Some of the books that were published in the past got banned due to various reasons. As a book collector, you would be interested in getting to know about these banned books. When you are going through the stories behind these books, you will get surprised to hear the reasons why they got banned as well.
These books have a high demand from rare book collectors as only a limited number of copies were released to the public. Reading books gives you the knowledge that you seek. Read American psycho book and you will learn new aspects of life.
Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
Lolita is a book that got banned due to the nature of the content written in it. Most of the people who read this book ended up disappointed. That’s because the book presented a bitter-hearted story that is related to American values that existed in 20th Century. Among the content, you can also find several erotic passages as well. However, the controversial subject highlighted by this book forced the authorities to implement a ban on the book. As a result, the book was completely banned in numerous countries, such as the United Kingdom and France.
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie
The Satanic Verses were banned while issuing a death warrant to the owner. Therefore, it is one of the most controversial books that we are going to present on this list. A limited number of modern books that are available for sale come along with absurd publication histories. Due to the same reason, Salman Rushdie had to go to Iran and hide as well. Even the Japanese translator of this book got killed. The book was then found to be burning in the streets of Britain.
Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller
Tropic of Cancer written by Henry Miller was one of the most popular books. Henry Miller was a person who had frank sexuality. He highlighted it through the Tropic of Cancer book. Due to the same reason, the book became quite popular as well. Lots of people got the opportunity to go through it. The content written within this book was once described by a Judge in Pennsylvania as an open sever. Due to the same reason, authorities were forced to implement a ban on this book as well. This is one of the most controversial sexual books that were published as well.
All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque
Most of the books that were published in Europe ended up in the Nazi book burning bonfires. However, some of the books could survive. They included books from Albert Einstein, Thomas Mann, and Kafka. During this time period, we could also see how many books got banned. Among those books that got banned, All Quiet on the Western Front holds a prominent place. The National Socialists noticed that this book is offering unpatriotic content. As a result, they were forced to ban this book. Almost all the copies of the book were destroyed as well.
Ulysses by James Joyce
Ulysses written by James Joyce can be considered one of the highbrow books to be published. That’s mainly due to the masturbation references that were included in the book. The section which contained such content was declared inappropriate by the courts. As a result, the author was forced to remove the section. However, it was later found out that many other parts of the book contain content related to somewhat controversial topics. In fact, the passages were filled with filth. Hence, the United States and the United Kingdom went ahead and banned Ulysses’ book during the 1930s. The United States Postal Service even took appropriate measures to burn all the copies of the book that were being sent in the mail.
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
The Brave New World book was written by Aldous Huxley in order to showcase how it is like to be living in a world that is built upon artificial comfort. This world is filled with sensors, exploitation, and braveness. In Ireland, people noticed that Brave New World is sharing content that is against their religion. Moreover, they also noticed that the content in the book is offensive to the concepts that are related to the traditional family. The author has used offensive language throughout the book as well. In the meantime, people in India started calling Aldous Huxley a pornographer because of the way how he has depicted some of the concepts within Brave New World book. Due to these reasons, the book was banned in numerous countries across the world.
Related Article: Fbise Past Papers
Lady Chatterley’s Lover by D.H. Lawrence
Lady Chatterley’s Lover was a book that was able to introduce a seismic change to society. D.H. Lawrence decided to publish this book privately in Italy back in the year 1928. However, Penguin, which is the publisher of the book decided to make it a worldwide publication in the year 1960. Along with that, the book received a lot of attention. This even resulted in one of the most famous trials in the history of literature as well. During the trial, the book publisher E.M. Froster was asked whether he would mind allowing his wife or servants to read the book. This book was banned after the trial.
Animal Farm, George Orwell
George Orwell decided to write the book titled Animal Farm in order to showcase the brutality of communism. Due to the same reason, this book received lots of negative comments from nations that had communism. The book was immediately banned within USSR. The ban on the book was lifted along with the fall of the Berlin wall. However, Animal Farm book is still banned in North Korea and Cuba. They have banned this book for the same reasons as the Soviets.
As you can see, there have been reasons for these books to get banned. However, it will not the authors stop writing books on such controversial topics in the future.