Controversial Novel Returns to Library

Three months after the William Styron novel “Sophie’s Choice” disappeared from library shelves at La Mirada High School amid arguments over possible censorship, the book is back.

It returned this week with a message from the school district.

“We are definitely not into censorship,” said Ginger Shattuck, superintendent of Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School district.

Students had said the book about a traumatized Holocaust survivor was pulled from the library after a parent learned it was on a teacher’s recommended reading list. The parent had objected to parts of the book that contained profanity and some sexual content.

The matter attracted the attention of the American Civil Liberties Union, which threatened a 1st Amendment lawsuit if the book was not returned.

La Mirada Principal Andrew Huynh deferred comment Friday to the district superintendent. Shattuck said the book was not pulled as an act of censorship, but was borrowed by the principal--admittedly, for longer than was needed--to review it for possible inclusion in the curriculum. Huynh was prompted by the parent’s concern and took the school’s one copy of the book, Shattuck said.

Teachers who want to incorporate books into their curriculum that aren’t already approved by the state must submit an application to the district. A committee from the district reviews the book.

But the managing attorney for the ACLU of Southern California disputed Shattuck’s account. “I don’t see why it would need to be off the shelves for a couple months,” said Peter Eliasberg. “I just don’t buy that story.”

Eliasberg said he believes the book is back in the library because district officials got some good advice from their attorneys--and realized they was in the wrong.

“I’m disappointed that this ever happened, but at the same point, I’m glad it could be resolved so quickly, without [the district] dragging its feet and forcing us to litigation,” he said.

“Sophie’s Choice” chronicles the postwar life of Sophie, a Polish refugee whose sufferings in the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp are revealed in flashbacks.

Kat Kosmala, a senior at La Mirada High who was among those who protested the book’s removal, said she was overjoyed by its return. She said the book belongs in an environment where young people can easily get it.

“It really is a wonderful book on many levels,” she said. “It has a great deal of literary merit, historical and cultural value.”

Kosmala, 18, hopes the controversy surrounding “Sophie’s Choice” attracts more students to it.

“It’s now become a little more famous than before. I hope most of them read it at some point,” she said.