Zeze, inspired দ্বারা José Mauro de Vasconcelos’s My Sweet কমলা Tree, comes under আগুন for its handling of a story often taught in schools

A Brazilian novel first published আরো than 40 years পূর্বে has unexpectedly become a highly sought-after read, after the Korean pop তারকা ইউ was accused of sexualising the story of its five-year-old protagonist in one of her songs.

José Mauro de Vasconcelos’s My Sweet কমলা Tree, first published in Portuguese in 1968 and in English in 1970, is set in Rio de Janeiro and follows the life of the boy Zeze, as he gets up to mischief and is mistreated. “Everyone beats him. If আপনি look softhearted he will tell আপনি it’s revolting the way they beat on a little kid. Can আপনি believe him when he says he’s only six? No! The boy is a liar. He is five years old,” runs the copy on the first UK edition.

My Sweet কমলা বৃক্ষ has been out of print in English for years, but Abebooks.com has reported that the novel became its most searched-for শিরোনাম late last week after controversy enveloped IU’s pop song Zeze, which is based on the story. The bookseller’s Richard Davies ব্যক্ত that My Sweet কমলা বৃক্ষ was “a much-loved book in South Korea and often studied in schools”.


According link, the book’s Korean publisher has issued a statement saying that: “We regret the way the five-year-old character is portrayed as a sexual object.”

The paper উদ্ধৃতি lines from IU’s song which run: “Zeze, come on up the বৃক্ষ quick and চুম্বন the leaves, don’t be naughty and don’t hurt the tree, come up the বৃক্ষ and get the youngest leaf … আপনি are innocent but shrewd, transparent but dirty and there is no way of knowing what’s living inside.”

ইউ has since issued an apology, translated দ্বারা the K-pop Herald, in which she describes My Sweet কমলা বৃক্ষ as a “treasured book”, and says: “I swear I did not write the lyrics to sexualise a five-year-old child. The Zeze in my song is a third-party fictional creation taken from the motif in the original novel.”

She goes on to apologise, writing: “However, after listening to the opinions of those who have listened to the song, I came to realise that its contents could have প্রদত্ত offence and even caused some to grieve. I am wholly responsible for my immature handling of things as a lyricist.”

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