>>>>>>Got some emails today warning about the movie The Golden Compass. Frankly, I will see the movie (to judge for myself and perhaps just for entertainment) but I'll wait for the DVD. However, for anyone who is interested in the books behind the movie, I found this on Snopes:
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http://snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp>>>>>
>>>>>Such letters and critics always make me wish to saw what they denied :-)
>>>>>Now for sure I'll buy the books :-)
>>>>>This is something like "Da Vinchi code" and all polemics about it.
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>>>>They will never get it through their heads that the best ways to make kids (or anyone) read a book is by banning it, removing it from a library due to it's being subversive in some way (especially religiously).
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>>>Or this is one good advertisement :o)
>>>If this is so, it works, it makes me buy books :-)
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>>A perfect example of this is Salman Rushdie's "The Satanic Verses". This was his 4th book, but until Iran went crazy over it, how many people ever heard of him? I'd be willing to bet that if nobody had said anything against the book or Rushdie, the number of people aware of him and his books wouldn't have changed much. Instead, he is a major figure in literature.
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>I tried to read it. Its (to me) unreadable. Plus I think he's an a___hole. Spent a lot of time in the US complaining about the UK while we where giving him 24/7 protection. He knew he was sticking a stick in the wasps nest so maybe he should have been up for dealing with the outcome.
You're preaching to the choir. I think there is good reason to believe that Rushdie would have continued to be relatively unknown if it hadn't been for all the fuss. As far as being an a_hole, well, a person can be an a_hole and still have talent. Judging by the "Satanic Verses", I think his talent leaves something to be desired.
Having said that. I have to admit that it might just be that he was unknown only in the western world. I can't speak for how well he may have been known at home. He did win a Booker for one of his novels (which I admit to never having read).
