The British Columbia ferry company has pulled The Golden Mean by Annabel Lyon from its gift shops’ shelves.
The Guardian explained: “Its jacket–featuring a naked man lying on the back of an equally naked white horse–is offensive to some. Although stores across Canada and the UK are selling the book, Lyons revealed on her blog that British Columbia ferry company BC Ferries is not stocking it ‘since the trade paperback still features a bare bum on the cover.'”
The Golden Mean tells the story of Alexander the Great’s childhood–as seen through the eyes of his adolescent tutor, Aristotle. The book was shortlisted for Canada’s literary award, the Giller Prize.
Censorship has made headlines around the globe this summer. Last week, Humble, Texas’ Teen Lit Festival cut novelist Ellen Hopkins for her racy literature. Four sympathetic authors subsequently withdrew from the festival in support of Hopkins.