What’s the Big Deal?

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SonOfTheExiles
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Post by SonOfTheExiles »

Here is a variation on your ‘Book Story’.

What book did you read, which was either banned or restricted or censured in your parents’ younger days, that struck you as ‘What was the big deal?’

For me, it was ‘Forever Amber’. It was quite a rollicking good yarn ... I chanced across it on my Mum’s bookshelf of before-I-was-born paperbacks ... but honestly, it was tamer than a late-1970s teenager’s late night on Sydney’s Avalon Beach.

Barely enough to make your sainted maiden aunt blush.

Cheers,
Chris
Currently on sabbatical from Librivox
KevinS
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Post by KevinS »

Well, I'm never read Henry Miller. I gather he is rather explicit and to no good purpose. I guess I would have to call that self-censorship. I've never read William S. Burroughs either, which is strange because I read a lot of beat literature years ago. His work never interested me, though I can't say I ever read more than 4 pages of any of it.

I guess I felt (feel?) that there is too much known good stuff to get to before pushing my limits.

EDIT: Is Peyton Place as racy as my mother implied? (I never saw it in our house.) Just curious.
JoannaHoyt
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Post by JoannaHoyt »

Hmm.... I don't recall my parents speaking of books that were banned when they were young. But I had friends of my own generation and the generation before who expressed concerns about some of the books that I read as a kid/teen with my mother's approval and no idea that there was anything wrong in them... that includes the Chronicles of Narnia (one of my friends was raised believing that reading any sort of fantasy opened the door to devil-worship) and Madeleine L'Engle's time quartet (possibly unorthodox theology). I've seen similar warnings of possibly unorthodox/unbiblical theology given by adults about George MacDonald, whom I've only read as an adult...

As far as books considered raunchy... I did appall one friend ten years older than myself who thought it was immoral to have read and enjoyed "So Long, And Thanks For All The Fish." I didn't see anything particularly shocking in it.

I now enjoy reading a fairly wide range of books (though I lean away from the highly graphic, whether about sex or violence, my imagination being stronger than my stomach), but it's also true that just about whenever I read a book a little voice in the back of my mind is reminding me that someone I know would disapprove of it. I have a wide enough variety of friends to project very nearly the full spectrum of possible book disapprovals.
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KevinS
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Post by KevinS »

And yet... If anyone wants violence and sexual immorality, reading the Old Testament is a good start.

Sometimes a bad example is helpful. I have to admit, however, that many of today's young people---it seems---have a liking for villains like the Joker that I simple do not understand.
JoannaHoyt
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Post by JoannaHoyt »

KevinS wrote: May 2nd, 2021, 1:18 pm And yet... If anyone wants violence and sexual immorality, reading the Old Testament is a good start.

Sometimes a bad example is helpful. I have to admit, however, that many of today's young people---it seems---have a liking for villains like the Joker that I simple do not understand.
Yes, I hear you about the Old Testament. (And Revelation, if you want violence/fantasy/horror/occultism/....)

I am not acquent with the Joker, being more a book than a movie person and not inclined to horror/grimdark anyway. But I do sometimes find help or grounding or even inspiration in rather dark and drastic stories. "King Lear" and "Les Misérables" (the book, not the sugared movie versions) come to mind;also,on the far less literary end, Tad Williams' "Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn" trilogy...Sometimes I'm in despair about all that is unjust and broken in the world and I want a story that howls and laments over that. I do think those stories also offer some degree of hope and meaning in the midst of the lamenting, but I know plenty of people who disagree with me, at least about Lear...
Back from a low-internet no-Librivox year in Georgia. Glad to be with you again.
JayKitty76
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Post by JayKitty76 »

Kevin, I agree about the Old Testament- my family and I are reading through it right now and it’s.... heavy. A Bible website I use asks users to confirm that they’re over 16 in order to watch the videos/etc, and I think that’s an appropriate rating.

Joanna, I somewhat agree on the topic of Les Mis (book/movie/musical/all the versions haha) but I think that the themes of sacrificial love and courage and strength are so much more than the darkness in it. It’s definitely one of my favorite books ever.

For me personally, a “banned book” that i love is the Harry Potter series. Some Christians don’t like it because of the witchcraft/sorcery that’s explicitly forbidden in the Bible, but I in no way am interested in witchcraft and that’s not actually the point of the story. Again, good themes- friendship and bravery and the unbreaking love of a family- “redeem” it, as my family says.

Unorthodox books that I love include the works of Wm. Paul Young. Some Christians don’t like his theology- in The Shack he paints God the Father as a black woman and in Cross Roads he depicts the same as a little girl. I haven’t read The Shack yet but I plan doing so this year- Paul Young’s ideas just add another layer of depth to think about, religion-wise, for me.
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KevinS
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Post by KevinS »

It's funny what JayKitty says about the Harry Potter books. A critic might say the same about Tolkien's work (or the Narnia books?) but both Tolkien and Lewis were devout Christians is my understanding. Most certainly Lewis was.
Bookworm360
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Post by Bookworm360 »

KevinS wrote: May 3rd, 2021, 3:53 pm It's funny what JayKitty says about the Harry Potter books. A critic might say the same about Tolkien's work (or the Narnia books?) but both Tolkien and Lewis were devout Christians is my understanding. Most certainly Lewis was.
Yes, magic’s not all bad by any means. :D If it’s the right kind of magic, that is.
2 Timothy 1:7. Look it up.
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Twinkle88
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Post by Twinkle88 »

