Synopsis

Silence can be deafening.
Jean McClellan spends her days in almost complete silence, limited to a daily quota of just one hundred words.

Now that the new government is in power, no woman is able to speak over this limit without punishment by electric shock.

But when the President’s brother suffers a stroke, Jean is temporarily given back her voice in order to work on the cure.

And she soon soon discovers that she is part of a much larger plan: to eliminate the voices of women entirely.

My review

I was both excited and nervous to read this book because of the synopsis and how relevant it is with current events. I really enjoyed reading Christine Balcher's debut novel. The story unfolds through the eyes of our main protaganist, Jean - a cognitive linguist who along with a group of other Scientists was on the verge of a breakthrough treatment in finding a cure for specific types of brain injuries (that controls language) before her life as she knows it is cruelly ripped away from her. Fast forward to the where the story takes place and Jean finds herself (along with the rest of the female population) living under male rule in the US governed by the 'Pure Movement'. Under this rule all females are equipped with a 'bracelet' which captures their daily word count (along with cameras almost everywhere) and harsh punishments follow for those who don't stick to the daily 100 words rule count. The female population are no longer allowed to work and must stay at home and 'make house' and be subservient to the male/s in the households. People (troublesome women, anyone who is in a same sex relationship, females having sex before marriage etc) who don't fall in line or fit into the Pure Movement plan are given varying sentences ranging from terrible prison-like living conditions, work camps, to murder.

Jean like many others, ignored the warning signs and stayed silent to changes that were happening. Effectively living within a 'bubble' and believing it 'couldn't happen to her'. This is despite eerily accurate warnings from a close friend who provides insight into what it's like to live outside of that bubble. By the time Jean does realise, it's too late to use her voice, because by this time women have been effectively silenced. Jean's family life demonstrates the gender differences i.e. her daughter barely speaks etc, while the male children in her household thrive.

A small chance of hope appears when Jean is asked/forced to use her medical knowledge and expertise to find a cure for the ailing President's brother (the mastermind behind his campaign) brain injury in the Wernicke’s area—the part of the brain that controls language. If she agrees she gets both her and her daughter's bracelet temporarily removed. These events trigger the beginning of Jean's fight for freedom, not just for herself but for her daughter and other females. The question is asked 'how far would you go for your freedom and for your family'? and Jean has to answer it.

I loved reading this dystopian tale! While the subjects were heavy, depressing and sometimes awful, there was also hope, strength and determination to change. The story flowed along right up until the end and gave an insight into the turmoil Jean felt about her life, her family, her lover, but mostly what her silence had cost her and others, and a reminder that feminism should be intersectional. There was quite a few character surprises throughout the book so you're never really sure if a person is who they say they are. These twists and turns. along with secrets being revealed keep the suspense levels high as the book picks up the pace towards the end. I did feel that the ending was rushed and the conclusion felt glossed over in comparison to the rich storytelling throughout the book. Still a brilliant read and a favourite for 2018.

This novel provides a cautionary tale as to what can happen and the synopsis may sound more fiction than non-fiction. However the story mirrors some current events of how the 'Pure Movement' systematically came about - the difference being ethnic minorities and gay people being targeted instead of mainly the silencing/oppression of women.

Thank you to Christina Dalcher, NetGalley and the Publishers HQ for this ARC.

Holy f***ing s***balls. That was one hell of a f***ing rollercoaster ride. I’ve read a lot of books so far this year,some which have been pretty damn epic, but I don’t think I’ve read a book like this for a damn long time. It’s not impossible to imagine this happening. I would not be able to stick with 100 words. It takes me 100 words just to get my child out of bed sometimes!

I didn’t want to read it down to how scarily similar it was to some things in some countries in today’s world but I needed to know what happened. Some of things in the book made me unbelievable angry for the women, for the children, and for some of the men. I don’t think that what happens in the book is far off what some insane people think. And if it was to happen, god forbid it ever fucking does, it would happen in America. But then again, it could happen anywhere. No one is safe from religious or sexist extremism like this.

