Bothayna Al-Essa

I loved this book. It's well-written, creative, and oh-so-timely.

The events of this story happen sometime in the future, in a place that would be pointless to name, since it resembles every other place. -Author's note

An unnamed man has been hired as a book censor for the Government. Since the Revolution, many things have been banned: the internet, poetry, cars, art, and any books that make mention of forbidden things. In the Book Censor's Manual for Correct Reading, he is instructed to look for three words in particular: God, Government, and Sex. At first, he is tested with drivel that bores him to tears, but is permissible. His first test with a book that should be banned is [Zorba the Greek]. But the problem is that he loves this book. Is there a way to allow it to be circulated? If not, is there a way to save it from the Purification Day pyres?

At home, the book censor has an increasingly dangerous problem. His daughter is displaying alarming signs of imagination. She is convinced a wolf with a grandma in its stomach resides in her closet, she sprinkles "fairy dust" on her head, and she wants to wear princess dresses and sparkly red shoes. If her proclivities for stories and imaginary friends is discovered, she could taken away to a Rehabilitation Center. His life is coming apart at the seams.

There is so much in this little book to love: white rabbits infesting the Book Censor's office, quotes from dystopian classics, an opening scene reminiscent of one of my favorite books, [Too Loud a Solitude]. The author is able to build on well-known dystopian tropes, combining them into an imaginative, fresh story. Her writing is crisp, the pacing is quick, and the characters are well-drawn in concise scenes. At times I had to laugh—one of the forbidden phrases in the manual is "peaceful transfer of power"—and yet it strikes close to home with book banning on the rise in the US and elsewhere. I highly recommend this book to anyone who loves books and reading. Isn't that all of us?… (more)

I really enjoyed this dystopian novel about the power of books and reading. It reminds me of 1984, which it references, and is just as chilling. The unnamed book censor lives in a society where imagination and original thought are crimes. In this world there are three tenets: 1. Human existence is suffering; 2. The root of suffering is desire; and 3. The root of desire is imagination." Book censors are responsible for removing any book that inspires thought, but the job is dangerous: "What if a book swallowed him? What about his ongoing exposure to poisonous thoughts? What if he were to become entrapped by a novel and left unfit to live in the real world?" The more the book censor reads, the more he begins to question his life.

Al-Essa creates an oppressive atmosphere yet also has fun with some of the books deemed "dangerous." I think most readers will enjoy this novel.… (more)