KevinS wrote: May 3rd, 2021, 3:53 pm It's funny what JayKitty says about the Harry Potter books. A critic might say the same about Tolkien's work (or the Narnia books?) but both Tolkien and Lewis were devout Christians is my understanding. Most certainly Lewis was.
Yeah, my view about this is that the Tolkien and Lewis books are different because they were more careful about the subject of magic than Rowling. For example, for the most part at least, their books do not involve human beings wielding magic, or go into detail about different incantations, etc. Even the wizard Gandalf in Lord of the Rings doesn't use magic very readily -- more like a last resort. :)

By the way, I heard Tolkien and Lewis were good friends.
KevinS
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Post by KevinS »

Twinkle88 wrote: May 5th, 2021, 11:49 am
KevinS wrote: May 3rd, 2021, 3:53 pm It's funny what JayKitty says about the Harry Potter books. A critic might say the same about Tolkien's work (or the Narnia books?) but both Tolkien and Lewis were devout Christians is my understanding. Most certainly Lewis was.
Yeah, my view about this is that the Tolkien and Lewis books are different because they were more careful about the subject of magic than Rowling. For example, for the most part at least, their books do not involve human beings wielding magic, or go into detail about different incantations, etc. Even the wizard Gandalf in Lord of the Rings doesn't use magic very readily -- more like a last resort. :)

By the way, I heard Tolkien and Lewis were good friends.
One of the best depictions of magic I have read was done by LeGuinn (sp?) in her Earthsea series. It was a force to be used sparingly and could be dangerous as it caused both action and reaction.
JayKitty76
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Post by JayKitty76 »

Twinkle88 wrote: May 5th, 2021, 11:49 am
KevinS wrote: May 3rd, 2021, 3:53 pm It's funny what JayKitty says about the Harry Potter books. A critic might say the same about Tolkien's work (or the Narnia books?) but both Tolkien and Lewis were devout Christians is my understanding. Most certainly Lewis was.
Yeah, my view about this is that the Tolkien and Lewis books are different because they were more careful about the subject of magic than Rowling. For example, for the most part at least, their books do not involve human beings wielding magic, or go into detail about different incantations, etc. Even the wizard Gandalf in Lord of the Rings doesn't use magic very readily -- more like a last resort. :)

By the way, I heard Tolkien and Lewis were good friends.
I totally see your point, Twinkle. The types of magic are different in HP vs LoTR/Narnia. The way I see is it that the wizardry in Harry Potter and stuff isn’t real magic and it’s not meant for kids/whoever reads it to actually try to do witchcraft, you know? It’s just the background for the storyline of friendship and love and forgiveness.
Also, my mom waited on letting me read it till I was a lot older, so I could understand that witchcraft in real life is not something my family agrees with. It’s an amazing series, but one for older kids.
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Bookworm360
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Post by Bookworm360 »

KevinS wrote: May 5th, 2021, 12:17 pm
Twinkle88 wrote: May 5th, 2021, 11:49 am
KevinS wrote: May 3rd, 2021, 3:53 pm It's funny what JayKitty says about the Harry Potter books. A critic might say the same about Tolkien's work (or the Narnia books?) but both Tolkien and Lewis were devout Christians is my understanding. Most certainly Lewis was.
Yeah, my view about this is that the Tolkien and Lewis books are different because they were more careful about the subject of magic than Rowling. For example, for the most part at least, their books do not involve human beings wielding magic, or go into detail about different incantations, etc. Even the wizard Gandalf in Lord of the Rings doesn't use magic very readily -- more like a last resort. :)

By the way, I heard Tolkien and Lewis were good friends.
One of the best depictions of magic I have read was done by LeGuinn (sp?) in her Earthsea series. It was a force to be used sparingly and could be dangerous as it caused both action and reaction.
That sounds like my own mythological inventions! :D
2 Timothy 1:7. Look it up.
Specializing in Middle-Earth🧝‍♀️, classics📖, and art🎨🖌
Twinkle88
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Post by Twinkle88 »

JayKitty76 wrote: May 5th, 2021, 12:48 pm I totally see your point, Twinkle. The types of magic are different in HP vs LoTR/Narnia. The way I see is it that the wizardry in Harry Potter and stuff isn’t real magic and it’s not meant for kids/whoever reads it to actually try to do witchcraft, you know? It’s just the background for the storyline of friendship and love and forgiveness.
Also, my mom waited on letting me read it till I was a lot older, so I could understand that witchcraft in real life is not something my family agrees with. It’s an amazing series, but one for older kids.
I gotcha. :)
JoannaHoyt
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Post by JoannaHoyt »

I never quite understood the concern about the magic in Harry Potter. If a kid did take it literally and try pointing sticks at things or people and shouting Latin imperatives, they'd maybe learn some Latin, but they'd also soon notice that it didn't actually do anything. If they decided this was because they needed phoenix feathers or dragon heartstrings... well, that would also put them off attempting practical magic.
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KevinS
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Post by KevinS »

JoannaHoyt wrote: May 8th, 2021, 12:55 pm I never quite understood the concern about the magic in Harry Potter. If a kid did take it literally and try pointing sticks at things or people and shouting Latin imperatives, they'd maybe learn some Latin, but they'd also soon notice that it didn't actually do anything. If they decided this was because they needed phoenix feathers or dragon heartstrings... well, that would also put them off attempting practical magic.
Shout a Latin imperative at me and I assure you something would happen. (Wink.)
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