But, the book, the harrowing genius of a story. Genius but completely a terrifying, addictive reading. I’ve seen it being compared to The Handmaiden’s Tale (which I’ve never read and only watched one series) and I can see why. Women are being pushed down into society, silenced, being made to submit. Children taken away from their family, boys being taught that women do not, and will not, have any equal thoughts.

I felt a lot for Jean and her family, I really did. To be put in that situation must be difficult, especially with a young impressionable family. I liked how we got the details from the past in little pieces here and there, with details coming to attention that made me cringe and actually value the world we live in.

I can’t really explain why the book is so good without actually saying just go and read it. It’s everything. It’s got a sense of what I would call ‘Morbid Fascination’. I didn’t want to know but I just had to find out about it. I just had to keep reading.

I’ve given this book a very loud 5/5, it truly does deserve it.

Thank you to Harper Collins/HQ for sending a copy of Vox for review and for letting me take part in VOX blogger day!

Content warnings: cheating, racism which is sometimes challenged (including the use of the word "coloured"), child abuse, domestic abuse, homopobia (people get put in camps for being gay), slut shaming that isn't called out. I think there's probably more that I missed let me know if you need to know!

Imagine the US government went from the small percent of women it has now to 0 women. Imagine extremely "traditional" Christianity had a huge rise in the states at the same time. Imagine the government made it illegal for women to work and speakmore than 100 words a day. Welcome to the world of Vox.

Vox is definitely one of the most interesting and thought-provoking books I've read this year, though I don't know if I really wanted to think those thoughts because now I hate men more than I did when I started and this book isn't real.

I've not read The Handmaid's Tale, I know, shocking. But I've seen a lot of comparison of this novel to it and from what I've heard of The Handmaid's Tale it definitely feels apt. This is a story about how much of a mess men could turn the world into.

What was really chilling about this novel was just how realistic it was. I have to believe something like this could not happen but honestly, I could see it happening. None of us thought Trump would actually become the president so as far-fetched as something like this might seem, it could so easily happen to us. I saw some criticism about how this book was dangerous because it villainises Christianity and honestly... when you see how the church, both Catholic and Protestant sides have acted historically... they've done that villainising themselves. Not once in this book does it say Christianity is evil, it's the people who use that to take advantage that are.

The clear message of this novel, despite all the messiness of the dystopian world is "use your voice". Speak up, never be scared to stand up for what you believe in. The main character couldn't be bothered to go march and thought that her fears were never going to happen. But they did, and she regrets not at least trying to do something about it. That felt like a really important message for me. You see so many people saying "what's the point in marches? what's the point in speaking up? it's not going to do anything". Even if you make a small difference you are making a difference.

Whilst this book was from the POV of a white woman and was mostly focussed on being a white cis straight woman there were little nods to the way the world had changed for minorites, like the MC being aware that it was only a matter of time before they started breaking up interracial relationships and the hardship that people in same sex relationships faced (being broken up, having their kids taken away, being sent to camps). I do wish there had been more of that, I felt like Dalcher could have dived so much deeper into that instead of being so focused on white straight issues. And honestly there could've been so much more about trans issues.

My other critique is that the pacing wasn't the best. I was in this book from the beginning, the way it was written was very addictive, but I could still tell that the beginning was super slow compared to the end. There was a lot of time spent on the world building with not a whole lot happening plot wise. Then the last 20% rushed by and all the big drama at the end was a bit messy, because half the time I couldn't tell what was happening. I felt like more care needed to be taken towards the ending, like maybe tidied up or a little bit more drawn out.

I can't say I liked this book because how can you like a book about this kind of thing? But it was a good book. I read it very quickly, which I haven't been doing much of recently because of work, and I think if this is your kind of thing you should read it, though be careful with all those content warnings. It had some important messages I think we could all use reminding about from time to time. But I wish it had delved a little deeper beyond the main characters life.

An insightful story of what could happen if extremist governments are allowed to erode the diversity that we recognise as our right. Told in the first person from Jean's point of view, this story explores the systematic removal of women's human rights and the consequences of this. The story's premise is alarming but not unimaginable. How could such a substantial, motivated percentage of the population be stripped of the right to speak? Some may say this couldn't happen, but history tells a different story. Anything is possible given the right set of circumstances.

