Tuesday, April 29, 2014

Six famously banned books

Seth Satterlee named six famously banned books for PWxyz, the news blog of Publishers Weekly, including:
The lesser the power, the more creative the retribution. After publication of [Graham] Greene’s 1966 novel set in Haiti, The Comedians, François “Papa Doc” Duvalier denounced the book as propaganda and declared Greene Haiti’s Public Enemy Number 1. Running out of ideas, Duvalier commissioned his Ministry of Foreign Affairs to print a repudiation: “Graham Greene Finally Exposed.” Suffice it to say, the pamphlet wasn’t nearly as convincing as The Comedians.
Read about the other books on the list.

The Comedians is among Paul French's five best books on the misadventures of expatriates and Amy Wilentz's ten best books on Haiti.

--Marshal Zeringue