Roald Dahl's Books Being Altered

[Pickman's model]

It's interesting to speculate on what other writers might be at risk. I've often wondered about JG Ballard, for instance. Controversial in his day, and people often say that the modern world is Ballardian, but I could certainly see some enterprising young philistine trying to do a number on him.

and ffs no one's suggesting doing anything to roald dahl's books for adults. you're not really on the ball with this one tbh

 

[A380]

do you think many children read j.g. ballard?

The edition of Crash with the Quentin Blake illustrations yes.

 

[farmerbarleymow]

Yes indeed, and a quick google tells me that there are plenty in the publishing world who are still keen on pushing Enid Blyton onto new generations as well. Her books still sell at a rate of 700,000 a year just in the UK! 'much loved', 'treasured', etc, etc.

I don't have kids, but bought a copy of the Magic Faraway Tree about ten years or so ago - can't remember why now, but it was one of my favourite books as a kid. Never actually re-read it though - it's probably in a box with other unread books.

 

[Diamond]

do you think many children read j.g. ballard?

Is this practice only limited to children's books?

Did I miss that memo?

 

[littlebabyjesus]

It's a different argument when you're talking about adult fiction, imo. I would not want adult books messed with. If their language and ideas fall out of step with a changing world, then just let them die.

That said, if they tweaked an Ian Fleming book, that would be very different from messing with JG Ballard. Ballard seems a strange one to pick out to me.

 

[Pickman's model]

Is this practice only limited to children's books?

Did I miss that memo?

maybe you can name me a couple of authors for adults whose works have been so affected.

 

[belboid]

He sounds like a real bitter cunt saying that people should stop reading Roald Dahl frankly!

I'm not a massive Pullman fan by any means (I don't read children's books and the series looked meh to me), but he doesn't say that. He said IF people consider them offensive, then they should be allowed to 'fade away'. Quite different.

 

[belboid]

maybe you can name me a couple of authors for adults whose works have been so affected.

I think Diamond will be insisting that Ms Christies estate revert the title of And Then There Were None back to its original.

 

[Sue]

Under Waterloo Station clock 1600. I’ll be wearing a carnation and carrying the complete works of Jacqueline Wilson

Beat me to it, damn you.

 

[Diamond]

maybe you can name me a couple of authors for adults whose works have been so affected.

Kate Clanchy comes to mind.

 

[A380]

maybe you can name me a couple of authors for adults whose works have been so affected.

TBF Agather Christie’s ‘and then there were none’ original title might fit that criteria. But that’s probably the exception that proves the rule.

 

[littlebabyjesus]

If Jeffrey Archer's books were messed with, I for one would let out a quiet cheer.

 

[Pickman's model]

Kate Clanchy comes to mind.

no she doesn't

 

[Sue]

If Jeffrey Archer's books were messed with, nuked from Space (preferably along with Archer), I for one would let out a quiet cheer.

Fixed that for you.

 

[hitmouse]

Depends which Ballard books. Rushing Towards Paradise was fucking shit, if someone feels like doing a new edit of it and putting in some Oompa-Loompas or gender-neutral giant peaches or summat it could only be an improvement.

 

[Pickman's model]

Fixed that for you.

i read his first among equals and think he should have stuck to lying

 

[hitmouse]

Beat me to it, damn you.

OK, so I'm meeting A380 under Waterloo Station clock at 16:00, and then meeting you under the clock at 16:15, is that the plan?

 

[belboid]

Kate Clanchy comes to mind.

lets see what she says on the topic

"Augustus Gloop is a greedy character. He'll still remain morally greedy and his moral greed will be wrong, whether or not we have lots of lots and lots of references to how fat he is, which I think can be upsetting," she told 5 Live.
"We've always updated children's books. It's a tribute to the way that these books are becoming myths... that we've adjusted them again."

 

[Sue]

OK, so I'm meeting A380 under Waterloo Station clock at 16:00, and then meeting you under the clock at 16:15, is that the plan?

I'll be carrying Gramsci's Prison Notebooks which I'll pretend to have read.

 

[8ball]

I'll be carrying Gramsci's Prison Notebooks which I'll pretend to have read.

Oh, is that why he hasn't posted in a while?

 

[Diamond]

lets see what she says on the topic

"Augustus Gloop is a greedy character. He'll still remain morally greedy and his moral greed will be wrong, whether or not we have lots of lots and lots of references to how fat he is, which I think can be upsetting," she told 5 Live.
"We've always updated children's books. It's a tribute to the way that these books are becoming myths... that we've adjusted them again."

Well, of course, she conceded in her little kerfuffle. It seems that she has learnt her lesson.

 

[CNT36]

I don't agree with any of the poll options. I agree with the Phillip Pullman/ littlebabyjesus line. Outdated literature should go out of date. If people want to consult it, it’s there as a record of attitudes that could get published at the time. Society moves on.

Different if it was a living author editing their own work and saying “you know, I wouldn’t write that now”. That’s different. Even Dickens did that (he came to realise he’d used antisemitic tropes and went back and revised earlier work). But photoshopping dead authors’ work? Don’t bother. Just allow them to fade away and publish new authors.

And added some songs to Oliver Twist.

 

[Petcha]

Bonkers.

I'm very much over cancel culture now. Very very much.

How long until we delete the entire 1940s-2020s.

 

[hitmouse]

I'll be carrying Gramsci's Prison Notebooks which I'll pretend to have read.

I hear in some of the modern woke editions of Gramsci, the publishers have messed with the original text by taking all the Italian words out and putting English ones in instead to make it more politically correct.

 

[Petcha]

Oh, and Philip Pullman is shit. I mean, really shit. I tried, I really did. But it's shit.

 

[8ball]

Bonkers.

I'm very much over cancel culture now. Very very much.

How long until we delete the entire 1940s-2020s.

We’ve still got a chunk of the 2020s to go, but I guess we could just burn everything now and call it 2030.

 

[Petcha]

We’ve still got a chunk of the 2020s to go, but I guess we could just burn everything now and call it 2030.

I'm gonna read my boy the Twits this weekend. And I'm sure he'll laugh as much as I did when I was his age. This shit is horrific. They'll be editing Quentin Blake's illustrations soon to make them all gender-non-specific.

 

[DotCommunist]

Do people think the PC brigade are going to ceremonially rip the older versions from the shelves of second hand bookshops or something . Roald Dahl samzidat passed around in underground meetings.

 

[danny la rouge]

Saw this today, think it's sadly going to be an evergreen cartoon:

Nothing. No reason.

 

[Sasaferrato]

Poll fail really. No 'leave the books as they are' option.

Put a sticker on if you must, but books, including children's books are social history. Leaving things in the original shows where we were, and also where we are now.