Public post in the reader discussion for Clarissa.
Obviously we are on this sub and don't believe in banning books. But if through some fluke you could ban just one book, what would it be?
By notebookPencil
At first I was thinking about maybe banning Clarissa or The History of a Young Lady, and I even considered Lolita for a bit, just because I’m totally over hearing the most off-the-wall takes about it (and about Nabokov too). Grapes of Wrath made the list for me as well. And honestly, a few months ago I tried to read Whose Body? by Dorothy Sayers and ended up with a really firm dislike for it—I couldn’t finish because of how much it pushes anti-Semitic and classist stuff. But if I had to pick one thing to ban, I think it’d be The Fountainhead. I feel like it’s past its “heyday,” kind of like the author. It’s a pretty ridiculous story and I don’t think it has any real literary value—like, even some random cheap romance from a thrift store is probably better written. I also don’t really hear younger people talking about it, which feels like a good sign… or maybe I’m just not paying attention. Either way, better safe than sorry. So what would you ban, and why?