Neil Gaiman novel banned by New Mexico school after mother objects

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/oct/11/neil-gaiman-novel-banned-new-mexico-school

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Neil Gaiman's urban fantasy novel Neverwhere has been removed from a New Mexico school's "required reading list" after a mother objected to her daughter bringing it home.

According to the state's KRQE news station, Nancy Wilmott complained to Alamogordo High School because of the book's "sexual innuendos and harsh language".

When asked to read sections of the book on air she declined. "I cannot read this to you and put it on the news," she said. "It's too inappropriate. It's that bad."

"I trusted the school system," Wilmott added. "I trusted the school district to pick proper material, and this is not."

Portsmouth-born Gaiman, who now lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, is currently back in the UK promoting his new children's book Fortunately, The Milk, on the back of a mammoth tour for his recent fantasy novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane. After hearing of the ban he asked on Twitter: "Is anyone fighting back?"

Neverwhere began life as a BBC TV series written by Gaiman, which aired in 1996, and was later adapted by the author into a novel. It was recently broadcast to critical acclaim as a radio play on Radio 4, adapted by Dirk Maggs. It tells the story of a man who discovers a hidden and magical other world below the British capital, called London Below.

As of Thursday, Neverwhere had been removed from school library shelves following Mrs Wilmott's complaint, though the school officials said it was the first complaint about the book they had received since they put it on the curriculum in 2004.

Gaiman has fallen foul of US censors before, with his Sandman graphic novel series regularly making the list of banned or challenged books compiled by the American Library Association (ALA), with claims of being "anti-family", featuring offensive language, or being deemed "unsuited to age group".

The removal of Neverwhere comes just two weeks after the ALA's annual Banned Books Week, which this year cited works ranging from 50 Shades of Grey to Captain Underpants as being complained about, challenged or removed from shelves.

According to the ALA, a challenge "is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice."

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