From The Irish Times:
LOOKING OUT the window of her bookshop on Avenue Bouguiba, where two dozen curious faces are pressed against the pane to catch a glimpse at her latest display, Selma Jabbes is a picture of quiet satisfaction.
The crowds outside the Al Kitab bookshop are staring at a selection of newly arrived titles under the heading Livres interdits , a selection of books banned under the regime of deposed president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali and now freely available for the first time.
Most concern Ben Ali, his wife Leila Trabelsi, political repression, Islamism and corruption in the regime.
Al Kitab is still awaiting delivery of its first order of banned books from Europe; those in the window were donated by readers and put on display “to give an idea of how we suffered here”, says Jabbes, a softly-spoken woman greeted by name by many of her customers.
Under Ben Ali’s rule, booksellers required a visa from the interior ministry for every work they wanted to import, and the process could take several months. The list of sensitive subject matter was long and ever-changing, but virtually every foreign title that touched on the president or his entourage, or which denigrated his policies, was strictly prohibited.
All great but what books?
Obviously books telling the truth about the regime, but then people there know they were thugs, criminals etc, thats as taken. Once you’ve heard/read the truth in one book thats it. So what other things were banned? That’s what I’d be more interested in.
Global Warming? Harry Potter? Unauthorised biography of Simon Cowell?