Ann Patchett shares biting response to Florida ban on two of her novels: 'Be careful, don't read these books'
Nashville author Ann Patchett has responded after two of her books were banned in Florida.
"The Patron Saint of Liars," Patchett's debut novel, is a book about a home for unwed mothers in rural Kentucky. "Bel Canto," tells the tale of a terrorist situation in South America. Both joined the list of nearly 700 banned books from schools in Orange County, Florida.
In an Instagram reel from Parnassus Books, store owner Patchett shared her concerns with her books being banned.
Patchett notes that it seems odd that the books would be banned considering the themes are on par with the Florida's ideologies surrounding abortion and gun laws.
"They have the baby and give the baby up for adoption just like they tell us to in the state of Florida," she said about "The Patron Saint of Liars."
Patchett added that she believed the book ought to be required reading, since the mothers make the choice to have their babies. But perhaps it is the idea that in order to get pregnant, someone is required to have sex even if takes place prior to the story she said.
"It's true at the end the terrorists get shot," she said about "Bel Canto." "But maybe in the state of Florida that would be OK too because they don't ban guns, right?"
"Be careful," she warned. "Don't read these books."
According to the non-profit organization, Pen America, the states leading the country in book bans are Texas, Florida, Missouri, Utah, and South Carolina. The implications of bans in these five states are far-reaching, as policies and practices are modeled and replicated across the country they said.
Censorship runs amok? Why would Florida book bans target Nashville author Ann Patchett?
Additionally, book banners repeatedly target books by and about people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals.
"In this six-month period (July to December 2022), 30% of the unique titles banned are books about race, racism, or feature characters of color," said a study by Pen America. "Meanwhile, 26% of unique titles banned have LGBTQ+ characters or themes."
Read ahead for what else to know about book bans and what they look like in Tennessee.
More: Banned Books Week means parents must speak up against censorship and suppression
What is a book ban?
PEN America defines a book ban as any action taken against a book based on its content and as a result of parent or community challenges, administrative decisions, or in response to direct or threatened action by lawmakers or other governmental officials.
The ban then leads to previously accessible books, which are selected by librarians and educators as part of the educational offerings to students, being either completely removed from availability or where access to that book is restricted or diminished.
What kind of content is typically banned?
The following are findings made though Pen America's study on banned books of the 2022-2023 School Year.
44% include themes or instances of violence & physical abuse. This includes titles that have episodes of violence and/or physical abuse as a component of plot or discussion.
38% cover topics on health and wellbeing for students. This includes content on mental health, bullying, suicide, substance abuse, as well as books that discuss sexual wellbeing and puberty.
30% are books that include instances or themes of grief and death. This includes books that have a character death or a related death that is impactful to the plot or a character’s emotional arc.
30% include characters of color or discuss race and racism.
26% present LGBTQ+ characters or themes. Of note, within this category, 68 are books that include transgender characters, which is 8% of all books banned.
24% detail sexual experiences between characters.
17% of books mention teen pregnancy, abortion or sexual assault.
Book bans and removals in Tennessee
In August of 2023, a group of Williamson County parents filed a petition accusing the county's board of education of violating a state law passed in 2022 that requires school boards to review library materials and remove those deemed inappropriate for students.
Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, is representing the group. Bulso is also behind House Bill 1605, which would prohibit public and charter schools from displaying any flag other than the U.S. or Tennessee flags in schools, ultimately banning rainbow pride flags, pride progress flags and transgender rights flags.
The parents asked the court to order the Williamson County Board of Education to remove the following five books that the board allowed to stay in the schools by an 8-2 vote during a previous June 19 meeting.
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky
"Where the Crawdads Sing" by Delia Owens
"Speak" by Laurie Halse Anderson
"The Field Guide to the North American Teenager" by Ben Philippe
"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" by Jonathan Safran
"The library collections contain obscene materials that depict, and in many cases encourage promiscuous sexual behavior, deviant sexual behavior, rape, abortion, contraception, drug use, and drunkenness," the lawsuit read. "These materials create pornographic visual images wholly inappropriate for middle school students, high school students, or students of any age or level of maturity."
Board members voted to keep the books during the June meeting based on the recommendation of their book review committee and the majority of the members were supportive of the books.
"These books are not promoting horrific activities. They teach kids a way to relate to difficult circumstances and how to communicate it to parents and peers. The power of books is a double-edged sword, and I would hate to stifle that," board member KC Haugh said at the June 19 meeting.
In November of 2023, Rutherford County officials proposed a resolution which would ban county libraries from using county funds — which make up about 60% of the library system’s budget — to purchase any materials, display any materials or host any events that “may be judged as obscene or patently offensive in accordance with the social morals of the community.”
The resolution will come to vote at a January meeting to give time for committee members to discuss ways to police the library. Proposed options include auditing the library, removing staff and possibly building an entirely new library to comply with the restricted standards.
A proposed age-restrictive checkout policy would also implement tiered book access to prevent minors from checking out books with “explicit content” at libraries in the Rutherford County system.
More: Book removals and bans are on the rise: Here are the books targeted in Tennessee
Reporters Angele Latham and Evan Mealins contributed to this report.
Diana Leyva covers trending news and service for The Tennessean. Contact her at Dleyva@gannett.com or follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter at @_leyvadiana
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville author Ann Patchett blasts Florida ban on two of her novels
