SOS Madeleine McCann: Book at Bedtime controversy.

I used to listen to the BBC Radio 4 Book at Bedtime, years ago, driving home through darkened country roads when my shift at work ended at 10pm. So, "Book at Bedtime," now conjures up for me, silent winding lanes, my own swathe of light leading me through the darkness, black night folding softly and seamlessly behind me, the occasional twin swords of light strobing the sky from a further hill, and the soft voice reading me a story.

The recent book at bedtime, which has elicited complaints from listeners, would probably have been ideal for me, alone in my car, tired, anticipating what might be just beyond the reach of my headlights. It would have grabbed my attention, held it and definitely kept me awake better than any other reading at the sandman hour.

The book in question was, "Sans Personne," by the Canadian author, Barbara Gowdy, translated as, "Helpless." Here, the controversy surrounding its reading as a, "Book at Bedtime," is related by Duarte Levy on SOS Madeleine McCann.

Auditeurs demandent la censure d’un livre à cause de la disparition de Madeleine

Listeners demand censorship of a book because of Madeleine’s disappearance.

Au Royaume-Uni, l’émission de radio “Un livre à l’heure du coucher” (Book at Bedtime) sur BBC 4 qui prétend apaiser ses auditeurs par la lecture d’un roman avant qu’ils partent dormir, a été inondée de plaintes à propos du choix du livre “Sans Personne” (Helpless) de l’écrivaine canadienne Barbara Gowdy Selon les auditeurs, suite à la disparition de Madeleine McCann, le choix d’une œuvre qui traite d’un cas de pédophilie était "totalement inadéquat".

In the United Kingdom, the radio broadcast, “Book at Bedtime,” on BBC 4 which claims to calm its listeners by the reading of a novel before they go to sleep, was inundated with complaints about the choice of book, “Sans Personne,” (Helpless) by the Canadian author Barbara Gowdy. According to the listeners, following Madeleine McCann’s disappearance, the choice of a work that deals with paedophilia was, “totally inappropriate.”

L’œuvre, selon son éditeur, "est un thriller psychologique, mais aussi le tableau d'une détresse intime immense déjà exprimée par son titre, et qui résume la vie de beaucoup au sein de nos grandes villes".
Dans "Sans Personne" la jeune Rachel, neuf ans, est enlevée un soir d'orage, pendant l’absence de sa mère. Ainsi débute un singulier cas de disparition d'enfant.

The work, according to its publisher, "is a psychological thriller, but also the setting for great personal distress already expressed by its title, and which typifies the life of many people in our large towns." In, "Sans Personne," young Rachel, aged nine, is abducted on the night of a storm, during her mother's absence. Thus starts a strange case of a missing child.

"Le sujet est insipide et donné la société dans laquelle nous vivons totalement inadéquat. Je ne peux pas croire que vous avez choisi de nous soumettre aux détails sinistres de l'obsession qui hante un adulte pour un enfant," accuse une auditrice.
Barbara Gowdy, qui a obtenu les plus grands prix littéraires au Canada, est l’auteur de sept romans et recueils traduits dans de nombreux pays, notamment en France et en Belgique.

"The subject is banal and given the society in which we live, totally inappropriate. I cannot believe that you have chosen to subject us to the sinister details of the obsession that haunts an adult for a child," accuses a listener. Barbara Gowdy, who has gained Canada's best literary prizes, is the author of seven novels and anthologies which have been translated in many countries, notably in France and in Belgium.

Gone Baby Gone
Avant les critiques à "Sans Personne", le film "Gone Baby Gone", réalisé par Ben Affleck, avait vu sa sortie retardé à cause de la disparition de Madeleine McCann.
Dans un pays qui compte quelques milliers d’enfants disparues, la plupart sans avoir eu la moindre médiatisation, l’affaire McCann est devenu une exception, un cas unique.
"Les films à propos de l’enlèvement d'enfant ne seront jamais agréables à regarder," écrivait un journaliste outre-manche soulignant que "Gone Baby Gone n’est pas exception".

Gone Baby Gone.

Before the criticism of "Sans Personne," the film "Gone Baby Gone," produced by Ben Affleck, saw its release postponed because of Madeleine McCann's disappearance. In a country which reports a few thousand missing children, most without having the least media coverage, the McCann case has become an exception, a unique case. "Films about child abduction are never comfortable to watch," a journalist on the British side of the channel wrote, stressing that, "Gone Baby Gone," is no exception.

La sortie du film au Royaume-Uni avait été retardée de plusieurs mois en raison de la ressemblance existent entre Maddie et l’actrice Madeline O’Brien qui joue le personnage d’Amanda McCready.
Dans le film, Amanda McCready, âgée de quatre ans, disparaît après que sa maman l’a laissé seule à la maison pendant qu’elle sort s’amuser, tout comme l’avaient fait Kate et Gerry McCann. Les similitudes avec la réalité de l’affaire McCann s’arrêtent la mais le public britannique a du attendre 2008 pour connaître le film.

The release of the film in the United Kingdom had been postponed for several months because of the similarity existing between Maddie and the actress Madeline O'Brien who plays the character Amanda McCready. In the film, Amanda McCready, aged four, disappeared after her mother left her alone in the house while she went out to enjoy herself, just as Kate and Gerry McCann did. The similarities with the reality of the McCann case stop there, but the British public has had to wait until 2008 to see the film.

Selon Clarence Mitchell, le chargé en communication de Kate et Gerry McCann, le couple était reconnaissant au réalisateur pour avoir retardé la sortie du film.

According to Clarence Mitchell, communication spokesperson for Kate and Gerry McCann, the couple were thankful to the producer for having postponed the release of the film.

http://sosmaddie.dhblogs.be/

6/06/08

SOS Madeleine McCann blog