Literature on the verge: 10 novels that caused a loud resonance in society

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The reaction of society to the topics raised by writers and propagandized ideas can be sharp and painful. In this case, scandals flare up around the books, they are withdrawn from sale, they are prohibited from lending in libraries and even burned. Subsequently, these same works can win the highest literary awards and be put on a par with the best examples of literature. In our review, books that at one time came into conflict with generally accepted moral norms.

Salman Rushdie, The Satanic Poems

Salman Rushdie's piece didn't just make a big splash. Demonstrations against "The Satanic Verses" were staged in various countries, bookstores that sold the book were set on fire, the novel was banned in all Muslim countries except Turkey, and a bounty of more than three million dollars was assigned to the writer's head. The reason for such a reaction was the image of the Prophet Muhammad, exposed in the work in an obscene light. The author still practically does not leave the house, even Salman Rushdie could not pick up the special Booker Prize awarded to him in 2008 personally.

READ ALSO: 10 philosophical thoughts from Salman Rushdie's forbidden novel "The Satanic Verses" >>

Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary

In our time, it is impossible to imagine that the completely harmless story of adultery, described by Gustave Flaubert in the novel "Madame Bovary", could cause a scandal. Gustave Flaubert, editor of the magazine La Revue de Paris, where the novel was published, and the publishers were even prosecuted. The advocates of morality were insulted to the core, but the court acquitted the defendants. At the same time, after the verdict was passed, it became clear that the book would become a bestseller.

Vladimir Nabokov, "Lolita"

After the publication of Vladimir Nabokov's novel "Lolita" in 1955 in the French publishing house Olympia Press, real battles between literary scholars, critics and ordinary readers unfolded around the work. Some called the story of the molestation of a 12-year-old girl a high-quality literary work, others considered the novel a dirty book. The buzz around the work of Vladimir Nabokov played a role and American publishers agreed to publish a book, the release of which was initially denied to the author. In three weeks, a circulation of 100 thousand copies literally disappeared from the shelves. The author of "Lolita" began to receive very decent payments, which allowed him to leave teaching and settle in Switzerland.

READ ALSO: "Live …": a poem by Nabokov, which helps to understand and set life priorities >>

James Joyce, Ulysses

Today, James Joyce's novel is called the pinnacle of modernist literature, and in 1920 the New York Society for the Eradication of Vices filed a case against Little Review, which published fragments of Ulysses, and accused him of disrespect for the English monarchy, excessive naturalism and even pornography. One of the issues of the magazine was arrested, the editor-in-chief was forced to pay a large fine. However, all this contributed to the widespread distribution of the novel. In France in 1922 "Ulysses" was published as a separate book, in 1934 the novel was published in the USA, in 1936 - in Great Britain. In Ireland, the publication of the work of James Joyce was allowed only in the 1960s.

READ ALSO: The woman without whom Joyce would not have written Ulysses, or How Bloomsday appeared in Ireland >>

William Golding, Lord of the Flies

In the 1960s, William Golding's novel entered the US school curriculum, and in 1954 it was considered completely uninteresting and absurd. The work trampled on faith in the light essence of man, opened it from the other side. Under extreme conditions, chorus boys who found themselves on a desert island suddenly showed their worst qualities and in a short time turned into primitive people by the level of cultural development.

The struggle for survival by any available means, the worship of an idol and the all-consuming evil living inside each person, all this could not please. The subsequent success of the novel was greatly facilitated by the editor Charles Monteith, who gave the work a new title (originally the novel was called "Strangers from the Inside"), excluded the most eerie scenes and already in 1955 the book, published in paperback, became a bestseller. The author subsequently received the Nobel Prize for his work.

Boris Pasternak, "Doctor Zhivago"

At home, Boris Pasternak was consistently refused publication of the novel Doctor Zhivago by all the publishing houses he contacted. Fortunately, by that time the writer had already managed to send the manuscript to Italy. Thanks to the assistance of the publisher Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, the book was published in the fall of 1957. And in the Soviet Union, a real persecution of the writer began. The campaign against Pasternak gained special scope after the news that he had been awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature. In the USSR, the novel was released only 28 years after the death of the writer, in 1988.

READ ALSO: "In everything I want to get to the very essence": a lyric poem by Pasternak about the secrets of being >>

Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

The dystopian novel, at the time of its appearance in 1932, literally caused a flurry of criticism. It seemed that the ideal model of a state in which everyone is happy, described in a satirical manner, should only make the reader think. But many parallels with the social structure of that time made the reader feel like not a person, but just a small detail, designed to work for the good of the state machine. Today Aldous Huxley is called a classic of dystopia, and in the 1930s the model of the future described by the author did not fit into generally accepted norms.

Jerome Salinger, Catcher in the Rye

For nearly 20 years, Salinger's novel was the most banned book in American schools. The author was accused of promoting drunkenness and debauchery, rebellion and anarchy. In addition, the book's fans were such dubious personalities as John Hinckley, who attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan, Lennon's killer Mark Chapman, and even the maniac Robert John Bardo.

READ ALSO: Catcher in the Rye - America's Youth Bible or Murderer's Favorite Book? >>

Stephen Chbosky, It's Good to Be Quiet

The sentimental story of an American teenager, published in 1999, does not make all readers empathize with the protagonist. Charlie, in his letters to a friend, describes his life in such a detailed and realistic manner that after reading it is difficult to get rid of the feeling of peeping at a teenager through the keyhole. Many scenes of violence, detailed descriptions of sexual contacts, alcohol and drugs are all part of Charlie's life. The Association of American Librarians today includes Chbosky's work on the list of prohibited books. In 2012, the premiere of the film "It's Good to Be Quiet" took place, directed by the author of the novel himself. At the Toronto Film Festival, the film received a special award for "Independent Spirit".

Bret Easton Ellis, American Psycho

The protagonist Patrick Bateman, a Harvard graduate and an employee of a reputable firm, becomes a maniac and begins to kill, mercilessly and haphazardly. The most detailed scenes of sex and violence described in the novel became the cause of the scandal that broke out. At the same time, Bret Easton Ellis himself received threatening letters. The first publisher chose to pay the contractual penalty, but refuse to release the novel. But even after the book was published, many bookstores did not want to see it on their shelves.

Censorship exists all over the world and books, theatrical performances and films are often subjected to its yoke. In Soviet times, literature, like many other spheres of culture, was under total control of the party leadership. Works that did not correspond to the propagandized ideology were banned, and it was possible to read them only in samizdat or taking out a copy bought abroad and secretly brought to the Land of the Soviets.