Unabashedly Bookish

[#1]

With conversations relating to Banned Books Week still fresh on my mind – did you know that Where's Waldo? by Martin Hanford was one of the most frequently challenged books of the last decade? – I picked up Adam Pepper’s newest release this weekend, a bizarro fiction novella entitled Super Fetus. Essentially the story of a self-aware fetus whose morally bankrupt mother (at 22 years of age, she already has three children from three different men, one of whom is her own father!) is desperately trying to abort him, this darkly humorous novella will surely appall and upset a sizable percentage of people who read it.

I’ve read Pepper’s work before (2003’s Memoria) and he seems to relish exploring the boundaries of hot-button topics with a decidedly twisted sense of humor – the existence of a soul and an afterlife in Memoria and abortion in Super Fetus – so I wasn’t overly offended as I read his latest: it was enthralling in a strangely horrific, darkly comedic way…. And even though he included an Author’s Note in the beginning of the book denying that Super Fetus was intended as a social statement, there is no way that I can look at this story as anything but in-your-face, allegorical social commentary. After the nameless fetus realizes his mother’s intentions – “My mommy is trying to kill me.” – he must fight off abortion clinic vacuums, surgical tongs and scalpels, and after all of those efforts to end his life fail, he is viciously attacked by his own coat hanger wielding mother. The tagline on the book’s back cover says it all: “Too tough to be aborted, Super Fetus fights back!”

Reading this controversial work of speculative fiction got me thinking about all of the science fiction and fantasy books that have been banned and/or challenged from libraries, schools, etc. over the last few decades: Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, Huxley’s Brave New World, Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 45, Rowling’s Harry Potter saga, Lowry’s The Giver, even Dav Pilkey’s The Adventures of Captain Underpants! Most of these titles are unarguably classic works of literature.

My issue here isn’t so much with the banning of a particular book as it is with the overall attitude – or condition – of humankind. Why is it that when faced with a book that may not fit in precisely with one’s personal worldview, some choose to ban, prohibit or outlaw that book? Narrow-mindedness is such a terrible affliction – and it’s made even more heartbreaking because those that chose to outlaw books like Slaughterhouse-Five and Brave New World just may be those who would benefit the most from reading them! That’s why I cherish seeking out and reading books like Super Fetus. I may not agree with or particularly enjoy every book I read but it’s a glorious feeling to have the opportunity to experience the philosophies, hopes, dreams and/or visions of those who may see the world differently than I do. What a great way to not only more clearly understand yourself but to also educate yourself and broaden your mind – by reading novels that challenge, enlighten, provoke, consider, question… One of my favorite quotes is oh so fitting here: “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” – Thomas Merton So, in conclusion, I’d like to personally thank each and every author who has ever written a novel or story that someone, somewhere has tried to prohibit or ban in any way. Adam Pepper’s Super Fetus is a perfect example – sure, there will be those out there who are disgusted and appalled by this book but there will be others who get the author’s humor, enjoy it immensely and get something out of it, be it entertainment or enlightenment. I mean, imagine a world without any of these thought-provoking books: what a sad and boring and backwards world that would be….

[#2]

Sometimes I think I like a book better when I know it has turned someone's crank.  Not quite sure why...I was always a pretty good kid so reading "banned" things was my rebel outlet.

[#3]

by Melissa_W wrote:

Sometimes I think I like a book better when I know it has turned someone's crank.  Not quite sure why...I was always a pretty good kid so reading "banned" things was my rebel outlet.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You're singing to the choir, Melissa!  

[#4]

Sometimes I think I like a book better when I know it has turned someone's crank.  Not quite sure why...I was always a pretty good kid so reading "banned" things was my rebel outlet.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You're singing to the choir, Melissa!  

[#5]

As usual, Paul, well said. Let's keep talking about this...maybe we'll get some book-denouncers-turned-freedom-of-speech-enthusiasts out of it.

[#6]

Paul,

Can I join the choir.  I agree that I'm more likely to read a book that someone else tells me its bad because I like to make up my own mind about  the book.  I will tell someone weather I like a book or not but tell them that they will have to decide for themselves.

Toni

[#7]

Paul as usual another great article, and by the way I'm a soprano.

