Librarians to review race row Tintin book

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Librarians to review race row Tintin book

The cover of Tintin in the Congo, courtesy of Egmont

The adventures of Tintin and his pet dog Snowy have been enjoyed by generations of young people across Europe for more than 70 years.

A series of comic books written and drawn by the Belgian Georges Remi, better known as Hergé, documented the pair's battles against villains in exotic locations including America, Tibet and even The Moon.

But the story of the young reporter and sidekick's trip to part of Africa has sparked controversy - 76 years after it was first published.

The book Tintin in the Congo is at the centre of a race row after a human rights lawyer complained that he had found it in the children's section of a high street store.

On seeing the book, the Commission for Racial Equality claimed it made black people "look like monkeys and talk like imbeciles" and depicted "hideous racial prejudice". They called for it to be banned from shops.

In light of the controversy, Kent County Council said it would be reviewing whether it continues stocking its copies of the book.

But Ann Widdecombe, Tory MP for Maidstone and The Weald, said the CRE's demand to ban the book was a "knee-jerk reaction".

She told KoS: "This was written in the 1930s. In the 1930s people had a different view of the world. To say, as the CRE did, the only place for this book is a museum is quite wrong.

"It shows a knee-jerk reaction and a lack of judgement. The CRE have been counter-productive in what they've done."

Ms Widdecombe said that the CRE's criticism had only served to provide publicity for the book.

The Borders chain of bookshops has decided to move Tintin in the Congo to stores' adult graphic novels area, following the complaint.

A spokeswoman for the county council said there were about a dozen copies of the book in more than 100 libraries it runs across the county.

She said no complaints had been made, but the book's suitability would be reviewed in light of the CRE's remarks.

"We will have a look at the publication just to gauge for ourselves whether we think it's appropriate to remain as book stock," she said.

Tintin au Congo was first published in book form in French in 1931. The modern translation includes a foreword that explains its historical context.

It warns: "In his portrayal of the Belgian Congo, the young Hergé reflects the colonial attitudes of the time…he depicted the African people according to the bourgeois, paternalistic stereotypes of the period – an interpretation that some of today's' readers may find offensive."

In September 2005, Egmont published Tintin in the Congo, completing the series of 24 Tintin adventures in colour for English-speaking markets.

Hergé himself recognised that the work reflected the imperialist views of the time. In a biographical book published in the 1980s, he said he portrayed Africans in the "purely paternalistic spirit of the time, in Belgium".

A spokeswoman for Egmont said the company had taken the unusual step of putting a warning about the book's content on the special collector's edition it published.

POSTED: 16/07/2007 10:04:13