LDS Author 's Book Deemed Inappropriate
Thursday, November 14, 2002
BY CHRISTY KARRAS
THE SALT LAKE TRIBUNE
Nobody looked to Deseret Book as a source for steamy romance novels,
but now even tame love stories face possible eviction from the shelves.
The LDS Church-owned chain of bookstores has decided not to stock
copies of bestselling Utah author Richard Paul Evans' latest book, The
Last Promise, because it doesn't meet new standards for moral content.
Evans, whose bestselling-author status began in his home state with
sales of sugary, upbeat family-oriented stories such as The Christmas
Box, covers new territory withThe Last Promise, released last week. The
book is about an American woman living in Italy who, in the face of an
abusive relationship with her husband, turns to another man for
emotional support and, eventually, romance.
Evans said he is surprised by the negative reaction, especially
since the affair between the woman and her male friend is never
consummated. The theme is love, not sex, he said.
"The book is not about adultery," Evans, a practicing Mormon, told
The Tribune in an interview last week. "The book would be a PG-rated
movie, at the most."
Still, the themes were too much for new buying guidelines that went
into effect a few weeks ago, said Sheri Dew, president and CEO of
Deseret Book. The guidelines tell the store's buyers to avoid ordering
books that clash with customers' values.
Though the process has just begun, store employees will eventually
comb through all 250,000 titles in the stores' inventory to remove other
books that might flunk the new standards, Dew said. Classics such as The
Scarlet Letter or Jane Eyre will get the same scrutiny as new books
under consideration.
The guidelines are based on recent customer surveys that said
patrons, mostly members of the LDS Church, were upset when they found
books at the store whose messages clashed with their values.
"This is completely a business decision. It's not a religious
decision, it's not a moral decision. It's a customer decision," Dew
said.
This does not appear to sever the relationship between Evans and the
chain, which Dew estimates has sold more than 100,000 copies of his
previous books. Deseret Book will continue to sell the earlier titles,
and The Last Promise will be available by special order.
The decision also doesn't seem to have had a negative effect on
Evans' enormous popularity in Utah, the setting of most of his books.
Long lines formed at Evans' book signings this week at Borders and Media
Play.
"We were disappointed that Deseret chose not to sell the book, but I
don't think it will hurt a thing," said Lisa Johnson, head of publicity
at Dutton, Evans' publisher.
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