BANGOR (AP) – The author of the 1993 best-seller “Girl, Interrupted” says she is “honored” that the book has become the focus of controversy at Orono High School.

Susanna Kaysen said she was unaware that her memoir recounting the nearly two years she spent in a mental institution beginning at age 18 had ever caused such a fuss before.

“I have to tell you, I think it is an honor to have my book banned,” Kaysen told the Bangor Daily News in a telephone interview from her home in Massachusetts. “It’s an honor. I am honored.”

In response to a parent’s complaint, the book was temporarily pulled from a ninth-grade English curriculum. It was reinstated following a review by a committee made up of the principal, a teacher, the librarian and a community member.

The parent, David Quimby of Brewer, complained that the book contained strong language and vivid descriptions of suicide, incest and sex acts that he thought were inappropriate for high school freshmen.

Kaysen, now 57, said she still receives letters from readers who have been touched by “Girl, Interrupted.”

“They write to say what an enormous difference it’s made to them. They don’t feel alone,” she said.

The author said she does not think it is proper for anyone to tell people what they can or cannot read.

“We’ve all seen civilizations that ban books, and we’ve seen how well they’ve turned out,” Kaysen said. “It’s not a good way to go.”

She said she is delighted by something that those who oppose her book don’t think about.

“They give credit to the idea of the power of books, which most people in today’s society don’t believe in anymore,” Kaysen said. “But they do, and God bless them for it.

“They think books are powerful, and books are powerful – they’re right.”

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Information from: Bangor Daily News, http://www.bangornews.com

AP-ES-02-14-06 0931EST

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