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Our book club's 'classic' pick turned into a fight about colonialism
I suggested Heart of Darkness for our group's March read, mostly because it's short and everyone says it's essential, but two members walked out of the discussion calling it racist propaganda. We spent the whole meeting arguing about whether we should even finish it, and now half the group wants to drop it from the list. Has anyone else had a book club pick fall apart over the author's background, or do we just need to accept that older books come with baggage?
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coran631mo ago
Sounds like your book club upgraded from discussing colonialism to practicing it, with the members voting to kick the book off the island. Maybe next month you can pick something less controversial, like a book about polite disagreements over scones. Then again, someone will probably get offended that the scones aren't gluten-free. Good luck finding a title where nobody's ancestors did anything questionable, that should be a short list. Let us know how the book burning goes.
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