Charlie Peace (novel)
Encyclopedia
Charlie Peace is the controversial comic novel by British writer Paul Pickering
. It was published in the United States
by Random House
but not in the United Kingdom
because of fears of Christian
blasphemy prosecutions against the background of The Satanic Verses controversy
to call Pickering the ‘de facto Norman Mailer of the British literati’ and J. G. Ballard
said the book was ‘very entertaining while being genuinely subversive ... not to publish it in Britain is pure censorship.’
Paul Pickering
- Early Life :Pickering was born in Rotherham, Yorkshire, the son of Arthur Samuel Pickering and Lorna . He was educated at the Royal Masonic School for Boys in Bushey, Hertfordshire, and at the University of Leicester.- Career :...
. It was published in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
by Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
but not in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
because of fears of Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
blasphemy prosecutions against the background of The Satanic Verses controversy
The Satanic Verses controversy
The Satanic Verses controversy was the heated and sometimes violent Muslim reaction to the publication of Salman Rushdie's novel The Satanic Verses. Many Muslims accused Rushdie of blasphemy or unbelief and in 1989 Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini of Iran issued a fatwa ordering Muslims to kill Rushdie...
Plot Summary
Criminal Jack Peachey needs to find his own human narrative in the incredible stories Charlie Peace told him when he was a boy. He wants to imagine a Christ in his own image.Reception
The book received favourable reviews in the USA. Publishers Weekly called the novel ‘A bizarre, wildly surreal fantasy that lampoons Christianity and organised religion ... makes Salvador Dali’s psychospiritual rantings look tame.’ The novel not being published in the UK led to Pickering leaving his then publishers Chatto & Windus. The row led The Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
to call Pickering the ‘de facto Norman Mailer of the British literati’ and J. G. Ballard
J. G. Ballard
James Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
said the book was ‘very entertaining while being genuinely subversive ... not to publish it in Britain is pure censorship.’
External links
- Debrett's People of Today 21 August 2005
- Collected reviews
- Paul Pickering at Simon & Schuster USA.
- Paul Pickering at Simon & Schuster UK.
- Paul Pickering's website