Having, at last, finished reading my Christmas present, The Ickabog by J.K. Rowling, I declare I like this book better than any of the Harry Potters! It`s topical. Although the simple text written in very simple language seems to verge on didactic (and I have never liked didactic), it is not.
What does make me wonder is How come the book has not been banned or at least censored. Of course, it boasts neither N-words nor H-words, but Powers That Be must find it seditious. Here goes:
You see, royal proclamations had now gone up in every town and village square in Cornucopia, all written by Spittleworth and signed by the king. It was treason to question the king`s decisions, treason to suggest that the Ickabog might not be real, treason to question the need for the Ickabog tax and treason not to pay your two ducats a month. There was also a reward of ten ducats if you reported someone for saying the Ickabog wasn`t real.
Oh, and what`s the Ickabog? It is a mythical monster. A monster Lord Spittleworth and Lord Flapoon, greedy for power and money, legislate to be a real monster. King Fred the Fearless (who should be named rather Fred the Fool/ed/ or Fred the Frightful) lets them push himself around... Oh well, that`s beside the point. The point is, people will put up with anything if scared enough.
Some parents even taught their children to bow and curtsy to the tax collectors.
Eventually, it turns out a real Ickabog exists. Only it is different. It can be dangerous, too, but whether it is dangerous or not depends on how poeple treat it.
In real world, the Most Popular Ickabog of nowadays seems to be Covid-19 (I wonder whether the Vaccine is an Ickabog Defence Brigade or something else), the Precautions being even more harmful and stupid, more often than not, than the Cornucopia Ickabog Precautions. When that`s out of fashion, another will be invented...
Happy Ickabog Year(s) everyone!