How often do you think about the books that you read? For many, you likely pick up a book, enjoy yourself, and then put it down, likely only revisiting it when it comes up in conversation. However, this would be doing a great disservice to the often controversial world of publishing and the backstories of countless books. Whether the book was loaded with lies or its contents led to a massive backlash, these are some noteworthy publishing controversies you should be aware of.
10. James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces
When James Frey’s A Million Little Pieces hit bookshelves in April 2003, nobody could’ve predicted the explosive controversy it would spark. Upon first glance, the book purported itself as James Frey’s memoir, focusing on his struggles with addiction, as well as his tenure in a twelve-step rehabilitation center.
The book’s first major claim to fame was being picked as an Oprah’s Book Club selection, a definite sign of mainstream popularity. This ended up propelling it to the top of Amazon.com and The New York Times Best Seller list for fifteen weeks. Unfortunately, its other claim to fame is far from positive and it’s the reason it’s earned a spot on this list. The Smoking Gun, a website focused on legal documents and arrest records, published a piece titled A Million Little Lies, listing the book’s litany of falsities and lies.
Eventually, the genie was out of the bottle and the truth behind Frey’s book was revealed, that he’d exaggerated or completely fabricated the events described within. Soon enough Frey’s lies were exposed, resulting in Doubleday and Anchor Books, the book’s publishers, needing to release public statements. This revelation certainly touched a nerve for many, including celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain who said, “As a former addict, I found this fake redemption memoir to be morally repugnant.”
9. Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses
Published in 1988, Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses was a fantastical look at the life of Muhammad, the Islamic prophet. Much like his previous books, Rushdie utilizes magical realism, a realistic story with fictitious elements, as well as real figures and events to convey his narrative. The plot centers around the lives of two Indian expatriates, people who live outside their native country, all while touching upon ideas of faith, culture, and identity.
However, controversy would soon be on Rushdie’s heels as many Muslims ended up perceiving the book, and its portrayal of Muhammad, as blasphemous. Another point of contention for many was Rushdie’s treatment of the titular Satanic Verses, which concerned three pagan Meccan goddesses: All?t, Al-Uzza, and Man?t. All of these perceived transgressions resulted in Iran’s then-supreme leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, placing a fatwa on Rushdie, marking him for immediate assassination.
Not only was the book banned in several countries, but Rushdie himself ended up living under police protection for nearly a decade. He was also often forced to hide for long periods and constantly change residencies for his safety. It’s a prime example of how a person’s work can incite ample backlash, as well as how limited freedom of speech can be within other cultures.
8. J.D. Salinger’s Unauthorized Sequel
Whether you love it or find it insufferable, there is no denying the impact of J.D. Salinger’s famous novel The Catcher in the Rye. While the book itself has generated its own streak of controversy over the years, that’s not what we’ll be recapping here. Instead, we’ll spotlight John David California AKA Fredrik Colting, a book author who opted to pen his own sequel to The Catcher in the Rye.
60 Years Later: Coming Through the Rye, published in 2009, follows an elderly Holden Caulfield and his adventure following an escape from a retirement home. However, it wasn’t too long before Colting’s fanfiction began stirring up trouble with Salinger himself who, before he died in 2010, saw fit to slap him with a lawsuit. Sallinger argued, not unreasonably, that Colting’s book thoroughly infringed on his already existing work and was heavily exploitative regarding Holden Caulfield’s character.
After the dispute went to court, a permanent injunction was granted by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. This injunction prevented the book from seeing official publication in the United States, though Colting did file an appeal to the Second Circuit Court of Appeals later on.
7. Maus by Art Spiegelman
We now turn to the world of comic books and graphic novels for a moment, a venue that’s been no stranger to its fair share of controversies. The focus here is the work of Art Spiegelman, specifically his serialized graphic novel Maus, which was first published in 1980 and lasted until 1991. The comic tells the story of Spiegelman’s father and his survival in the Holocaust, told through anthropomorphic animals. Despite using mice as the Jews and cats as the nazis, the story never once pulls its punches regarding the sobering historical events portrayed within it.
Many have critiqued the book for its animal allegories, as several critics have noted how comparing Jews to mice only serves to reinforce hurtful stereotypes. However, the comic was plagued with even further controversy when it made its way to schools and public libraries, with many taking umbrage with its content. Given the subject matter, the comic doesn’t hold back with its graphic depiction of violence, nudity, and strong language. This resulted in many schools banning the book, most notably the state of Tennessee who pushed for the decision due to the story’s profane language. Despite this, the controversial status of Maus has only pushed more readers to give it a look, further encouraging people’s education regarding the Holocaust.
6. American Dirt Controversy
As years have passed and modern culture continually evolves, the debates regarding cultural appropriation and ethnic stereotypes have only increased. Nowhere was the debate more evident than in the discourse following the 2020 release of American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. The book concerns a Mexican woman who, with her son in tow, fled to the United States to escape cartel violence.
Many have praised the book as a thrilling read, however, just before its publication, many negative think pieces concerning American Dirt began popping up online. The common criticism was that Cummins wasn’t an appropriate choice to craft a narrative concerning Mexican culture and the immigrant experience. Many noted that Cummins, who’d identified as white in a previous interview, was simply reinforcing Mexican stereotypes via her book’s narrative. Additionally, many also pointed out several inaccuracies in its depiction of Mexican life and the lives of immigrants, further cementing the perceived inauthenticity.
