My first thought on this topic is that these two options are not mutually exclusive. As in many things, balance is the best way, but when reading books, it's fairly clear that some focus almost exclusively on one or the other. Some reviews also indicate that some readers so deeply subscribe to the idea that art should reflect society that they reject anything that hints of a different way of being other than what they consider to be the norm, even if that behaviour is positive. On the other hand, some books I have read are so determined to show an enlightened world that the characters and subject matter are very hard to relate to or come across as preachy. Avoiding sounding preachy is something any author trying to show an enlightened world view must grapple with. As readers it's a good idea to examine our views on this because it alters how we respond to books, and if the majority of people want art primarily to reflect society, then the kind of fiction (books &movies) that … [Read more...]
Review : Book of Mercy by Sherry Roberts
Title: Book of Mercy Author: Sherry Roberts Publisher: www.osmyrrahpublishing.com Publication date: September 2011 Category : Fiction/Contemporary Women/ Humor/Relationships The Book of Mercy is a truly beautiful, heart-warming novel on book censorship, the nature of love, motherhood and friendship. I loved this book from the first page to the end, which had me in tears of joy - I’m a softy. When a group of influential women decide to remove “undesirable” books from the school library, Antigone Brown, a woman with dyslexia who keeps a stone in her pocket to help her remember right from left and despairs of ever being a good mother to her unborn child stands up for people’s rights to determine what they will read rather than having a bunch of self appointed guardians of local morality do it for them. Antigone ponders: how do we protect our children from the world but save the world for our children? The story strips the issue of censorship down to its bare bones of power and control … [Read more...]
