Salman Rushdie, other authors slam rewriting of Roald Dahl’s books as ‘absurd censorship’

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slammed the changes in Puffin Books’ new editions of Dahl’s books to passages relating to weight, mental health, gender and race. For instance, the word “fat” has been trimmed from new editions of relevant books, while the word “ugly” has also been culled.

This is wrong. Ban a book if you must. Or put a content warning at the front. But don’t rewrite it. Don’t put words in an author’s mouth (especially one who has no say in the matter).”

If we start down the path of trying to correct for perceived slights instead of allowing readers to receive and react to books as written, we risk distorting the work of great authors and clouding the essential lens that literature offers on society.”

Qns:  

1. ‘In a free society, there should be no restrictions on freedom of speech.’ Discuss. (Cam. 2020)

2. Can fiction teach us anything meaningful about the real world? (Cam. 2019)