This was only heightened when American Dirt was selected for Oprah Winfrey’s book club, which propelled the controversy onto a grander and widespread stage. Cummins’ work stands as a reminder of how important cultural representation is to people and how mishandling it can lead to a serious backlash.
5. Amazon vs. Hachette Book Group
Nowadays, whether it’s a book, a new air fryer, or a six-pack of towels, if you need it at your doorstep quickly, you’re heading to Amazon.com for it. Alongside their convenient online shopping and streaming content, Amazon also has a wide array of electronic books AKA e-books for sale as well. The publishing controversy we’ll be spotlighting here is focused not just on Amazon but on Hachette Book Group, one of the largest book publishers in the industry.
Back in 2014, Amazon, looking to lower the prices of their e-books, put pressure on Hachette to comply by delaying shipments of their physical books. They also decided to remove the pre-order option, usually present on a forthcoming book’s listing, from any new Hachette title on the site. The more this dispute went on, the more attention it received, with Amazon receiving criticism for its bullying tactics which were nothing short of harmful.
Many authors, whose work was published by Hachette, found themselves stuck right in the middle of this conflict, with the reach of their work being severely affected by it. Eventually, both parties came to a compromise via a multi-year agreement, though the specific details have never been revealed publicly.
4. The Da Vinci Code Plagiarism Allegations
When The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown hit bookshelves in 2003, it quickly became a major success, selling over 80 million copies worldwide by 2016. The book focuses on symbologist Robert Langdon who, along with cryptologist Sophie Neveu, investigates a murder in the Louvre Museum that leads them down a rabbit hole of religious conspiracy.
However, where the controversy began was the book’s alleged similarities to another book written years earlier in 1982 titled Holy Blood, Holy Grail. Much like The Da Vinci Code, the book shares a similar narrative throughline regarding the modern descendants of Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh, two of the book’s three authors, ended up filing a lawsuit against Brown and his published, alleging copyright infringement.
Their argument was predicated on the notion that Brown has used the main crux of their story, plot points, and even character names without any acknowledgment, permission, or compensation. While on the stand, Brown and his legal team did state that The Da Vinci Code did draw influence from their work. However, they also maintained that the book itself was a work of fiction and drew influence from a wide crop of historical sources. Eventually, the judge ruled in favor of Brown, noting that the ideas and historical elements in question were not protected by copyright.
3. The Bell Curve
The Bell Curve, published in 1994, argued that measuring intelligence with IQ tests could predict a person’s social outcome in education, employment, and socioeconomic status. The book’s authors, Richard Herrnstein and Charles Murray, also suggested that racial differences played a role in the results of the tests.
Simply put, Herrnstein and Murray’s work heavily implied that racial minorities have less of a chance of success due to their genetics, a grotesquely antiquated idea to be sure. This claim sparked a fair amount of controversy, with many scholars, activists, and even the general public, accusing the authors of promoting racist ideas propped up by sketchy pseudo-science. Herrnstein and Murray also suggested that social welfare programs might be futile due to what they perceived as inherent and largely unchangeable differences in intelligence.
It has long been established that a higher IQ doesn’t always lead to higher pay or prolonged success, so their already flawed logic was shaky at best. The book’s highest critics even feared that such misguided ideas could lead to many justifying discrimination and the cutting of various social programs. The backlash was so immense that many universities were being pressured to cancel speaking events featuring the authors.
2. J.K. Rowling’s Transgender Comments
J.K. Rowling, it’s a name that at one time brought joy to the lives of many kids and young adults, but today just leaves a sour taste in their mouths. It all began in 2019 when the Harry Potter scribe tweeted support for a researcher who was terminated for stating that biological sex is immutable. This caused many to accuse her of transphobia, with many viewing her comments as diminishing toward those with transgender identities.
This was only exacerbated when, in 2020, Rowling published an entire essay outlining her concerns regarding the impact of transgender activism on women’s rights and safety. A big crux of her argument was concerning public bathrooms, claiming that a transgender person could sexually assault a biological woman. This revelation regarding Rowling’s views on the matter resulted in an ample backlash from LGBTQ+ advocates, fans, and fellow authors, all tremendously offended by her stance.
Considering the sizable amount of Harry Potter fans who identify as LGBTQ+, this was a heartbreaking turn of events for many of her biggest fans. Rowling however remains largely unphased by her critics in this regard, even going on record as saying she doesn’t care how her legacy will be affected.
1. Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman
When it comes to famous books, there are perhaps few as famous and widely celebrated as Harper Lee’s To Kill A Mockingbird. The book, based on Lee’s childhood, is told from the perspective of Scout, a young girl who greatly admires her father, a lawyer named Atticus Finch. The book deals heavily with the topic of racial inequality, as Atticus is appointed to defend a black man who has been accused of sexually assaulting a young white woman.
This narrative presents Atticus as an ethical and very intelligent man, who refuses to be intimated out of defending his client by the town’s various racist residents. This stands in strong contrast to the version of Atticus shown in Go Set a Watchman, Lee’s sequel to To Kill A Mockingbird which was released in 2015. In the sequel, which was written by Lee before To Kill A Mockingbird, the once-noble Atticus is portrayed as a racist.
This revelation proved quite devastating to many fans of Lee’s original book, as it tainted one of literature’s most beloved characters. Additionally, Lee’s then-lawyer, Tonja Carter, had also made rather dubious claims that Lee had reneged on her almost-lifelong decision to never release the book. This, when paired with the knowledge that Lee’s health was steadily declining at the time, led many to speculate that she was being taken advantage of.