Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books

Is this a novel, or is it morality tale? Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books is evidently trying to be a story that makes a point, but in the end there's very little story and too much point.

As other reviews have mentioned, the main issue with this book is that it lacks any nuance. Sure, it tries, as it presents a range of characters all with different perspectives and political views. But, as the story goes on, you begin to notice that all the characters are moving in the same direction, that is, Left. Essentially, in this story, you're either Progressive or you're a Nazi. There's no real, lasting, middle ground.

There are so many other things I could discuss, like the enormous cast of characters that makes it hard to keep anyone straight, the way it takes ages to get to any real story, the overly simplistic read-one-book-and-you're-not-homophobic-anymore view of literature. Even if the book wasn't so overtly political, I still wouldn't have enjoyed it. As is, though, it was endlessly frustrating.

In a small southern American town , a local woman, Lula Dean, decides that things in the world are going to hell in a handbasket and she is morally obligated to fix it. She takes it upon herself to go through the public library and then the school library and scour every pornographic, disgusting, unAmerican and dangerous book like Lord of the Flies, The Diary of Anne Frank, Tom Sawyer. After thinking about it for a while, she decides to build a cute little lending library in her front garden and fills it with wholesome literature like she read that made her the perfect person that she is. She goes about finding books like "The Southern Belle's Guide to Etiquette, Buffy Holiday Goes sto Europe! and 101 Cakes For Your Family". It turns out that her library is a huge hit with the town. Books are being snapped up much to her delight. She sees this as support by the community and their wanted to go back to the way it used to be.
What she doesn't realize is that one of the town's teenagers in the middle of the night has switched out the dust covers of these ridiculous books with classics, gay romance, Black history,spell books and more. One by one the townspeople find their lives and relationships changed in unexpected ways.
I found this book to be an easy read that sometimes made we laugh out loud and sometimes groan with recognition of the folks from my childhood growing up in a small southern town. I worry that if you didn't grow up as I did, some of the absurdities will seem false but trust me when I say her voice and descriptions are true. I can reccomend this entertaining and easy read.

A modern satire dealing with many current and historical issues. It delivers a strong morality message wrapped up in a folksy small town story. I am sure this book will appeal to a wide audience.

As you can guess from the title, the main theme of Lthis novel is book banning, which sadly gets more common even in parts of the so-called civilised world. It's set in Georgia, in the deep south of the USA. Beverly Underwood and her arch enemy (we find out later why this is) Lula Dean have lived in the little town of Troy all their lives. Beverly is on the school board – a position Lula covets – and Lula has found satisfaction and fame by setting up a ‘concerned’ citizens group, which goes around removing and banning from school and public libraries any book they consider unsuitable or ‘pornographic’. Many of them are books that Lula has never even read.

When Lula is banned from the public library, she retaliates by setting up her own little library of ‘wholesome’ books in a cute hutch in her front garden. But unbeknown to her a couple of local rebellious youths switch the books inside the dustcovers for others: books on race and racism, on alternative lifestyles, on gender discussions, gay romances, classics, black history etc. In other words, all the topics which Lula so vociferously condemns, along with the people they describe.

This turns out to have unforeseen consequences, both for the people who borrow these seemingly ‘safe’ books and for the town as a whole. Most of the people who read the new books have their eyes opened in one way or another. But when, finally, Lula discovers the deception and blames Beverly, it has near fatal consequences.

My verdict
There’s lots to recommend in this book. In places it’s hilarious, but equally also pretty serious. But the main thing is that it’s cleverly written with a light hand, and that makes it an easy and enjoyable read, without being too inconsequential. The descriptions of the people and places are good, quite vivid. And Lula, with her dreams of a ‘Gone with the Wind’ past that never was, is particularly well-drawn. I thought it was just a shame that the author has made sure there is a feel-good ending for everyone, even Lula, because to me that felt like a cop-out!

The American author, James Patterson, says of this: “Kirsten Miller has that rare ability to take a serious subject and make it very, very funny. I enjoyed this novel and you will too.” And I did enjoy it. If it had had a stronger ending I would have rated it higher.
Review by: Freyja