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The Book Censor's Library
The Book Censor's Library | Bothayna Al-Essa
7 posts | 4 read | 7 to read
A perilous and fantastical satire of banned books, secret archives, and the looming eye of an all-powerful government. The new book censor hasn't slept soundly in weeks. By day he combs through manuscripts at a government office, looking for anything that would make a book unfit to publish--allusions to queerness, unapproved religions, any mention of life before the Revolution. By night the characters of literary classics crowd his dreams, and pilfered novels pile up in the house he shares with his wife and daughter. As the siren song of forbidden reading continues to beckon, he descends into a netherworld of resistance fighters, undercover booksellers, and outlaw librarians trying to save their history and culture. Reckoning with the global threat to free speech and the bleak future it all but guarantees, Bothayna Al-Essa marries the steely dystopia of Orwell's 1984 with the madcap absurdity of Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, resulting in a dreadful twist worthy of Kafka. The Book Censor's Library is a warning call and a love letter to stories and the delicious act of losing oneself in them.
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bookishbitch
The Book Censor's Library | Bothayna Al-Essa
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Pickpick

Once the book censor reads a book that captures his imagination, he is lost. A victim of new thoughts that worm their way in. It leads him to ask questions about existence and colors his experiences in a new way. This becomes dangerous because the more he reads, the further down the rabbit hole he goes. And real reading is illegal. His journey includes trying to save his daughter from her "affliction" of imagination. The ending leaves you wanting.

review
vlwelser
The Book Censor's Library | Bothayna Al-Essa
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Pickpick

I'll read anything with a rabbit on the cover. Go ahead and judge me. Bunnies are awesome and I will defend this opinion. This book is also quite great. Very big brother meets Fahrenheit 451.

#BookSpinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

TheBookHippie 😂😂😂😂😂 1d
MemoirsForMe 😄🐇🐇🐇🙌🏻 1d
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! 1d
44 likes3 comments
quote
bookishbitch
The Book Censor's Library | Bothayna Al-Essa
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"What about the department head? How come he gets to keep the books he banned?" The question tumbled out before he could stop it.
"People who make the rules are allowed to break them."
"It's not fair"

DogMomIrene A truth universally accepted… by those in power 😠 1w
bookishbitch @DogMomIrene definitely! 1w
10 likes2 comments
blurb
bookishbitch
The Book Censor's Library | Bothayna Al-Essa
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My daughter and I went out for some retail therapy and to commiserate. I got this because it sounded interesting and timely.

BarbaraBB It‘s a fun read! 2w
DogMomIrene That looks good! 2w
bookishbitch @BarbaraBB oh I'm so glad! @DogMomIrene that's what I thought too! 2w
18 likes1 stack add3 comments
review
BarbaraBB
The Book Censor's Library | Bothayna Al-Essa
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Pickpick

You can ban books but you can‘t ban people‘s imagination. That‘s the takeaway for me from this super original novel. It‘s the story of a book censor in a dystopian future who can‘t resist the books he has to read - and ban. Distracted by rabbits with watches the book turns into a kind of Alice in Wonderland like story. The censor and I as a reader had no idea what was real or what wasn‘t. A good book from this Kuwait author.

Leftcoastzen Beautiful Bonsai! 3w
BarbaraBB @Leftcoastzen Thank you! I just bought it so I hope to keep it that way 🙏 3w
squirrelbrain Sounds very intriguing. 🤔 3w
See All 7 Comments
sarahbarnes Great review! And bonsai! 3w
Hooked_on_books I LOVED this one! So good. Definitely a best of the year for me. 3w
BarbaraBB @Hooked_on_books Your review made me read it. And I am glad I did! 3w
Hooked_on_books Hooray! 🥳 3w
60 likes2 stack adds7 comments
review
Hooked_on_books
The Book Censor's Library | Bothayna Al-Essa
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Pickpick

I read the NBA longlists because I know I‘ll read some really great books. And if I‘m lucky, I‘ll come across one that‘s extraordinary. And that‘s this one. This book explores book banning and the fight against it in a way that has lightness and whimsy. I loved this book. One of my best of the year for sure.

NBA longlist, translated literature

catiewithac Your dog 🩷🐾 2mo
Librarybelle I‘ll definitely have to read this! 2mo
Texreader @catiewithac Ditto! And is that a bunny plushie? Cute!! 2mo
Hooked_on_books @Texreader It‘s actually an elephant. It‘s very cute. My husband is addicted to buying toys for Bindi (she‘ll play with empty boxes and bottles, so I say buy fewer, but I get overruled) and he picked that out. I admit to liking it. 2mo
53 likes3 stack adds4 comments
quote
Hooked_on_books
The Book Censor's Library | Bothayna Al-Essa
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🔥

Librarybelle This is such a good quote! 2mo
Hooked_on_books @Librarybelle It stopped me in my tracks! I love it when I book can do that. I‘m halfway through this one and loving it. 2mo
Librarybelle I had not heard of this book, so thanks for posting about this! 2mo
Suet624 Damn. 2mo
36 likes1 stack add4 comments