The Jewel of Medina

I just read the following story about a novel pulled from Random House, The Jewel of Medina. I don’t know anything about the author, but it’s really ridiculous that a publisher would bend to such pressures. They cite safety concerns for the author and those distributing as their main reason for not publishing the book, which is understandable, but even so, if we allow every group offended by a book or movie or cartoon to determine what we see, where will it end? South Park actually argues this point much more eloquently in their “Cartoon Wars” two-part episode, so go see that.

But, this latest controversy got me thinking about my book, which is about the fall of a dictatorship in a fear-driven country, Qarash, which is inspired by Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. Although the book isn’t principally concerned with religious zealotry, there is a group, The Blanks, who represent them in some ways. And, in the next book, tentatively titled “Ashkareve,” they play a greater role. Ah, but no worries–it’s only a fantasy novel.

A Fish in the Moonlight Too

As I write this, I am holed up in my room, an ice bag on my ankle, waiting for the swelling to go down. Today is to be a day of taking it easy, and so I have a pile of books by my bedside: Baghdad Burning (Riverbend), which is an incredible blog from an Iraqi woman writing about the war. There are books on Ponce de Leon and Christopher Columbus (research for my next novel, tentatively titled Island Builders), The Blind Assassin, by Margaret Atwood, and then, that curious pink cover which I open to read my dad’s first non-academic book, A Fish in the Moonlight.

Yes, sons are biased. I grew up with these stories. I have heard them all, from my dad’s own voice, about he and his brother fighting over a girls bicycle, “My Father’s not afraid of Bulls,” about a trip to the countryside that ends, well, as you might expect from the title. Years and years ago, my dad and I were walking through Central Park when I challenged him to start writing creatively, and A Fish in the Moonlight is the start of, I hope, a wonderful writing career. Read A Fish in the Moonlight to your children and family and friends. “I Envied Harry Lewis” is definitely my favorite, but all of the stories contain something wonderfully human.