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Carrying 'Tales' Out Of School
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Understater
01/19/09

In reply to Carrying 'Tales' Out Of School
Yikes, never thought this would happen in Canada...we usually revere Atwood (to the point of tedium).
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jgodsey
01/19/09

In reply to Carrying 'Tales' Out Of School
i'm not for censoring anything from the school libraries or curriculum, but can't we just object to it, because it's not a very good book? or is that some thing no one wants to admit? there must be better books.
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exelizabeth
01/20/09

@jgodsey: No one ever challenges books on their quality, just their content.
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La.Petite.Kangourou
01/19/09

In reply to Carrying 'Tales' Out Of School
Let me make this clear: the book should not be banned and deserves to be studied by as many people as can get their hands on it.

But the father is right on one part: the scenes of sexual assault and sexual dissociation are extremely disturbing, and bear no resemblance to the tawdry Shakesperean "sexual language" one commenter somewhat flippantly compared them to.

They disturbed me as a 25 year old and while I'm not sure I want the father to succeed, I think in this case he makes a (somewhat) legitimate point. This isn't just knee-jerk Christian conservatism at work.

That said - it is a powerful and stirring book with important things to say about society. I guess I can just *understand* a father's concern on this one, versus say, "lady chatterly's lover" or Judy Blume's "forever"...
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chritter is a nocturnal feminist mancatfish
01/20/09

@La.Petite.Kangourou: But the father is right on one part: the scenes of sexual assault and sexual dissociation are extremely disturbing, and bear no resemblance to the tawdry Shakesperean "sexual language" one commenter somewhat flippantly compared them to.

Not to be flip, but there really are some horrible scenes of violence, rape, murder, mutilation, etc. in Shakespeare's canon. Check out Titus Andronicus. Worse than anything in The Handmaid's Tale by a good measure.
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exelizabeth
01/20/09

@chritter: The movie of Titus Andronicus literally almost made me pass out. It took me months to get over seeing that movie.
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SonicNapoleonic
01/19/09

In reply to Carrying 'Tales' Out Of School
He's just another ignorant douche-pawn of the evil that is American mainstream culture. Margaret Atwood has to be one of the greatest authors of all time. Just because you don't get it doesn't mean you have to spread the stupid around to everyone.
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info*ninja
01/19/09

@SonicNapoleonic: er, Canadian?
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A Small Turnip
01/19/09

In reply to Carrying 'Tales' Out Of School
This dude is just begging to get his house egged, Lawrence Park or no. YOU DON'T FUCK WITH ST. MARGARET. I may not be a panting fan of CanLit, but even I know that trying to get Atwood off school curriculums in southern Ontario is an exercise in joyless futility. Ain't gonna happen, bro.

But if he wants to use a baseball bat on the works of Robertson Davies, I'm more than happy to let him take a swing.
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PetiteGal
01/19/09

@ASmallTurnip: Davies has some connection to my old high school. His daughters are alumnae and I think they donated something to the library a few years ago.
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A Small Turnip
01/19/09

@PetiteGal: Hee! I actually know one of Robertson Davies' daughters very well. Rosamund is an absolutely gorgeous human being, and unbelievably generous to boot. I just love her.

But damn, her dad's books drive me bonkers.
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gerbilsoutofexile...is cheap and easy
01/19/09

In reply to Carrying 'Tales' Out Of School
Well, now I'm just going to have to go out and get this book! I have yet to read it, but now I believe it is required. Thanks for the book recommendation, ya dickcheese!
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NewsBunny
01/19/09

In reply to Carrying 'Tales' Out Of School
This is one of my favorite books, and I think one of the most remarkable of the last century.

To me, it's right up there with 1984 and Farenheight 451.

Great literature should provoke. It should poke you with a stick and tell you to wake up and pay attention.

This man is an ass.
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Wit is periodically disensouled
01/19/09

In reply to Carrying 'Tales' Out Of School
"Mr. Baker was unable to specify how the school attempted to respond to the parent's concern, though a report in a Toronto newspaper said the student was issued Brave New World to read instead, and will leave the class when Ms. Atwood's novel is discussed."

All issues of censorship aside, what the hell kind of parent subjects his child to this crap?

Oh, wait, I forgot that it's infinitely preferable for your child be singled out and ostracized because of your actions.
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info*ninja
01/19/09

In reply to Carrying 'Tales' Out Of School
Thanks for increasing Atwood's relevancy amongst young people!
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bananaprincess
01/19/09

In reply to Carrying 'Tales' Out Of School
Not defending the guy, but maybe hae has read the book and it blew him mind. It is one of the most powerful books I have ever read, and it still blows me away, at odd times, especially with studff like the taliban around. All the more reason to read it I know, but maybe he is sensitive to people being horrible.
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Dauphine
01/19/09

In reply to Carrying 'Tales' Out Of School
Pfft, PLEASE. There is NO WAY that Margaret Atwood is going to be taken off of a CANADIAN school's curriculum. Seriously. She is EVERYWHERE in English classes in this country.

/totally not bitter at all.
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info*ninja
01/19/09

@Dauphine: I for one am glad of her presence, the only book i was given to read written by a woman in all of my canadian english classes was the outsider, a book all about dudes. I am not even that old!
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Gretchen is a new kitten mom!
01/19/09

In reply to Carrying 'Tales' Out Of School
I'm betting this guy hasn't bothered to check what music his kid has on the ol' iPod.

Stuff like this is really silly. The school wouldn't have the book on a required list unless it fit their curriculum and had educational value. Whatever happened to trusting the school?