The author paints a frightening future, but Jean is a mother. She will protect her daughter at all costs. There is, of course, a thinly veiled message in this story, which guarantees it publicity and controversy, but the story is complex and absorbing and worth reading purely for its readability.

The themes discussed are topical and not new, but this story is well- written and makes its presence felt.

I received a copy of this book from HQ via NetGalley in return for an honest review.

Vox by Christina Dalcher

It’s one thing knowing that you’re not able to speak more than 100 words in a day without a severe punishing electric shock, but it’s another thing entirely knowing that your young daughter is also not allowed to speak, just at the time when she should be enjoying the discovery of new words every single day and shouting them out loud to her parents and brothers – brothers who are allowed to say just what they like and are growing used to a world in which women have no rights at all. Jean McClellan will do anything to fight for her daughter’s future, to fight against her silence.

I love the premise of Vox – a dystopia set in America during the very near future in which an extreme rightwing president has decided to end the rights of women. The ‘bracelets’ that women wear to limit their words to 100 a day are just the most visible sign of their oppression but it is making itself increasingly known in every area of life. Jean used to be Dr McClellan, a leading linguistic scientist in the fight against aphasia, a brain condition that – rather ironically – leaves the victim speechless. Now Jean is her husband’s chattel. But she is given a way out due to her background and she won’t be going back again.

Vox is told in the first person, present tense by Jean, and this is undoubtedly part of what gives the story its impact – Jean’s fury and frustration, contrasting with her tender love for her children, especially her daughter, make it all seem horrifyingly real, even possible. It also gives us a heroine we can get behind. Jean also tells us about other silenced women she has known, as well as the men, including her own husband, and what they are doing about it – if anything at all.

I became hugely fired up reading Vox! It made me rant! The injustice and indignity of it all. The first half of the book particularly appealed to me as this new fascist America is revealed (so far the rest of the world is safe) and we witness its impact on the daily lives of men and women. It’s fascinating, even without the parallels that one inevitably draws to the anti-Jewish laws of Nazi Germany. I was engrossed.

The second half of the novel was less successful for me because in these chapters we moved into the lab, science takes over, and the scope of the story narrows. I love science in my science fiction but I think that the main strength of Vox is speculative, in the society it portrays and in the voices that have been silenced, a really enjoyable element of the first half of the book. Although one does have to wonder how plausible it is that 50% of the American population were silenced so easily and quickly.

You can read and enjoy Vox as pure entertainment, and it certainly is entertaining, but it also serves as a timely non-preachy reminder that we must stay alert.

A really thought-provoking book about what would happen if women were regarded as inferior and were only allowed to speak 100 words a day, as well as not allowed to work etc. It definitely makes me feel lucky that I don't live in a society like that.

It's amazing how few words 100 actually is and I felt so much irritation for Jean trying to save those words - she didn't have enough words to argue back, could only communicate basically and did everything she could to make sure she had words left to wish her daughter goodnight every night.

I felt really stuck between Patrick and Lorenzo. You sort of don't like Patrick at the beginning and then as the book goes on you realise there's a lot more to him than you initially think. By the end I felt so bad for him, but I did expect what did happen was going to happen.

I like that the story of every character is cleared up at the end, as it's a real bugbear of mine when you don't know what's happened to certain characters or they seem to have been forgotten about along the way.

OMG!!
This blew me away!
What if there was an incompetent president in the White House?
What if he picked an Evangelical Pastor as his most trusted advisor?
What if they decided society has gotten out of control and they need to put women (and other minorities) back in their place?
Terrifying and ultimately a cautionary tale.
All fans of Atwood would love this.

This story could have been incredible but it just didn't feel like it reached its potential. The characters seemed half formed and not engaging. It was too long and dragged in many places, especially the second half. I was really hoping it would be as good as The Handmaids Tale but it fell short.

100 words a day. Just sit and think for a minute how that would impact your life.

