On August 24, 2011, a New Jersey school district announced that it was removing from it’s summer reading list the novel NORWEGIAN WOOD by Haruki Murakami, published by Vintage Books in 2000. Citing objections from parents about inappropriate language and graphic sex, the school board withdrew its original approval of the novel, which had been placed on the list by its own committee of area teachers, librarians, and school administrators.
In response to this action, Knopf has issued the following statement:
“We are disheartened to learn about the action by a New Jersey school district to remove a book from its required reading list due to objections from a group of concerned parents. The novel, NORWEGIAN WOOD by Haruki Murakami, was originally selected for the list based on suggestions by teachers, librarians, and administrators within the district, and the list was approved by the board of education. It is unfortunate the parents felt the need to dismiss such an important work of fiction and regrettable the school district would succumb to such pressure and disregard the recommendation of its own professional educators.”
Haruki Murakami’s latest novel, 1Q84, will be published by Knopf in October.
Media Resources:
About the book | Author bio | Excerpt | Reader’s Guide
Contact:
Paul Bogaards | 212-572-2177 | pbogaards@randomhouse.com
“On rare occasion, we have situations where a piece of material is not what it appears to be on the surface and the material is totally inappropriate for a school library. In that case, yes, it is appropriate to remove materials. If it doesn’t fit your material selection policy, get it out of there.”
“Marking 25 Years of Banned Books Week,” by Judith Krug, Curriculum Review, 46:1, Sep. 2006.
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-151548027.html
It is hypocritical of Knopf to complain about censorship. Knopf censored material in the English version of the novel Grotesque, and it took out an entire chapter from the English version of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle.
What do these parents make of the sex and violence contained within Shakespeare? Thomas Hardy? D. H. Lawrence? Are these the same group of people who don’t believe in science and Evolution?
Go ahead. Ban this book. Strike it from your list of recommended summer reads. That will only inspire a new legion of readers to find it in the most secret of places – bookstores and on the world wide web – to seek it out and read it. Honestly, I read it six months ago and until the New Jersey school district deemed it inappropriate, I could not have told you that there was any scene in the whole novel that was homoerotic. Oh well. Good luck in your crusades school district! Next up: witches!
This is a travesty. Norwegian Wood is a brilliant book, and as the mother of a high school junior who is unhappily reading Grapes of Wrath as her summer book, I WISH she had Norwegian Wood as an option. Our teens are dealing with sex and inappropriate language already, and they are also dealing with death and depression, suicide and alcohol. Why not give them a book that faces that squarely so everyone can talk about it openly? Stop burying your heads in the sand!