3 out of 4 stars
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The Banned Book about Love is a booklet that was written in reaction to the rape trial conviction of athlete Brock Turner. It discusses the themes of unconditional love and loving one’s enemies. Hughes originally published the booklet through the Amazon website; it grossed over 1,000 downloads and held a spot as the number one bestseller in the Philosophy category before it was removed. According to Hughes, it was removed from the site because of the implications of its cover image coupled with the high amount of negative book reviews from “people who did not even read it”.
Hughes begins each chapter by stating his viewpoint clearly, then he leads into his thesis through an in-depth discussion of his intention. For instance, in one chapter he states: “I don’t mean to minimize what Brock Turner did” and discusses his intention until it leads into the thesis that everyone could everyone else if they tried. He doesn’t waste the reader’s time by floundering between ideas and overusing rhetorical questions. I can appreciate this style of persuasive writing; it gives the reader relevant information.
His usage of repetition accomplished the desired effect of engaging the reader by being humorous in the second chapter and useful for defending his viewpoints against expected accusations in the third chapter, but he continues to use it to the point of it becoming overused and dull after the third chapter.
I disagreed with Hughes's rhetorical device usage concerning the idea of unconditional love. He emphasizes his belief that unconditional love is possible between strangers by implying that his love for Brock Turner is the same as continuing to love a spouse during an argument. To me, this is not realistic. A stranger is someone who one hasn’t corresponded with, so how would someone have enough knowledge of them to treat them like a spouse? A married person has at least gotten to know their spouse intimately through discussion.
Despite this disagreement, I found the inclusive nature of his writing to be a pleasant part of the booklet. He expands upon the theme of loving one’s enemies by including Biblical scripture in accordance with Jesus of Nazareth’s teachings and concisely explains why a religious person should believe in unconditional love. I am not a religious person, but this may appeal to those who are.
I rate this booklet 3 out of 4 stars. It was thoughtfully written and displayed a self-awareness that strove to avoid alienating the reader. He also varies his sentence structure effectively in order to keep the interest of the reader. It provided an interesting perspective on the topic of unconditional love. I would recommend this book to anyone who would like to read and contemplate ethics and social philosophy in a post-2000s context.
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The Banned Book about Love
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