Explicit novel selected for students sparks controversy

From online dispatches

Cover of Tohumcu's 'Abis'

A book chosen by Istanbul's National Education Directorate raised voices of concern due to the pornographic material it contained, reports claimed.

Aslı Tohumcu's book "Abis" was picked by officials in accordance with a government project that aimed at bringing students and writers together at different events.  

The book soon triggered a storm of reaction with its explicit language and use of sexual references. Angry parents accused officials of not reading the books they advised students to read and demanded the book be withdrawn from junior high school curriculum.

The company that published  "Abis" released a press statement defending the writer, saying it perceived the reactions as attempts to create a more conservative society.
 
"We see the real scandal as damaging a good campaign that was for widespread reading at schools," the statement read, "but in a country where publishers and translators are arrested, we shouldn't be too suprised at this after all."


No official response has yet been given to the complaints.