Singapore public libraries to keep original Roald Dahl books amid controversy over rewritten versions

SINGAPORE: There are no plans to remove the Roald Dahl titles currently available in libraries, the National Library Board (NLB) said on Friday (Mar 3) amid controversy over rewritten editions of the children's books.

NLB added that it would assess the suitability of acquiring the new editions of the titles "in accordance with its collection policy" if and when they become available.

The collection policy takes reference from the Infocomm Media Development Authority's Content Guidelines for Imported Publications, said NLB. The guidelines include those related to public security, race, religion, s*x and one stating that "teens and young persons should be protected from content likely to harm or disturb them".

In February, the UK newspaper The Daily Telegraph reported that Dahl's books were being rewritten to remove or alter passages pertaining to gender, race and physical appearance.

For example, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory's Augustus Gloop would no longer be "enormously fat" but "enormous". In The Twits, Mrs Twits is no longer described as "ugly and beastly" but just "beastly".

The rewritten rendition of The Witches, famous for Dahl's vivid and grotesque descriptions of them, now has an added line in a paragraph explaining the witches are bald beneath their wigs: "There are plenty of other reasons why women might wear wigs and there is certainly thing wrong with that."

The changes were brought about after Puffin Books, which is part of United States-based publisher Penguin Random House, hired "sensitivity readers" to rewrite the text to ensure the books would be continued "to be enjoyed by all today".

But public criticism and outcry over the changes have prompted a rethink. Puffin said on Feb 24, that in addition to publishing the rewritten versions, it said it would also release 17 of Roald's Dahl's titles with the original text unchanged.

In response to CNA queries, Singapore bookstore Books Kinokuniya, said: "Roald Dahl books are being updated and reprinted every few years; because they sell really fast, we no longer have stock of the old editions."

"READ SOMETHING ELSE" IF OFFENDED

Mr David Seow, a Singaporean children's book author, thinks the changes were unnecessary to begin with.

"Dahl's books were written to entertain young readers and open their minds to whole new worlds. It was written at a time when things were not as woke as they are now."

While characters like Miss Trunchbull from Matilda were "vile", no one could have written her like Dahl, said Mr Seow.

"If we sugarcoat everything a character says in a book that may be offensive, what are we going to do when young readers meet people who may have the same traits in real life?"

Mr Seow also believes that rewriting Dahl's books for those offended "ruins things for everyone else".

"They won't get the full wit, humour, and genius of his work. And is that fair? If they find his language offensive, don't buy the books and read something else," he said.

In the wake of the incident, Mr Seow added that he would not be changing what he writes about even if he is told his books are "too gender-specific".

"Children's books are lights in an increasingly dark world. Does this make me want to change what I write just because someone may find it offensive? No."