In modern literature there are many shocking, frank, extravagant works. However, these books no longer shock the reader, do not cause a wave of criticism, do not become the subject of general discussion. With rare exceptions.
Moreover, over the past hundred years, the literary world has been plunged into shock more than once. It is such works, which became revolutionary for their time, that were included in today's selection. We bring to your attention the most scandalous books of the last century.
7.1984, D. Orwell
The anti-utopia romance has been criticized for inappropriate sexuality, immorality, and blasphemy. In the USSR, the book was banned until 1988. It is believed that the realistic description of the totalitarian regime was borrowed by the author from the real life of the socialist countries.
6. Tropic of Cancer, G. Miller
Sexual adventures of the protagonist shocked readers in the distant 1934. At one time, the novel was banned for import into the United States, and later the book was called the main work of the 1930s.
5. Satanic verses, S. Rushdi
For the head of S. Rushdie, Islamic fundamentalists announced a prize of $ 3.3 million. The reason was the scandalous novel published in 1988, in which the image of the Prophet Muhammad was freely interpreted. The book was banned in all countries of the Islamic world except Turkey. In 2008, the author was awarded the famous Booker Prize.
4. The Catcher in the Rye, J. Salinger
This novel became the most banned book in American schools from 1961 to 1983. Critics saw in the novel propaganda of drunkenness, debauchery, calls for anarchy and rebellion.
3. Doctor Zhivago, B. Pasternak
The "Anti-Soviet" novel was first fully published in Milan in 1957. Domestic literary publications flatly refused to publish a novel about Stalin's repressions, the suicide of a revolutionary, the bleak fate of a politically unreliable protagonist.
2. Lord of the Flies, W. Golding
The book of the Nobel laureate is unlikely to appeal to those who believe in a good start inherent in man. The work is full of cruel scenes, and the idea of the primitive, bestial nature of people passes through the story of Golding as a red thread.
1. Lolita, V. Nabokov
This novel was published in 1955 in several European countries in English. By that time, Nabokov had already taken place as a talented writer, but the new work caused a flurry of criticism. After the book entered the American market, a hundred thousandth edition was swept from the shelves in three weeks.