Lying on the couch this afternoon watching the evening news (and yelling at the President) I started seeing several stories about the coming "Davinci Code" movie. I'ts not that I haven't thought about it before, as I work in a bookstore. However, with the upcoming release of the film, things seem to be reaching a fever pitch when it comes to the factual legitimacy of the story. If you listen to the Catholic Church, or several other religious organizations, Dan Brown is going to show up at your house, abduct you, and force feed you the story of Jesus' marriage and mortality.

What is it about this book that keeps people from seeing the "FICTION" sign above? Is it because it's a (fiction) best seller? A (fiction) best seller about Christianity? I didn't see anyone protesting when the (fictional) Left Behind series was everywhere (including Kirk Cameron's resume). Or even Left Behind: The Kids!

Another fictional book that made a big fuss in 2005, "A Million Little Pieces" has also been denounced. I can actually understand the furor around this somewhat better as it was sold as non-fiction. However, given the fact that we sell non-fiction as well as fiction, does it make a big difference? A story is a story. I dare you to do stringent fact-checking in every single memoir ever written. I guarantee you will end up with a string of inaccuracies, omintences, and "changes for the sake of consistency" or some other such BS. So the book moves from one shelf to another, who cares?

My point is--books allow you to imagine and encourage you to think. When you start taking fiction too seriously and non-fiction as gospel, problems start to arise, especially since they rely so much on imagination and/or membory. Books are books, not weapons to hurl at eachother. It's disappointing to me as a bookseller and an American that anyone would want to ban or censor a book. It's especially disappointing as a Christian, considering the number of places Christians have fought to have the Bible allowed into religiously oppressive areas of the world.

Posted by: Ensie at 06:12 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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