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Hardly surprisingly, I do not agree with Hildea's comments. I don't think it is ever okay to condemn a book without at least making a bona fide attempt to read it. Then again, Hildea's examples are of books with themes that she finds very offensive. But without actually reading the book, how can she or any of us know what the book has to say about these themes? The answer seems to be that we can only do so through the filter of reviews, hopefully confining ourselves to reviews by people who have read the book. But of course we all have our own prejudices. It is a perfectly valid choice to choose not to read a book, whether or not you have read any reviews or attempt to find out more about it other than the general theme. But as Hildea said, stories do have power. Individually and collectively. This is why it is so important that topics people do regard as being offensive remain open for exploration by authors of both fiction and non-fiction. No one is going to force you to read a book. But if you want to condemn the book, read it or at least make an attempt to.
@arjaybe. You are free to condemn a book unread if you like, as hordes of Twitterer's and even older people who should know better have done in this case. But it is not okay!
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