Margo Alarms British Parents (hooray!)
Controversy is, of course, a great way to sell a book.
Given that I utterly adore Margo Lanagan's brutal fairy tale novel Tender Morsels and believe that it's one of the most important fantasy novels of the last decade, I should be utterly delighted by this article in the Observer.
According to the headline, parents are "alarmed over sex assault in children's novel," though if you read the actual article, no parental quotes are cited. The writer merely suggests in the first paragraph that the use of the word "slut" on the first page (which Margo has said elsewhere was intended to warn people what kind of book it was) and the sex scene between a witch and a dwarf might be seen as an 'end to children's literature.'
The actual quoted respondents to the book are mostly children's authors [the words YA or Young Adult are never mentioned in the article].
Anne Fine: "If you look at online reviews, nearly all the parents think it is quite unsuitable. Many of the children loved the book but among the girls, a lot of them found it frightening or even repulsive... I have to wonder generally whether a children's publisher does not sometimes have a responsibility to stop and say that although a shocking new book will make money, and even be popular, it does not have what the Americans call 'redeeming social importance'."
Again, references to children, without age references, suggests that we could be talking about anyone from 7 to 17 year olds. Bit of a difference, Anne. Also, how patronising is that last sentence?
Phillip Pullman: "I don't think there should be areas that children's books can't deal with. Why should there be, given that children are likely to encounter much stronger subjects in real life, ranging from divorce - which once used to be something terrible and awful that you must not talk about - to drug trafficking and sex?"
Much better and much more on target - as you would expect for someone who understands the difference between books teenagers might read and those for nine-year-olds - Pullman also makes some fair points about cover art and how it can be used to inform reader expectation.
There are also some nice quotes from the publisher, and from Michael Rosen.
I am just a touch boggled that nowhere in the article does it make it clear that the two different editions are aimed at adults and teenagers. Surely there is a YA culture in Britain like in the US and Australia?
EDIT: Margo responds to the Observer article.
Given that I utterly adore Margo Lanagan's brutal fairy tale novel Tender Morsels and believe that it's one of the most important fantasy novels of the last decade, I should be utterly delighted by this article in the Observer.
According to the headline, parents are "alarmed over sex assault in children's novel," though if you read the actual article, no parental quotes are cited. The writer merely suggests in the first paragraph that the use of the word "slut" on the first page (which Margo has said elsewhere was intended to warn people what kind of book it was) and the sex scene between a witch and a dwarf might be seen as an 'end to children's literature.'
The actual quoted respondents to the book are mostly children's authors [the words YA or Young Adult are never mentioned in the article].
Anne Fine: "If you look at online reviews, nearly all the parents think it is quite unsuitable. Many of the children loved the book but among the girls, a lot of them found it frightening or even repulsive... I have to wonder generally whether a children's publisher does not sometimes have a responsibility to stop and say that although a shocking new book will make money, and even be popular, it does not have what the Americans call 'redeeming social importance'."
Again, references to children, without age references, suggests that we could be talking about anyone from 7 to 17 year olds. Bit of a difference, Anne. Also, how patronising is that last sentence?
Phillip Pullman: "I don't think there should be areas that children's books can't deal with. Why should there be, given that children are likely to encounter much stronger subjects in real life, ranging from divorce - which once used to be something terrible and awful that you must not talk about - to drug trafficking and sex?"
Much better and much more on target - as you would expect for someone who understands the difference between books teenagers might read and those for nine-year-olds - Pullman also makes some fair points about cover art and how it can be used to inform reader expectation.
There are also some nice quotes from the publisher, and from Michael Rosen.
I am just a touch boggled that nowhere in the article does it make it clear that the two different editions are aimed at adults and teenagers. Surely there is a YA culture in Britain like in the US and Australia?
EDIT: Margo responds to the Observer article.