Two Christian readers complain about the
"damnable" language in Much Ado About Corona

Blazing Reader,

As I mentioned in my previous post, I was concerned readers of Much Ado About Corona would complain that the lack of obscenities in my novel made it unrealistic.

Well, that never happened.

Instead, I had two readers complain the language was... too coarse.

Anybody who has read the novel may find that unbelievable.

The feedback came from two Christian women who objected to one of the characters saying "goddammit." The culprit's name was Bill and he was head of security at Sudbury General Hospital (where the protagonist of the story is being held against his will in quarantine).

Now, I wouldn't consider "damn" an obscenity. Damn, damned, and damnation make several appearances in the Bible, often with God doing the damning.

So really, the women weren't upset with the language but rather a character vainly asking God to damn things and people (a reputation the Old Testament gained for God after kicking Adam and Eve out of their garden, wiping out the human race with a flood and then sending all those frogs, locusts and famines upon the Egyptians).

I don't want to offer any spoilers but Bill's "use of the Lord's name in vain" is specifically, and comically, reprimanded at the climax of the fourth part of the novel.

So if such "sinful" speech was not glorified, but rather humiliated, why would Christians have an issue with it? Particularly when Much Ado about Corona contained other ten commandment breakers like stealing and killing to which they made no objections.

I'd rather hope God would prefer to hear a few "goddammits" rather than see someone murdered.

Regardless of God's sensitivities, let's just say I took out Bill's "goddammits." Would not I also have to take out all the other "sins" of Constable Mackenzie — a far more evil character — and, in the end, have no "good versus evil" story at all?

And, for that matter, how do Christians read the Bible with such a low tolerance level for hearing about wrongdoings? The Bible is hardly a kid-friendly storybook.

So Christians be forewarned: There is a character in my novel who says "goddamnit" an awful lot over the course of a few chapters. He's depicted as an incompetent idiot who I doubt anybody would want to emulate and gets put in his place rather poetically.

Otherwise, the worst word in the novel is probably "freakin'."

In my defence, on Amazon.ca you can find this review by a Catholic priest, Father Anthony Hannon, who says:

"I really appreciate how the author refrained from using foul language, which unfortunately is present in so many writings these days. I heard somewhere that a truly talented comedian does not need to use cursing but that less talented comedians curse to get cheap laughs. I think a similar comparison among fiction writers can be made. A less talented fiction writer uses coarse language to make his or her writing seem more realistic and believable, but a really talented writer, like John C. A Manley, can write so well that he doesn't have to resort to that."

Darngoneit! Thank you, Father. And there I was a fearin' Bill's words were gonna send me straight to hell and damnation.

Nope, Much Ado About Corona: A Dystopian Love Story, might not win the Christian Puritan Literary Award, but I think you'll find the moral backbone of the story overshadows Bill's damnable and ignorant cursing. Judge for yourself by ordering a copy here: https://www.MuchAdoAboutCorona.ca

—John C.A. Manley

John C. A. Manley is the author of Much Ado About Corona: A Dystopian Love Story, the forthcoming All The Humans Are Sleeping and other works of speculative fiction. Get free samples of his stories by becoming a Blazing Pine Cone email subscriber at: https://blazingpinecone.com/subscribe/