Getting Rid of Bush
It seems it is necessary to get rid of Bush–from your novel. Nancy Huston’s Lignes de faille will need to have the parts about Bush and the war in Iraq excised from its English language edition to be published in the US. Huston has said that “contemporary America is reproducing the worst traits of Nazi Germany. I believe we are in a pretotalitarian state.” Her publishers here have said that, in differing from the French who find anti-Bush statements more palatable, they’re taking the “long view.”
Thanks, Liz Blum.
The article hit close to home because my novel, which is being brought out by Picador India, is under consideration in the US, and there are parts that deal with the pornography of war in Iraq. A man dying beside the Ganges reads the newspaper in the hospital and dreams of rats in distant Iraq. I’ll have to look at the MS more closely but I don’t recall Bush being described as a hero in those pages.
That’s scary. Here in Malaysia, where I live, books including those from the Spongebob Squarepants series, ones on breastfeeding and Midnight’s Children have recently been “restricted” — and bloggers have been trying to muster up public awareness of this. I don’t know what’s worse, really — arbitrary and irrelevant censorship, or chillingly precise censorship, as in tha case of Huston’s book.
All the best for you novel.
Comment by Sharanya — November 6, 2006 @ 11:27 am
Amitava-bhai, I want the Indian edition of your book only.
Once I receive it, I will check to see how favorable your portrayal of the Sitting President is, and I will report back to you.
Comment by Teju — November 6, 2006 @ 12:31 pm