The Book Censor's Library - Bothayna Al-essa

A perilous and fantastical satire of banned books, secret libraries, and the looming eye of an all-powerful government, from award-winning Kuwaiti author Bothayna Al-Essa. The newly-appointed censor hasn't slept soundly in weeks. By day he combs through manuscripts at a government office, skimming for anything that would make a book unfit to publish--like allusions to queerness, unapproved religions, or any mention of life before the Revolution. But by night the characters of literary classics crowd his dreams, and pilfered novels pile up in every room of the house he shares with his daughter and increasingly irate wife. As the siren song of forbidden reading beckons him further into uncertainty, he descends to a netherworld of resistance fighters, double agents, and outlaw librarians on an urgent mission. Reckoning with the global threat to free speech and the bleak future it all but guarantees, Bothayna Al-Essa marries the steely dystopia of George Orwell's 1984 with the madcap absurdity of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, adding a dread-laden twist worthy of Franz Kafka. The Book Censor's Library is a love letter to books and the deliciously dangerous act of losing oneself in them. n A perilous and fantastical satire of banned books, secret libraries, and the looming eye of an all-powerful government. The new book censor hasn't slept soundly in weeks. By day he combs through manuscripts at a government office, looking for anything that would make a book unfit to publish--allusions to queerness, unapproved religions, any mention of life before the Revolution. By night the characters of literary classics crowd his dreams, and pilfered novels pile up in the house he shares with his wife and daughter. As the siren song of forbidden reading continues to beckon, he descends into a netherworld of resistance fighters, undercover booksellers, and outlaw librarians trying to save their history and culture. Reckoning with the global threat to free speech and the bleak future it all but guarantees, Bothayna Al-Essa marries the steely dystopia of Orwell's 1984 with the madcap absurdity of Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, resulting in a dreadful twist worthy of Kafka. The Book Censor's Library is a warning call and a love letter to stories and the delicious act of losing oneself in them. nA perilous and fantastical satire of banned books, secret archives, and the looming eye of an all-powerful government. The new book censor hasn't slept soundly in weeks. By d