A life where you walk around with a counter bracelet, ticking down every time you utter a word until you reach your daily limit. Where an electric shock awaits you if you dare speak one word more. You can’t, can you? And things for Jean and all the women in her country are far worse than that. No sign language, no writing notes, no reading. No passports, no jobs, no bank accounts and each and every decision is made by the men.

Men who may not all agree with what’s going on but for various reasons don’t stand up to make a change. Young boys who are growing up in this environment, almost brainwashed to the point where they think this treatment of women is perfectly acceptable. Little girls who aren’t allowed to learn how to read or write, who have never been read a bedtime story and for whom remaining silent all day suddenly seems like a fun competition. And people who don’t fit the mould or break the rules are sent to camps for the rest of their lives.

This incredibly frightening scenario sadly sounds all too believable in this day and age. It made me angry and it saddened me. The whole thing may seem far-fetched and yet, parts of it are extremely plausible. You may think, just like Jean, this will never come to pass but before she and other women realise, there they are. There’s a lesson here. Stand up and make your voice count. Not only vocally but by voting. As the characters in the novel say, the time to act is always now.

This is quite a hard one to review. It evokes a lot of emotions but it’s one of those books you need to read for yourself to get the full impact of immersing yourself into these women’s circumstances and hoping you’ll never find yourself in that position.

Vox is immensely powerful and thought-provoking, leaving me with a massive feeling of claustrophobia and sheer dread. It’s disturbing, more terrifying than any gruesome thriller I’ve ever read or nightmare I’ve ever had. It’ll make you think and get under your skin and like me, I doubt you’ll ever forget it.

“New research indicates there’s a biological reason why women talk so much more than men: 20,000 words a day spoken by the average woman, according to one study, versus about 7,000 words a day for the average man.” – that was my Google search. Now reduce it to 100 a day, which is what happens in “Vox” – women are allowed only 100 words per day. It’s being controlled by wrist – band counters, cosily called “bracelets” by the male part of the population, and exceeding this daily quota results in a very painful electrical shocks. No matter if you’re an adult woman or a young girl.

Jean McLellan, the main character in this exceptionally good debut novel by Christina Dalcher, is a cognitive linguistic, mother of four children (three boys and one girl), wife. She used to protest against present government, she voted for another President candidate. Now she’s silenced, just like all the other females in the United States. She can’t work anymore, she’s supposed to stay at home, do her shopping, cook and, ultimately, be seen and not heard. Her husband Patrick works for the present government (the irony!), as a science advisor to the president (what science, you could ask, and it would be a very understandable questions, as everything is being controlled by the state). But then THE accident happens and Jean is approached by the President’s people – her professional skills are required. Will she help? Will she be made to help?
Jean is a very intelligent woman and after negotiating a deal she starts working but it quickly turns out that – of course – nothing is as straightforward. Is she going to win this race against time?

Occasionally I do like to read a book that doesn’t belong to my favourite genres and after seeing all the hype about “Vox” I thought that maybe I should try it and see what’s it all about. It often happens that the novels that are being so strong advertised really don’t live up to expectations but well, “Vox” is for sure not a book to be missed, guys. It’s thought – provoking and controversial and clever and not too dystopian and I really liked this book. I can understand that the book is probably going to unleash a storm of discussions, especially when it comes to religion, and I have my own opinion about it as well but I don’t want to entwine such threads into my review. I don’t want to know if it is done on purpose, the way Christianity was presented in this novel, in those times when religion is the biggest weapon, when extremity and fundamentalist are on the pages of every magazine – I went into this book with open mind and finished it without judging, and I hope you’re going to do the same, to fully enjoy it. I was only not sure when the action actually takes places. I know it was America but did I miss the timeline? I guess it was in the future, however how close or far away, this I don’t know, and it bothered me a little, as for me it was an important piece of knowledge for this book. So let’s agree on foreseeable future.

