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misssusan's review against another edition
3.0
well written essay on book banning, censorship, and hill's reasons for opposing the both of them
i particularly like that he wrote this with consideration of the perspective of those who might challenge a book and how freedom of speech interacts with responsible speech
i might pass this on to my old library theory prof, it does a good job of clearly explaining why censorship must be opposed
3 stars
i particularly like that he wrote this with consideration of the perspective of those who might challenge a book and how freedom of speech interacts with responsible speech
i might pass this on to my old library theory prof, it does a good job of clearly explaining why censorship must be opposed
3 stars
jasonvpurcell's review against another edition
4.0
A thoughtful, clever, and honest examination of book censorship and race in literature. Great voice and exploration.
elizabethlk's review against another edition
4.0
I am strongly opposed to the banning, burning, or otherwise censoring of perfectly good books. Or even perfectly awful books. Regardless, this title caught my eye, and I grabbed a copy at the library (and I would like to note that Freedom to Read Week starts a week from now here in Canada, so it's only slightly off timing on my part).
Lawrence Hill shares a letter from a man outraged by the title "The Book of Negroes" in the Netherlands, who wrote to inform him that he would be burning his book. He uses this letter to start a conversation with readers. He looks at censorship, racism, and and the politics surrounding race in various countries. Ultimately he comes to the conclusion that while he can understand why someone might want to burn or ban a book, and even to an understanding of why this particular letter writer would be so opposed to his particular novel, he cannot abide the burning of books. A good read all around.
I definitely enjoyed this essay, and would recommend it happily. It is a short read, so nothing too daunting to get your hands on, and perfectly appropriate for Freedom to Read week. It also reminds me of how much I want to read some of Hill's other works, the Book of Negroes in particular (but not only).
Lawrence Hill shares a letter from a man outraged by the title "The Book of Negroes" in the Netherlands, who wrote to inform him that he would be burning his book. He uses this letter to start a conversation with readers. He looks at censorship, racism, and and the politics surrounding race in various countries. Ultimately he comes to the conclusion that while he can understand why someone might want to burn or ban a book, and even to an understanding of why this particular letter writer would be so opposed to his particular novel, he cannot abide the burning of books. A good read all around.
I definitely enjoyed this essay, and would recommend it happily. It is a short read, so nothing too daunting to get your hands on, and perfectly appropriate for Freedom to Read week. It also reminds me of how much I want to read some of Hill's other works, the Book of Negroes in particular (but not only).
ketonks's review against another edition
5.0
"Literature should bring us into the same room - not over matches, but over coffee and conversation. It should inspire recognition of our mutual humanity. Together." An excellent analysis of censorship and the importance of context and open dialogue.
musicalknitter's review against another edition
5.0
This is a fascinating lecture and gave me lots to think about. I am a library technician and don’t believe in censorship as everyone should have the choice about whether or not they wish to read a book. It was interesting reading about all the sides of the story but the thing that bothered me the most, and often does in censorship cases, is that the person doing the book burning (as a form of censorship) hadn’t even read the book. If you are going to pass a judgement on a book, at least have the courtesy to read it so you can make your own judgement.
charlottejones952's review against another edition
2.0
When searching for books by Canadian authors on Scribd, I came across this essay from Lawrence Hill and was intrigued by the title. Having read Black Klansman recently, I wanted to learn more about the motivation behind book burning and how it is seen from an author's perspective.
This was a very short essay at just 56 pages and mostly spoke about attitudes towards slavery and race in both the Netherlands and Canada. It also discussed a letter that Hill received regarding a man's intention to burn his book, The Book of Negroes. Seeing this practice from an author's perspective I could feel the frustration emanating from the page. However, I feel like this topic is something that can't be skimmed over. As a lecture, which is what this was originally, I am sure this would have been powerful but on the page, it lacked detail.
Overall I really enjoyed Lawrence Hill's writing and will definitely be exploring more of his work but this was a little too short to fully get into the topic. I would recommend this as an introduction to the topic but if you are looking for something more detailed, this probably won't be what you're looking for.
2 out of 5 stars!
This was a very short essay at just 56 pages and mostly spoke about attitudes towards slavery and race in both the Netherlands and Canada. It also discussed a letter that Hill received regarding a man's intention to burn his book, The Book of Negroes. Seeing this practice from an author's perspective I could feel the frustration emanating from the page. However, I feel like this topic is something that can't be skimmed over. As a lecture, which is what this was originally, I am sure this would have been powerful but on the page, it lacked detail.
Overall I really enjoyed Lawrence Hill's writing and will definitely be exploring more of his work but this was a little too short to fully get into the topic. I would recommend this as an introduction to the topic but if you are looking for something more detailed, this probably won't be what you're looking for.
2 out of 5 stars!