Gitmo Reading
By “Harry Potter is a popular title among some of the detainee population,” said the librarian, a civilian contractor identified only as “Lorie” who works at the prison camp for foreign terrorism suspects at the U.S. naval base in Cuba.
Lorie said the popularity of the best-selling Harry Potter books, which recount the adventures of a boy wizard as he triumphs over the powers of evil, was matched only by the prisoners’ passion for Agatha Christie, some of whose murder mysteries are set in the Middle East.
I wonder how deeply Rowling’s books have penetrated the US prison population. More options there, I suppose, for a predominantly english reading audience. I’m also fascinated by the degree to which the Harry Potter books have become a cultural touchstone.
Via Kat at Transcontatlantic Relations.