I attend what could be called a 'fundamentalist' church. The parents at my church deal with situations like this in an appropriate manner. They read the book WITH THEIR KID. Imagine that! And they DISCUSS that book with their kid - not just the points they think the teacher wants them to learn, but they also take the opportunity to EXPLAIN why they feel that book is personally offensive to them. They're smart enough to know that hiding your kid away from this stuff does not help your kid to learn who you are as a Christian. It also does not help them deal with a situation like this when they are off on their own in college.

Stories like this give me one huge head/desk.
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PetiteGal
01/19/09

In reply to Carrying 'Tales' Out Of School
I should add this: Maybe Daddy is just anti-Atwood. Most Canadian kids have to read at least one Atwood book in his/her education lifetime. We read Lady Oracle in Grade 10.
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littlemissvan
01/19/09

@PetiteGal: It seems to me that if you are going to be anti any CanLit icon, it should be Alice Munro, who is dullsville beyond belief. I specifically remember actually enjoying the Atwood we got to read in HS.
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PilgrimSoul
01/19/09

@littlemissvan: them's fighting words.

(for the record, I hate Atwood. I want to wipe the smug smile off her face.)
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littlemissvan
01/19/09

@PilgrimSoul: I don't think I would like to hang out with her (she came into a store my friend was working, in and was a total bitch to everyone, also the whole Jan Wong lunch incident), but at least she has a sense of humour. I cannot handle Munro's obsession with small town Ontario life, personally. But what do I know, I mostly read YA and children's books! ;)
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PetiteGal
01/19/09

@littlemissvan: I think a lot of Canadian writers are obsessed with small town life. It's as if it isn't REAL CanLit without it being set in a small town!
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littlemissvan
01/19/09

@PetiteGal: So true! Don't forget the all-important themes of isolation! :: shoots self::
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A Small Turnip
01/19/09

@littlemissvan: Heeee! UR IN MAH BRAIN.

Smalltown CanLit: Unsubscribe.
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littlemissvan
01/19/09

@ASmallTurnip: Ha! One of the things that used to drive me completely insane is related to this. I'm not sure about other provinces, but in BC, we had to read this stupid book of Canadian short stories in high school. Mostly it was typical CanLit, themes of isolation, small town stuff. AIMED AT MIDLIFE ADULTS! IE none of this was written with a teen audience in mind. Which meant meant that everyone was bored, and a bunch of kids in my class decided that reading was boring, and not something they wanted to be doing. So instead of having us read some of the amazing Canadian YA that is out there, and maybe enjoy English class, we were bored out of our minds.
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A Small Turnip
01/19/09

@littlemissvan: Oh my god, THEY MADE ME READ THAT BOOK, TOO. Was the cover kind of a muddy green colour? And did it make you want to off yourself in a really spectacularly messy way just to add a little excitement to the lives of your school friends?

I love reading and I eat books for breakfast, but it's truly a wonder that high school Lit classes in St. Catharines, Ontario didn't kill off all interest in the printed word forever. And the real fucking kicker is that I was taught by Richard Wright, a Governor General and Giller Prize-winning perpetrator of depressing CanLit monstrosities. Mr. Wright was a super-nice guy, but his books do not greatly inspire the will to live, it must be confessed.

Oddly enough, though, Atwood is one of the very, very few Canadian authors that I can be convinced to read. And I actually kind of loved The Robber Bride. But my patience generally wears very, very thin with that rural-small town malarkey. Life is too damn short.
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PetiteGal
01/19/09

@ASmallTurnip: I had to do my Independent Studies Unit on The Age of Longing and some other book.
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A Small Turnip
01/19/09

@PetiteGal: Ah. My condolences, friend.

If it helps any, Mr. Wright really was an extremely nice person. Gentle and friendly and encouraging and eye-twinklingly funny. But his fiction, though beautifully written, made me want to re-enact The Bunny Suicides. God bless him and all of his depressing literary comrades. ;-)
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PetiteGal
01/19/09

@ASmallTurnip: Ehh...it's ok. I've pretty much shut Grade 12 English off now.

I never really had a teacher who published anything (though my English teacher said that when John Irving was researching for A Prayer for Owen Meany, he sat through several of her English classes...this English teacher was an alumna) but we had a visiting Canadian author every year. Basically, everyone between Grade 11 and OAC got the "afternoon off" to hear the writer talk about his/her book. Then there was the option of having tea with the author.
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A Small Turnip
01/19/09

@PetiteGal: Hmm... Were you a BSS-er, by any chance? I'm getting a BSS vibe. Or possibly Havergal? Hee! Let's play guess-the-school! ;-)

Those author meet-ups sound great! You lucky old thing. And yeah, it's best to forget most of what one was obliged to endure in high school classrooms. It's just better that way, eh?
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exelizabeth
01/20/09

@littlemissvan: I'm American and I really like Alice Munro! But I basically adore boring books, unless they're steam of consciousness boring books.

Margaret Atwood I can take or leave. Oryx and Crake was terrible.
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NefariousNewt
01/19/09

In reply to Carrying 'Tales' Out Of School
There's always one person who objects to something that happens in their child's school. Perhaps it's a book, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, cutting open dead animals, or even requiring gym class. Because of their beliefs, the rest must be made to suffer.

To quote: "Those who know what's best for us, must rise and save us from ourselves."
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BearDownCBears
01/19/09

In reply to Carrying 'Tales' Out Of School
When my sister was still in high school somebody squawked about the spring production of South Pacific because in the story the lieutenant hooked up with his girlfriend before marriage. Some goober parent will always be out there ready to complain about things much less harmless than even Atwood.
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beliefunwrought
01/19/09

@BearDownCBears: So they complained about that but not the song he sings declaring that everyone should be taught to hate people who look different? Interesting...
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info*ninja
01/19/09

@beliefunwrought: but somehow not surprising.
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