This story substitutes this saying: “Children should be seen but not heard” for “Women should be seen but not heard”. There came a moment that I was actually scared to read further – I had a very bad feeling for what can happen and I guess I just didn’t want to see my assumptions come true. But I also didn’t want to put this book down, especially when the second half started and the atmosphere of terror and not knowing what’s to come was incredibly overwhelming. And there could anything happen, guys. Anything. The characters, in the name of a “proper” religion, weren’t afraid to stop at nothing. I actually think that such kind of a country would suit some of the present dictators, and probably this is also what made the book, even though dystopian, so realistic and so frightening. The number of lunatics in this book was also horrifying, to be honest, claiming they really believe in what is said. Amazing. I can’t believe something like this could happen in reality, especially so quickly and with so many women that march in response to it but well, there is always this little quiet voice in your head asking “What if” when you read this book. But OK, that’s not the point of this novel, right – but you can see that it’s a book that is going to make you think, ask questions and wonder.

The effect of all those actions were brutally honestly showed through children. While the twins were not the most significant characters, the author mostly focused on the oldest son and then the youngest daughter Sonia. It made me frustrated to see how quickly they adapted to the new situations and regulations. The oldest son changed in a way that the “pure” expected, but also Sonia adapted, winning a competition at school – the competition was, of course, which girls speak the less words. She has managed three. It just blew my mind how you could live like that, watch your daughter not being able to vocalize, who wasn’t allowed to read nor communicate in any other way – my own six – year – old talks without taking a breath, reads books and seeing her like Sonia would be a real torture. How much did she miss!

The last part of the book was, in comparison to the whole story, very fast – paced and nothing was impossible there. It happened too quickly for my liking but I’m guessing that without this fast tempo there wouldn’t be the intentional impact on the reader – I personally was glued to the last pages. I’m not sure about the ending, though, to be honest, it was too meh for me – I don’t want to say more in case I’m going to spoil something but I’d love to hear what your thoughts are on the end.

This is not the story about “how” (it happened), it’s a story about consequences and results but I think we really don’t have to know how it happened, it’s not the important part. It is written in a very captivating way, I really didn’t want to put it down. There are some issues I had problem with, like the above mentions ending, or for some things just happening, very conventionally, the science happening just like that, the right people at the right places but overall it didn’t spoil the reading for me.

Altogether, “Vox” was a very powerful, important book about the importance of speech and political freedom, especially for women. It was heavily emphasized in this novel but it wasn’t overwhelming, so really kudos to the author for balancing it in such a great way. It showed how quickly people can get used to new situations, how quickly they take for normal this what is far away from normal. How patronizing they become and how quickly they can be brain – washed. Thanks to the author’s background in science there are some interesting and intriguing questions being asked: what would be the world without language, without words? What would happen with women after a few generations of not speaking? Not reading? What should they do with their lives? It was chilling and the bleak, dark atmosphere was so very well captured that it was actually like watching a film, hearing the ominous music and knowing that something is going to happen. It dealt with gender, sexuality, domestic violence, racism and even though in extreme, dystopian way, it somehow rang a bell. A great statement about speaking up, standing strong for yourself and your beliefs. Highly recommended!

I thought about trying to write this review in 100 words as an homage to Jean’s character and to keep with the limitations placed on her, but to be honest, 100 words just wouldn’t do it justice! I feel I could write an assignment worth of words on the topics covered in this book. I think the book is very current in its thought process, dealing with topics such as corrupt politicians, radical zealots, oppression and human rights. These are all things that at any given time grace the news headlines the world over.

I really enjoy dystopian fiction as I find it gets me thinking and pondering the ‘what if’ scenarios that arise when reading a book of this genre. What if I were only allowed to speak 100 words a day? What if my daughter had to grow up in a world where she could only speak 100 words a day? Would I fight back? Or would I go along with the rest of society and suffer in silence rather than cause a scene?

I have seen this book advertised elsewhere as recommended for readers who enjoyed ‘The Handmaids Tale’ which is what initially piqued my interest. I would agree with this statement and a lot of similarities can be drawn between the two books.

