Censored Angel by Joan Koster: review

 It’s rare to review a novel as disquietingly relevant to our current problems as Censored Angel by Joan Koster. The central figure, Ida Craddock, was a writer, proponent of birth control, and mystic. Her opposition to Anthony Comstock, a postal inspector from 1873 to 1907, who used his position to prosecute anyone who published, advertised or sent through the mail anything he considered obscene, is the central theme of Koster's well-researched novel.

A religious zealot, he censored any mention of abortion, birth control, prostitution, gambling, free love, prevention of venereal disease, and gambling, among others. He was responsible for some 4,000 arrests and proud of having caused fifteen people to kill themselves by his persecution.  

Ida Craddock was forceful, brilliant, well-educated, and odd. It’s hard not to think of her as a 19^th century Joan of Arc. Needless to say, she and Comstock were natural enemies. Censored Angel is a fascinating read that should alarm all of us in the current drive by Comstock’s modern-day heirs to censor anything they disapprove of and remove books from libraries.

The last of the Comstock Laws was not repealed until 1971. Think about that as you read this book.  

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Love a Book and Tell It So

Recently I’ve been trying to catch up on reviewing books I’ve loved. In some cases, I’ve read the author’s entire series to date without getting around to posting a review (Charles Todd, C.S. Harris, Louise Penny, Jacqueline Winspear, I apologize; if I haven’t written it yet, I’m getting to it soon—I’ve found an easy way to catch up). It’s not that I’m too busy to write the review. Like going to the dentist, even for a checkup, I tend to put it off. Reviewing a book is work, no matter how much you enjoyed it.

Why review a book? Telling a friend you loved it is good but limited. Reviews on Amazon or Goodreads or another review site can reach thousands of readers, but what do you say beyond clicking the little stars or writing “I liked it a lot.” Well…other readers may want to know that Fifty Shades of Grey does not resemble Pride and Prejudice. Or that The Secret of the Dragon’s Gall Bladder reminds you of The Lord of the Rings and the dragon has a smart mouth, or Jenny’s Pirate Duke is an amusing, clean read like Georgette Heyer’s Regency novels. I hope no one’s actually written The Secret of the Dragon’s Gall Bladder or Jenny’s Pirate Duke, because I just made them up.

Reviewing a book is like paying a compliment (assuming you liked it, and why would you take the time to review it if you didn't?). It's encouragement for that author to keep writing more books you'll love.

So to catch up, I’m going to be using a book review form I found recently. It’s a pdf  you fill in, with a series of questions about the book—“Would readers of a certain book, author or type of book like this? Which one?” “How did you feel about the characters—were they believable? Likable? Relatable?” It also provides helpful examples of reviews and titles for reviews. I’ve tried it, and once you have answered some or all of the questions, it makes review writing a breeze. Then you can copy your four to ten sentence review and paste it to Goodreads or Amazon, or both or anywhere else you might want to post a review. Or you can print the form out, fill it in by hand and then re-type it into wherever you’re posting the review. I've been told that if you want to post a review online from a smartphone, you can speak your review into the appropriate Amazon or Goodreads, review boxes, and I guess (because I'm not smartphone-savvy; more of a rotary phone gal) anywhere else online.

If you want the form, email me at kbuckley87110@gmail.com and I'll email it to you.