Now it has been reported that Ian Fleming’s popular Detective James Bond books will be republished to bring them up to modern standards and the text of the books will be edited based on the assessment of so-called ” sensitivity readers”.
Among other things, parts of the books that appear to contain racism will be removed. The reissue is scheduled for April.
The new books will include the disclaimer: “This book was written at a time when concepts and mannerisms prevailed that might offend modern readers.” Updates have been made to this edition, although an attempt has been made to keep it as close as possible to the original text and the time in which the book is set.”
Not too long ago there were reports that Roald Dahl’s books had undergone similar changes, although Roald Dahl himself was extremely opposed to this happening. It is said that he once said that he warned his editors not to change even a single comma in his books – if they did, they would never hear a word from him again. He also said:
“When I’m gone, if that happens, I wish the great Thor would hit them hard in the head with Mjölnir.”
You could say that the literary world is lying about it, and it seems to everyone.
Berglind Ósk, a writer, writes on Facebook that the good thing about these changes is the discussion they have raised about the harmfulness of book censorship.
“I hope publishers stop this nonsense in the future and people realize that it is better to discuss things than rewrite the past”
Rúnar Helgi Vignisson, writer and professor of writing at the University of Iceland, said in an interview with Indicator that it is doubtful to go to the text of the authors. “If we’re going to allow this, where does it stop?”
City representative Alexandra Briem says it’s better to learn from history
“We should learn from history, know how times and attitudes change, not hide it and pretend that everything was then as we think it should have been today.”
Björn Leví Gunnarsson, Member of Parliament, shares the same line and says that history cannot be erased because without it it is not possible to learn from the past.
“Life is complicated and the past is full of pain. Erasing that pain doesn’t solve anything, but it’s always an opportunity to keep going and do better.”
The above are just a few examples of reactions to the case here in Iceland. One could also mention the discussions between Dagnýjar Kristjánsdóttir, professor emeritus of literature, and Braga Pál Sigurðsson, writer, on the question in morning radio Channels 2 last week. But they both agreed that the books should not be censored due to today’s changing requirements.
