Why Was Reverend Insanity Banned?

If you’re having trouble finding the novel, it’s because the novel’s core philosophy of completely amoral, purely competitive pursuit of success violates China’s censorship laws. My novel was originally removed from China’s leading webnovel site, Qidian, in Chinese, after only a short time due to its “inappropriateness”. And, in English, the official full-length translation was removed midway through the story due to similar complaints about “inappropriateness”. Now, the novel has filled a vacuum and become a piece of fandom history that fans are committed to making sure that others can read. Most of the versions of the novel are scattered about online in PDF, EPUB, etc. form, often posted by readers for other readers. Thus, finding a high quality, stable host for the work is difficult because any such host would almost immediately be subject to takedown notices from a variety of complainants.

The writer of a groundbreaking, daring essay to be banned a couple of years later in a burst of extreme fury decides to recycle the original material for a more main stream journal, watering down some of the more explosive arguments to include in ‘New Beginning’, the re-worked version of the essay containing the same core arguments, or thesis, on Fang Yuan’s brand new philosophy, with perhaps a little different supporting evidence in a less-inflammable language to reach an audience of more moderate and safe disposition. That would not be a sequel, however; a sequel is written after the original and deepens on the conclusions drawn. This is merely a re-packaging of the original with possibly tamer arguments.

This will probably be terrible. I loved the original work, but a work of that magnitude was chopped down in its prime. It's hard to see how anyone other than the author could continue it in any meaningful way. The author had a plan and a vision, not some fan tinkering around. Even if it does update regularly, I'd need to see a bunch of positive reviews to know that this is actually a good continuation of the story and captures the essence of the work as it was. As it is, I'd be skeptical, and a predictable schedule of mediocre work is not something I'm looking for.

Ever see how books that have been banned become sort of mythic? I read ‘Portnoy’s Complaint’ when it had been banned due to graphic content. But really it was so bad for another reason – it was so amazingly, brutally and painfully accurate to human hypocrisy. The main character in ‘Portnoy’s Complaint’ is hilarious and pitiful and completely relatable in all of his worst ways. But because of the attempts to ban the book, the themes really ended up accentuating all of the best reasons for the book to have been written. I read ‘Portnoy’s Complaint’ after seeing it referenced in a documentary on literary censorship. Now the book is sort of a footnote to that term but it still packs a rebellious punch.

In the grand scheme of things the controversy over this book is pretty small compared to its legacy. The book has sold millions of copies world wide. There was a major motion picture made from it. The book is found on the shelves of most libraries and is considered a classic of youth literature. The attempts to ban the book are just a footnote in the book’s Wikipedia article. What endures in the reader's mind long after the controversy has passed is the ingenious framework of the novel and its vividly imagined characters. Read and reread for decades on end, the satisfaction ofwatching all the separate storylines fall into place is one of the greatest pleasures of reading for a young person – or of any age. Others can frown upon this class of literature all they wish to; they are just opposing the wrong side of history on a really wonderful, fun, and highly constructed young person’s literature. In the meantime, I shall be munching on my onions and enjoying this great story.

There are many books that have been banned but then go on to become bestsellers such as ‘1984’ by George Orwell because it is a strong critique of governments. Another example is ‘The Scarlet Letter’ by Nathaniel Hawthorne. This book was removed from school reading lists because of its ‘questionable morality’. It is discussed in schools today because of its thought-provoking portrayal of the way that an adulterous woman was treated in a puritan community. An interesting note about this banned book is that it is about the silencing of women and was silenced. The story of Hester and her consequences are very real and relatable. They are messy and human and, in a society afraid of things it does not understand, the novel is even more relevant today in terms of issues of shame, women’s autonomy, and who gets to judge.

For those who don't know, the American Library Association annually compiles lists of the most challenged books in the country. Nurse Ratched of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (also featured in another film listed here) is frequently included because she presents women in a negative light and depicts obsenuity, violence, and in some cases, is seen to represent a distorted view of the psychiatric care given in the story, fear that it will lead children to erroneously view mental health care with suspicion. The better approach would be to teach kids how to critically view such a work within the context of when it was written and see how much mental health care has evolved since then. But no, instead of doing that, we ban the book in order to ensure that no such dialogue will ever take place. And everyone is left with their misguided fears instead.

the banning of 'Esperanza Rising' in some schools strikes me as both puzzling and concerning. The book, which follows a young Mexican girl's journey from privilege to poverty during the Great Depression, is often challenged for its depiction of harsh realities like migrant labor conditions and racial discrimination. Some parents argue these themes are too mature for younger readers, but that's precisely why the book matters. It doesn't shy away from historical truths about systemic inequality, showing Esperanza's growth as she learns resilience through adversity. The Spanish phrases woven into the text also occasionally draw criticism from those who believe English-only policies should apply to school materials, ignoring how this bilingual element authentically represents immigrant experiences. The objections often stem from discomfort rather than legitimate educational concerns. One common complaint cites the scene where Esperanza sees her mother assaulted - yes, it's intense, but violence against migrant workers was tragically commonplace. Others protest the book's critique of wealth disparity, as if exposing students to economic injustice is somehow dangerous. What these challenges overlook is how 'Esperanza Rising' ultimately celebrates dignity, community, and hope. Pam Muñoz Ryan's writing makes complex social issues accessible for middle-grade readers without sugarcoating history. The attempts to remove this book from curricula reflect a broader pattern of censoring stories that center marginalized voices under the guise of 'protecting' children from difficult truths.

Most complaints about this book about to come from parents and school boards come because of its frank handling of issues of human sexuality and drug use. It’s all too much for their comfort level, and thus they consider it ‘inappropriate’ for children to read. But the underlying causes of their discomfort will be too raw and distasteful for most people to wish to confront, and so they project onto the ‘offensive’ parts of the book in order to avoid having to consider the more disturbing and unacceptable ideas.

I also compared it to “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich” by Solzhenitsyn. The book was published in the Soviet Union during Khrushchev’s thaw and it contained a severe critique of the Soviet system. The main difference between Solzhenitsyn’s short story and “Zhivago” is the tone and scope of the books. While “Ivan Denisovich” was a concentrated and brutal picture of a single day in the life of a guy in the gulag, “Zhivago” is an epic, philosophical novel that questioned the very spiritual and historical foundations of the Russian Revolution over a period of five decades. And while the Soviet authorities could perhaps have tolerated a limited critique of Stalin’s excesses, “Zhivago” was a totally different matter – a poetic and holistic doubt of the entire revolutionary heritage of the Soviet regime. Needless to say, Pasternak’s international fame and the fact that “Zhivago” was published abroad were things that did not apply to Solzhenitsyn initially.