As I've gotten older and as information is easier to come by via the world wide web etc.. I have began questioning so much of what as a young child and even young adult had taken for the truth as it was told to me in religion, history and even things in daily life.  I hate censorship of all kinds, now I do believe that there are certain things our young children shouldn't be exposed to until a certain age of which I as a parent should decide not the school district, the government or the church. And when I'm shown in detail the list of books that have been questioned or banned it just makes me shake my head. But as long as there are those closed or narrow minded people allowed to make decisions for us we will always end up in the same pot.

So any way HERE HERE to you Paul for your outward thinking, I envy the children being raised in your home.

Deb

[#8]

Thanks to Paul for all the kind and insightful comments about my book.  And more thanks for inviting me down here to add my thoughts to the discussion.  Simply being mentioned in the same paragraph with Slaughterhouse-Five, Brave New World and Fahrenheit 451 (three of my all-time favorites) gives me goose bumps.  Certainly, those books were controversial in their day, but they are still relevant today not simply because they were controversial, but because they spoke to certain timeless qualities in the human condition: fears of war, of being told what to think, of having our freedoms taken from us.  These fears linger and persevere no matter how much time passes.  For many, it’s easier to suppress these fears, ban these books rather than face them head on.

I must address Paul’s astute comment about my Author’s Note where I claim the book isn’t a social statement.  Paul called me out.  Of course it’s “in-your-face, allegorical social commentary.”  So you may ask, why preface such a brazen story with a wimpy disclaimer.  Well, I’m not Bill O’Reilly and I’m not Rachael Maddow.  My goal isn’t to take sides on the abortion debate.  Sure, the piece is inflammatory but I’d argue either side could champion this book as fuel for their fire, and frankly I don’t care.  So, why did I write it?  Okay, I admit, I wanted attention.  It’s a crowded literary landscape and I want my voice heard.  Maybe Super Fetus is the literary equivalent to Metallica turning their amplifiers up to 11 and blasting the doors off a small club, when setting them on 8 would still allow the back row to hear the music clearly.  They never apologized for the tinnitus they caused so neither will I.  But in order to really achieve literary greatness, it takes more than just shouting the loudest.  Vonnegut, Huxley and Bradbury achieved greatness by speaking to us on a gut level that yes was unsettling but more importantly it was undeniably human.  They were able to upset and inspire the reader almost simultaneously.  And through all that they also managed to entertain.

In the end, my job isn’t to take sides.  I’ll leave that to O’Reilly and Maddow.  My intention is to provoke and entertain.  Hopefully both. 

Thanks again Paul!

Adam Pepper

www.AdamPepper.com

[#9]

Adam:

Thanks for that comment – well said! Super Fetus definitely DID provoke and entertain! Hopefully this blog will compel readers who have never "experienced" Adam Pepper to do so... at their own risk, of course!    

[#10]

Wow...what a subject!   My favorite one, I might add, is creativity!  Art, art, and more art!  Who and what defines it?  All of us!!

That gut feeling when I read this article....ouch, giggle, ouch, giggle....which one shall I choose?  Boy, it's a hot bed for controversy, this subject, and why we choose subjects that hit below the belt.  Here we go, back to the mind, the heart, the soul of creations.

So much has been said about abortion, sides are taken, there becomes that great dividing line, and I do believe the artists are the ones to try and meld them together, but [sometimes], in the most uncomfortable ways.  This makes people think...it forces people to think.  The unfortunate thing is, unaware people want to be hand fed their gruel...and they don't want to chew any more than they have to. 

What comes into the minds of a creative thinker is not always for human consumption, and may only be digested by the artist.  But, it can be the most interesting places that is known to mankind.  It can go dark;  it can illuminate a room;  it can tantalizing, provoke, send the senses reeling into unthinkable realms.  To understand is to know these realms, and that's where the artist takes the blame...you really do wear your heart, soul, and mind, on your sleeve, where it visible to all, to be either accepted, or rejected.

It only takes a spark out of nowhere...and that spark can become a flame in the craw of someone's throat....We all have our past to blame, ingrained in us to either accept something so controversial, or throw it into the trash.  Tolerance bridges those lines.  The question is, will we ever bridge all of these lines?  No.  No matter the medium and how it's presented,  you'll never have everyone agree, or see your points of view.  And to paraphrase Adam Pepper....he who can make the loudest noise, is the one who is heard.  Just duck the tomatoes and eggs!

Kathy S.