Some criticizers call her actions irresponsible to the environment, some accuse her of pulling a publicity stunt, others say she is a literary hero making a stand. Penguin Books were contacted for a statement last Friday but have yet to say anything at all. Two things are for certain; Jeanette Winterson is not happy about the new covers, and burning books makes for one hell of a polarizing image, irrespective of context.

https://twitter.com/Wintersonworld/status/1400848078022877191

“The publishers are fixing the problem but these are not copies I want to keep. I gave most of them away to charity but needed a symbolic burning to raise my spirits. I am the writer I am. But I wouldn’t buy one of my books with those suburban blurbs. […] I am quick tempered as people know. But I come back down pretty quick too and see the funny side. I was incandescent at the time,” Winterson said in a statement to the Guardian.

As I am sure Jeanette Winterson will be familiar with Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, I have to quote the man for obvious reason;

“There is more than one way to burn a book. And the world is full of people running about with lit matches.” ― Ray Bradbury

Perhaps the publisher had already assassinated the book’s character, that the author saw fit to merely finish them with a merciful cremation?

Could have easily just torn the covers and done something artsy with the remains of the books, or donated them, then again, my mind is far less political when it comes to incandescent outrage (I’d have curled into a ball and written a fast and furious letter). I do hope this has nothing to do with publicity though. Fire was most definitely the wrong symbol of protest. 馬鹿, ばか Baka!