I would like to nominate
The Satanic Verses by Salman Rushdie.
I have never read this, and though it is not as immediately topical as it was a couple of decades ago it is still banned in every Islamic country with the exception of Turkey, apparently. That and there are not many books where people have died for being involved in publication. n September 2012, Rushdie expressed doubt that
The Satanic Verses would be published today because of a climate of "fear and nervousness"
I would also like to nominate the book
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston. This book only recently came to my attention when I read a non-fiction book about the WPA Writer's Project during the Depression era in the US. Hurston was a black writer who got her start at that time.
from Wikipedia:
Quote:
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Set in central and southern Florida in the early 20th century, the novel was initially poorly received for its rejection of racial uplift literary prescriptions. Today, it has come to be regarded as a seminal work in both African-American literature and women's literature. Time included the novel in its 2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels published since 1923.
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It has been banned for frank sexual content as well as it's depiction of life for a black woman in America at the time published (1937).