The Current Discussion: A London publishing house was firebombed for agreeing to publish 'The Jewel of Medina', a controversial novel about Muhammad's wife, which Random House dropped earlier this year because it feared terrorist threats. In hindsight, was Random House in the right? Does this justify censorship of this kind in the future?
Publishers all over the world are happy when they can foretell that a future publication might stir the waters and result in some scandal - maybe the author or the book will be mentioned in the tabloids. From that point of view, any controversial novel is a welcome blessing. But from the point of view of the safety of the publisher, his family, his employees and their families, the controversial novels that may lead to terrorist attacks are dangerous stuff, indeed.
Rejecting a novel is always a kind of censorship. Somebody (a lector, an editor) makes the decision that the readers should not, and will not, have a chance to get acquainted with the text in question. The decision-maker can be right or wrong. We'll never know - unless another publisher takes on the responsibility and the trouble and publishes the book.
Why do we expect book publishers to be any more courageous than the rest of us? Nobody with normal common sense would endanger himself or his beloved because of a book, even if the author would win the Nobel Prize for it. That would be the author's reward, not the publisher's. And yet there are quite a number of courageous writers who do not give a damn about terrorist threats. Salman Rushdie, for one, has lived under serious threat for years now. (Why he hasn't yet received the Nobel Prize is really beyond me.)
All in all, it is easy to cry censorship at any decision of any publishing house in the world. But without reading the manuscript, it is hard to tell whether Random House was right. There are oeuvres that are worth some trouble, and others worth any trouble.
Ladies and Gentlemen, have any of you read "The Jewel of Medina" already? Was it any good? Or just controversial? (Answers to be sent via e-mail to PostGlobal, postglobal@washingtonpost.com.)
Please e-mail PostGlobal if you'd like to receive an email notification when PostGlobal sends out a new question.
Email This Post to a Friend | Del.icio.us | Digg | Facebook | Email the Author
