would like to go away, read the book and then provide a review.

I don't think so - I've read it and don't intend reviewing it, but feel free to go away and follow your own advice. The subtitle of this sub-forum is 'A Place To Discuss Books' - as Alan has pointed out, such discussion is not necessarily restricted to a straight forward review.

George

[hen190782]

Whatever.

[spconnolly007]

It has now been decided that the book shall NOT be pulled from the approved reading list!! Thought I better intervene before it all kicks off , for what its worth, my opinion is that such books have a place in our schools(and Canadian schools)for children of an appropriate age. As a happily married man with two children, I would be happy for my kids to read books that are sympathetic to gay/lesbian issues, rather than reading books about millions of men blowing s**t out of each other in the middle of the French countryside!! But unfortunately both are relevant issues and should be read and discussed by our younger generations.

[George Armstrong Custer]

Indeed - you'll find a note to that effect at the end of the linked to video. It's a result which underlines the point of the Banned Book Advent Calendar project, that vigilance and being prepared to speak out against those seeking to ban books is always necessary. It's an international initiative, supported in this country by institutions like the National Library of Scotland. And whilst it's all genres of books which can be at risk, there's a long history of books on the Great War being banned by various groups and for various reasons, from Remarque and Renn's books in the 1930's right up to the Findlay case in Canada this year.

George

[Norrette]

I read the book some years ago and my most vivid memory is the transportation of the animals - I didn't remember the brothel scene until you've just mentioned it - so it couldn't have been that shocking.

[healdav]

It has now been decided that the book shall NOT be pulled from the approved reading list!! Thought I better intervene before it all kicks off , for what its worth, my opinion is that such books have a place in our schools(and Canadian schools)for children of an appropriate age. As a happily married man with two children, I would be happy for my kids to read books that are sympathetic to gay/lesbian issues, rather than reading books about millions of men blowing s**t out of each other in the middle of the French countryside!! But unfortunately both are relevant issues and should be read and discussed by our younger generations.

The best way to ensure that everyone read it was to ban it. Now that it is approved, no one will read it, on principle.