I sincerely hope the future represented in this book never becomes a reality, and I highly doubt that anything on this scale could actually happen, but it did get me thinking. The most important aspect I kept referring back to whilst reading this book is that fundamental right we all have. In America it is held within the First Amendment Right but here in the UK it is enshrined in Article 10 of the Human Rights Act 1998:

‘Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers’

Lets all never forget this right and lets all go out and read VOX as it really is a great read!

Vox - Christina Dalcher

Did you enjoy Power or The Handmaid's Tale? Do you like your dystopia to be politically edged and scarily true to life? Well, you're going to love this!

Set in an America where half the population has been silenced, VOX is the harrowing, unforgettable story of what one woman will do to protect herself and her daughter.
On the day the government decrees that women are no longer allowed more than 100 words daily, Dr. Jean McClellan is in denial--this can't happen here. Not in America. Not to her.
This is just the beginning.
Soon women can no longer hold jobs. Girls are no longer taught to read or write. Females no longer have a voice. Before, the average person spoke sixteen thousand words a day, but now women only have one hundred to make themselves heard.
But this is not the end. 
For herself, her daughter, and every woman silenced, Jean will reclaim her voice.

Fun Fact, when I was about 10 pages from the end of my arc of this, I mentioned on Twitter that I thought this was my favourite book of the month and Christina Dalcher responded to say thank you. #ClaimToFame.

Anyway, at the point that I'm writing this (18th August) Vox is my favourite thing I've read this month.

While it would be easy to simply say this is a modern Handmaid's Tale, there is a lot more to this book. This is present-day America, a president playing on people's fears has gained power, he is heavily influenced by an extremist using his own interpretation of the Christian bible to instill bizarre rules on the population. All females, we're talking from birth, are treated like objects, they are to be seen, not heard. So much so that they are all fitted with a bracelet that counts how many words they say each day and if they hit 100, they're electrocuted. Just imagine that, children being electrocuted for reading aloud or talking to their parents. Our main character is Jean, who before this revolution, was a neurolinguist and an incredibly successful doctor. Now, she has been stripped of her title, her job, everything. All she can do is say 100 words a day and look after her children. How is that a life?

This is such a complex book. It's so much more than a dystopia, Jean has moments of horror watching her children conform to this new way of life. She feels pangs of hatred for her husband purely because he let this happen to her. She feels fear for her young daughter and her friends. It is a politically driven story that takes a lot from what is happening in America right now.

If you want to read something that will make you think and question, pick this one up!

Utterly terrifying but absolutely gripping...... I think my brain must have gone into over drive reading this.

On more than one occasion, I had to physically look away from this book in utter disgust and horror because of how real the text in front of me could be. Theocracy is working at its finest in this piece of speculative fiction, but it's compulsively readable.
This book shows a world where women are constricted to only speaking 100 words a day. Under the rule of an authoritarian President (not unlike the current one), and an overtly zealous religious nut who thinks women should be sent back to the dark ages and be seen and not heard. However, when one woman, Jean, is required to use her words for an emergency, she finds that her words could just be her greatest weapon.
This is not the kind of book you enjoy, but the kind of book that is entirely necessary. I also think it suffered a bit on its structure, which is what stopped it being a full five stars- for the first two thirds, nothing happens, and then everything happens in the last third. This is definitely an interesting novel and a great addition to the feminist-dystopia canon along the lines of The Handmaid's Tale. Haunting and eerily familiar, it will stay with you long after you finish the final page.

A Wee Summary of Vox

Vox is set in a dystopian US where, post-election, a new President and his associates take control of the lives of US women – no working, no reading, no writing, no birth control and a limit of 100 spoken words a day. Every female is fitted with a counter around their wrist – exceed the 100 word limit in a 24 hour period and the counter shocks them. The further the 100 words is exceeded, the more intense the shock.

In line with the “Pure Movement”, the government are restricting the lives of women, effectively reverting the US to a previous time where the role of the female was to make the home, care for the family and be dominated and controlled by the men in their lives.

With schools introducing a new curriculum, boys studying such subjects as AP Religious Studies, and the girls focussed on home economics and crafts, the purpose of the Government and Pure Movement is clear – a patriarchal society.

