I have been getting my February books together for my review this month. Remember, last month I said I would try to stay on track. So here I am. My blog is starting to look like a blog just for books but let me assure you, I have lots of other stories to share with you this year, but first the books. Last month was a good month for me. I read some beautiful books, and then as I was reading, oh my word, I discovered that I was reading one of the books that had been banned some time ago. Now that got me thinking as I continued to read and then to get my book pile ready and photographed. As Daisy was helping me with the photos, it came to me, Peyton Place, needed its own space. And I needed to talk about banned books. So that is where we are today.
BANNED BOOKS? I don’t think so. Who decides what we can read and what we can’t? As far as I’m concerned, I’m the only one that should be making that decision for me. I don’t need help deciding what books I want to read and should be allowed to read. Whatever book I choose is what I am going to read. Now, when it comes to kids, maybe young adults, that one is tricky, perhaps there are some books that are banned for specific ages, but only by their parents, NOT BY THE GOVERNMENT. But here we are, with a list of prohibited books chosen for us by some “official” that probably doesn’t even read, deciding what our brains are capable of absorbing, and understanding, and if it’s even healthy for us to do. I’m also willing to bet that those “officials” have not read the books that they assume are unhealthy for our tiny minds…and this has been bothering me, an avid reader, for a while now. Actually, since I first heard of this in the news again, yes, it has come up over the years, but this time, it is ridiculous. Let me explain to you why I feel this way.
I just finished reading Peyton Place. I did not go looking for this book. My son had given me a gift certificate to a tiny bookstore in Camden, Maine. When I was in Camden late last summer, I decided to spend some time at the Owl & Turtle Bookshop and Cafe. It’s a very small bookshop but oh so lovely. I checked out the new bestsellers, and there were some good ones, but nothing caught my eye. I continued to wander, and just as I turned the corner, I saw it, Peyton Place…just sitting there on the end cap. It stirred a memory of long ago for me. I read the back cover, 1956, straitlaced New England, the social anatomy of a small New England town. I was nine years old when this book came out, and I live in New England. I had heard of this book growing up, but probably not when I was nine; I didn’t think I had ever read it. Maybe I did when I was in high school, but by the time I got there, the drama about it must have died down. I was ready now, though. I wanted to see what all the hype was back then. Although it was never wholly banned in the United States it was banned in both Canada and Ireland for being obscene and indecent and in several cities in the U.S. and for a complete debasement of taste in New Hampshire, where it is set.
Notes from the ’50s….”Socially aspiring parents would nod proudly as we toted around with us schoolhouse Literature: books whose very absence from the best-seller list confirmed their literary distinction and our high purpose. Only gradually, however, did it dawn on us that many of these admirers of good literature were themselves either in some confusion over the exact boundaries of the middlebrow or else travelers on a literary road we had not yet discovered. Hidden under beds, behind bookshelves, and in private drawers, my friends and I discovered the artifacts of our parent’s silent rebellion against “good literature”: Forever Amber, Naked Came the Stranger, Mandingo, Kings Row, A Room in Paris and the most explosive of all Peyton Place. “ This quote was taken from the inside cover by Ardis Cameron, who introduced this new edition. I was impressed with the introduction, and yes, I will also check out those other books. So that is basically where it started, but here is what I thought when I read the book.
This book took me back to my childhood and home and almost the same way we were brought up. It wasn’t all perfect, and women were running the show back then, but they were smart enough not to let the men know. It reminded me of tough times and united times within neighborhoods and families. Jobs were hard to come by, but alcohol was free-flowing, which was a problem. And there were secrets; most eventually got out but not all. I was again reminded of the language of the ’50s and ’60s. Not pretty for sure, and yes, insulting to people of color, but when I think back on my family, it was never for derogatory purposes that I was aware of. Not nice, though, and I’m glad that has all changed. I loved and could relate to the characters. Metalious wrote about New England as if she must have lived there. She actually did. Growing up in New Hampshire. Sections of town were poor, and also there were bullies…I think I might have been one of them for a short time. Each man, woman, and child saves him or herself. There were town drunks and old maids. And as I read this book, I remembered them. They were good people. On the other side of town is where the rich lived. We didn’t cross the line. And when problems did arise, we kept them within the family so that no one would get talked about. New Englanders were decisive, though. They made their way, worked hard for what they had, and appreciated the raw beauty of the land. It was a time when some households were headed by the mother but disciplined by the grandmother. That was my house also. This story is my history and the history of those days. What a shame it would be if we lost our history. I hope my kids read this book someday so that they will understand the times that their Dad and I lived in.
It was a great story. A drama is beautifully written from my perspective, and I couldn’t wait to get back to it each night. It’s deep and rich. Strong and powerful. Sad in some places and happy in others. I also love a book with an ending that you never saw coming.
“It’s real life seen through the eyes of a young writer living in those days. There might be parts that outrage you, but she never bores you. The book did have a sequel and also a television show. Grace Metalious never lived to see an episode. At the age of 39, she died suddenly of chronic liver damage. It would have been wonderful to see how far she could have gone in her writing. It really is much more than I could even write about here. “To reread Peyton Place is to rediscover more than a lost best-seller. It is to find as well a route into what the historian CarolynSteedman has called “ Landscape for a Good Woman” -a place of hidden secrets, of emotional bits and pieces, of consciousness, cut off from the rituals of certainty, of stunted and shrouded lives. When asked to write a short autobiography for the usual author’s file at Messner, Metalious was brief: “I was born. I married. I reproduced.” It is the classic testimony of a Good Woman. It is our good luck that Grace Metalious turned it into a “bad” book.” Again the words of Ardis Cameron.
So in closing, I would say that I am happy that this book was not denied to me to read. I found pieces of myself and of my days growing up in this book. Others will find something different. I also saw strong women throughout the book. My family was a family of strong women. I was able to visualize growing up again in the beauty of New England. That never changes. I will continue to rally against banned books for those and so many other reasons. Books, any and every book, are a history lesson of the times in which it was written. And if we are lucky enough to live long enough, we can judge those times by the times we now live in. Looking back, we had our problems, but from where I stand today, I would have to say we were the lucky ones. With all of our problems, it was neighbors helping neighbors and family sticking together. Fighting for justice and, more often than not, finding it. And most importantly, problems were never solved with the violence we see today. And in my entire growing up, I heard of one accidental child shooting. We had issues, but they seem small now compared to these times. One has to wonder, is that why there are those who now want to ban the history of our country? You decide for yourself…Keep reading, and if you get a chance, read a few banned books. Don’t let anyone deny a book, and re-write the history of this country. Look back, and learn about the times your elders lived through; banning a book will never change the past, but it might help us to understand the future.
This is a list of banned books as of now…I see some good ones in there. Who would deny Stephan King? The funny thing is I’ve read most of those books—only a few left to go.
“My first thought after I finish an amazing book:
”Well, this sucks. What the hell am I supposed to do now?””
