Review by Gnome -- The Banned Book about Love

[Gnome]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "The Banned Book about Love" by Scott Hughes.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The Banned Book about Love by Scott Hughes uses the highly publicized Brock Turner rape case in an effort to start a much larger conversation about love, hate, and their reflection on the American justice system. Starting with the controversial words, “I love Brock Turner” Hughes opens the discussion of defining hate leads the reader to the question, “Do you really hate Brock Turner the person or just Brock Turner the representation of the American view on sexualized crime?” Hughes then takes the conversation a step further to ask the questions: “What purpose does hate have?” “How is hate different than love?” “How can we apply love to our everyday interactions?”

While published as a book The Banned Book about Love was really an open letter or essay using the Brock Turner case to point out flaws in both the justice system and in many ways of thinking. Hughes repeatedly uses the words “I love” to help illustrate his point, had he turned “I love” into “Jesus loves” this essay could have easily been turned into a sermon on love and hate in the media. Hughes does briefly mention religion and quotes the Bible, but this essay is intended to reach further than a sermon. To further it's reach, The Banned Book about Love presents itself as a “tl;dr” (too long; didn't read) about the state of political discussion in America.

The simplicity in which someone can start a conversation about The Banned Book About Love is
its greatest strength. The Banned Book about Love is a very quotable book which helps the “tl;dr”
since someone can immediately turn around and share the message in a single thought: “Hate is the tl;dr of politics, policy, and social decision-making.”

The Banned Book About Love seems to fail in its ending. The book takes a bit of a turn by asking for a call to action in promoting change. The first 2/3 of the books appears to be an analysis of hate in our society and flows seamlessly together to promote discussion. The turn in the last 1/3 of the book shifts the intent and the view in a way that is slightly jarring. Though it is a testament to Hughes that he manages to keep the tone from changing with this shift.

I rate The Banned Book About Love 3 out of 4 stars. The beginning was a very strong analysis and discussion of the American justice system but the ending felt a bit weak when it shifts the book's intent.

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The Banned Book about Love
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