Jean holds a doctorate. Before ‘it’ happened, she was working in neurolinguistics on an anti-aphasia serum, verging on a breakthrough that would make a high difference to many lives. Now, she and her 6-year-old daughter are restricted to 100 words a day, constantly under monitoring, while the males in the house are free. Her sole purpose is now to look after her family and home, all the while silently witnessing her oldest son’s conversion to the Pure Movement.

That is until there comes a time when the President needs her expertise, and she’s temporarily given back her voice, if not her freedom.

My Thoughts

I have tried many times to get my thoughts on Vox down in some kind of coherent manner. The majority of which ended up in a rant about the world today, so I’m going to try to rein that in!

To be honest, this book is pretty terrifying. It made me so angry, the thought of a world where our voices and freedom are stolen – but what’s more terrifying is that it has a very real feel to it! A few years ago a book like this would have seemed total science fiction to me; now though, it feels scarily possible.

I actually couldn’t put this book down – it’s the fastest I’ve read a book in a while. This is Christina Dalcher’s debut novel and what a debut it is! Dalcher herself is a doctor of theoretical linguistics, so her exploration of the consequences of removing language in Vox is all the more fascinating. Through Jean’s 6-year-old daughter, we see the impact of the 100 words on younger children and the potential damage to future generations.

This novel is cleverly written and incredibly memorable. The writing is engaging, and Jean’s character is an interesting one through which we explore the changing face of the US, the wider impact on the country, but also the effects on individual families. It’s a story that as well as providing food for thought, also has twists and turns, with moments where I actually held my breath while reading.

I will say though that I felt the ending of the book was a bit rushed. I could tell that I didn’t have many pages left for the conclusion to pan out, and personally, I would have liked a few more pages in that ending.

For me, I found the thought of losing my voice so deeply uncomfortable, and the way that the Pure Movement suddenly took control pretty terrifying. For me, this is a fascinating exploration of language, as well as an unsettling dystopian novel. It’s a book that is bound to generate a lot of discussion, and attract very different opinions.

Please read it so we can discuss it! I need someone to talk to about this book!

This was a two star read for me, not because the writing was bad (it wasn't) or the characters unlikable (they were mostly fine), but because I found the plot twists SO frustrating. I can get behind an unlikely scenario as a premise, and I'm fine to follow that through to its conclusion, but as a work of alleged feminist literature, the main character did almost nothing; the man came up with the solution, and that ending! It felt as though test audiences had disapproved so a happy one had been tacked on. Disappointed.

I love (perhaps 'love' is the wrong word for something like this, but I'm very interested in) the concept of this book: women are limited to speaking 100 words a day, monitored by a bracelet which serves up electric shocks, increasingly more painful, the more words the women go over their limit by. It's a bleak world for the female population, and Vox lays it all out - and, worryingly, a lot of it feels like a time that could be here not long after 'today'. We're not a million miles away from that kind of society right now, and the book points this out, with characters highlighting a need to 'act now', which many ignored until it was too late. It's got plenty of interesting concepts, and so I was excited to see how it would all be executed. Though I did find it thought-provoking and entertaining, it was just missing something to elevate it from OK to good or great.

The characters, for me, could have been a bit more engaging, and a lot of the story felt too detailed in the wrong places: there was some parts which I felt could have focused more on the way the characters felt rather than the experiments and procedures. I know there's plenty of people who feel completely different, but I found myself a little less engrossed by the story as it went on and I think I just wasn't as enamoured by this as other people have been.

Saying that, I am a big fan of the plot and ideas that Christina Dalcher has come up with for this dystopian-style tale (which definitely feels like a cautionary tale too, in today's political climate in the US and elsewhere), and it's certainly a clever and debate-provoking read. Therefore I'd recommend giving it a go, it just didn't wow me as much as it has done for others.

The concept of this book is one which immediately caught my attention - the US government has reduced all women to speaking only 100 words per day. They are not allowed to work, read or write, or vote. They are to remain at home, looking after the family as they once did.

