📕 Banned Books

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Violence

61 books77 bans across 17 countries42 currently active

Depictions of violence have been used as a pretext for banning books by school boards wary of disturbing content, and by authoritarian governments seeking to suppress accounts of their own atrocities. The same passage that gets a young adult novel challenged at a Texas school board might, in a different context, be the reason a dissident writer's memoir is confiscated at an airport.

Cover of A Clockwork Orange

A Clockwork Orange

Anthony Burgess

DystopianSci-fiViolence

Cover of A Little Life

A Little Life

Hanya Yanagihara

Literary fictionViolence

Cover of A Separate Peace

A Separate Peace

John Knowles

Coming of ageLiterary fictionViolence

Cover of American Psycho

American Psycho

Bret Easton Ellis

Literary fictionThrillerViolence

Cover of Barefoot Gen

Barefoot Gen

Keiji Nakazawa

Graphic novelViolence

Cover of Beloved

Beloved

Toni Morrison

Literary fictionHistorical fictionViolence

Bridge to Terabithia

Bridge to Terabithia

Katherine Paterson

Coming of ageYoung adultViolence

Cover of Captain Underpants

Captain Underpants

Dav Pilkey

ChildrenViolence

Cover of Carrie

Carrie

Stephen King

HorrorYoung adultViolence

Cover of Catch-22

Catch-22

Joseph Heller

Literary fictionSatireViolence

Cover of Crank

Crank

Ellen Hopkins

Young adultViolence

Cover of Ender's Game

Ender's Game

Orson Scott Card

Sci-fiYoung adultViolence

Cover of Fallen Angels

Fallen Angels

Walter Dean Myers

Young adultHistorical fictionViolence

Feliz Ano Novo

Rubem Fonseca

short-storiesLiterary fictionViolence

Cover of Fight Club

Fight Club

Chuck Palahniuk

Literary fictionThrillerViolence

Cover of Frisk

Frisk

Dennis Cooper

Literary fictionViolence

Cover of From Hell

From Hell

Alan Moore & Eddie Campbell

Graphic novelViolence

Cover of Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors

Hit Man: A Technical Manual for Independent Contractors

Rex Feral

Non-fictionViolence

Cover of Hubert Selby Jr.: Last Exit to Brooklyn

Hubert Selby Jr.: Last Exit to Brooklyn

Hubert Selby Jr.

🇦🇺🇬🇧

Literary fictionViolence

Cover of I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings

Maya Angelou

MemoirComing of ageViolence

Cover of In Cold Blood

In Cold Blood

Truman Capote

Non-fictionThrillerViolence

Cover of It

It

Stephen King

Literary fictionViolence

Cover of James and the Giant Peach

James and the Giant Peach

Roald Dahl

FantasyChildrenViolence

Lord Horror

David Britton

Literary fictionViolence

Cover of Maus

Maus

Art Spiegelman

Graphic novelMemoirViolence

Cover of Misery

Misery

Stephen King

HorrorThrillerViolence

Cover of Monster

Monster

Walter Dean Myers

Young adultViolence

Cover of Native Son

Native Son

Richard Wright

Literary fictionViolence

Cover of Nineteen Minutes

Nineteen Minutes

Jodi Picoult

ThrillerLiterary fictionViolence

Cover of Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck

Literary fictionViolence

Cover of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Ken Kesey

Literary fictionViolence

Persepolis

Marjane Satrapi

🇺🇸🇮🇷

MemoirGraphic novelViolence

Cover of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark

Alvin Schwartz

ChildrenHorrorViolence

Cover of Slaughterhouse-Five

Slaughterhouse-Five

Kurt Vonnegut

Literary fictionSatireViolence

Cover of Sold

Sold

Patricia McCormick

Young adultViolence

Cover of Son

Son

Lois Lowry

DystopianYoung adultViolence

Cover of Speak

Speak

Laurie Halse Anderson

Young adultViolence

Cover of Steal This Book

Steal This Book

Abbie Hoffman

Non-fictionPolitical fictionViolence

Cover of The Anarchist Cookbook

The Anarchist Cookbook

William Powell

🇦🇺🇬🇧🇦🇺🇬🇧+1

Non-fictionViolence

Cover of The Bell Jar

The Bell Jar

Sylvia Plath

Literary fictionComing of ageViolence

Cover of The Book Thief

The Book Thief

Markus Zusak

Young adultHistorical fictionViolence

Cover of The Butcher Boy

The Butcher Boy

Patrick McCabe

Literary fictionViolence

Cover of The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye

J.D. Salinger

Coming of ageLiterary fictionViolence

Cover of The Chocolate War

The Chocolate War

Robert Cormier

Young adultViolence

Cover of The Giver

The Giver

Lois Lowry

Young adultDystopianViolence

Cover of The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle

Jeannette Walls

Cover of The House of the Spirits

The House of the Spirits

Isabel Allende

Literary fictionMagical realismViolence

Cover of The House on Mango Street

The House on Mango Street

Sandra Cisneros

Literary fictionComing of ageViolence

Cover of The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins

DystopianYoung adultViolence

Cover of The Kite Runner

The Kite Runner

Khaled Hosseini

🇺🇸🇦🇫

Literary fictionViolence

Cover of The Lord of the Flies

The Lord of the Flies

William Golding

Literary fictionViolence

Cover of The Outsiders

The Outsiders

S.E. Hinton

Coming of ageYoung adultViolence

Cover of The Painted Bird

The Painted Bird

Jerzy Kosiński

🇵🇱🚩🚩

Literary fictionHistorical fictionViolence

Cover of The Stone Virgins

The Stone Virgins

Yvonne Vera

Literary fictionViolence

Cover of The Things They Carried

The Things They Carried

Tim O'Brien

Literary fictionHistorical fictionViolence

Things Fall Apart

Things Fall Apart

Chinua Achebe

Literary fictionViolence

Cover of Thirteen Reasons Why

Thirteen Reasons Why

Jay Asher

Young adultViolence

Cover of To Kill a Mockingbird

To Kill a Mockingbird

Harper Lee

Coming of ageHistorical fictionViolence

Total Abuse

Peter Sotos

Non-fictionViolence

Cover of Watchmen

Watchmen

Alan Moore & Dave Gibbons

Graphic novelViolence

Cover of Water for Elephants

Water for Elephants

Sara Gruen

Literary fictionHistorical fictionViolence