Even before publication, there has been much controversy surrounding this title, particularly because of the anti-Christian prejudice it could be argued is contained therein. I personally was not offended because I'm not religious and I think I understand what the author was thinking about, but I understand why it has caused offence. It's difficult not to offend somebody when you are bold, and this book is certainly that.

Feminism aside, my first thought on reading enough of the book to know the concept was to think about why people might go along with the idea, or vote in a government who would essentially put society back hundreds of years. The answer I think, as in most cases, is a combination of fear and ignorance. I don't think religion has much to do with it, but again as in many cases, I think some people view religion as being an easy excuse to do things which cannot rationally be explained and which otherwise would not be tolerated. Religious texts and beliefs, sadly, can be too easily contorted to fit a warped idea of what an individual would like them to mean.

So anyway, back to why an entire western country might go along with the idea of silencing and restricting women to such an extreme degree. Looking at the idea purely on a surface level I think it comes down to male ego. In this theoretical situation, men feel threatened by strong women who can do the same jobs as them, live independently, and have their own powerful ideas. In the real world, it's clear that this is happening more and more, and women are finally truly gaining their own identity and equality. So, from a threatened man's point of view, they might do extreme (and sometimes stupid) things as a result of this - violence, for example. Or even terrorism, or become lazy as a result of their feelings of inadequacy and lack of a need to support their families. And this is where the idea comes in. Take away all of the women's rights, and men are left with all the responsibility and importance. They step up to the plate; unemployment goes down; violent crime is abolished by strict rules and the obvious fact that families would be left to fend for themselves if the father or husband was in jail or dead. So when viewed from such a perspective, it solves everyone's problems.

I found this a very interesting book. At times I didn't enjoy it, but overall I found it to be very well written and the plot was excellent. It was gripping, thought-provoking and original. I have already told various people about the book and I won't forget it in a hurry.

As an end note, I'd like to apologise if I have offended anyone with this review. It's absolutely not intended. All I'm doing above is throwing around ideas which were brought to mind as I was reading this book. I'm not religious or political, and in the end I do believe that this is a fictional, extreme, 'what if' scenario and should be treated as such.

This thought-provoking debut is very much in the style of, “A Handmaid’s Tale.” It is set in America, where Christian fundamentalists have led to a government promoting pure, chaste, old-fashioned values. Women are no longer permitted to work, have passports or financial independence. They are expected to be home-makers; staying chaste and either marrying or living with male relatives.

Of course, there is a twist in this tale. In order to keep the female population controlled, the government has taken away their voices – literally. Each woman, and girl, wears a wristband, which allows the wearer one hundred words per day. Anymore and it emits an electric shock, which increases in intensity the more the wearer goes over their allotted limit. Girls are educated separately from boys and taught basic numeracy, cooking, sewing and other home related skills to prepare them for their new roles.

Dr Jean McClennan was a scientist, before the world turned upside down. In her early forties, she lives with husband, Patrick, her three sons and young daughter. Jean used to specialise in linguistics. She used to chat to friends, go for lunch, read, use the internet, have a daughter… Now she is silenced.

Naturally, Jean is resentful of the way her life has been limited, along with her words. No longer can she even read a bedtime story to her daughter, or have a proper conversation with her. What is worse, her eldest son is being brainwashed into believing the new government rules are correct. Meanwhile, Patrick, who has a job which brings him into contact with the government hierarchy, is – Jean feels – too accepting of the situation. The government keep saying the new rules are a short term strategy, but there are rumours that things will get worse.

Then, the President’s brother is in an accident, and Jean’s help is needed. She is, suddenly, back in work, with her old team, and her old lover. With the hated wristband removed, she has her voice back – but for how long?

This is a truly frightening scenario. The author does a good job of highlighting the loss of female voices and how measures are implemented so suddenly. There is also the interesting side story, if somewhat predictable, of how her son is brainwashed by the new movement. Overall, an interesting choice for book groups, which much to discuss. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

I really enjoyed this book. Only being able to speak 100 words in a day would be so hard. This book made me think about that and what it would be like to lose your freedom. There are a lot of issues talked about in this story. It is a thought provoking read.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.