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.

Incredibly powerful.

Vox is a terrifyingly real dystopian take on gender politics, similar to The Handmaid’s Tale. Women are restricted to 100 words per day, and the insidious erosion of rights: painfully fought for; desperately clutched; stripped away as easily as tissue paper, took my breath away.

I empathised with Jean; her internal and external struggles and the guilt she carried for not being more active before the horse left the stable (although the latter point was slightly over-emphasised).

The ending was a bit rushed and confusing; not as chillingly crafted as the preceding build-up. Still I’d definitely recommend this book.

[100 word limit reached]

Phew! THAT was way harder than I thought it was going to be. At the risk of electrocution, on I go…

Seriously, the world of VOX is one I simply cannot conceive myself surviving. Not only are the girls and women stripped of words, they are stripped of gestures, autonomy, passports, money, work (outside of child-rearing and house-keeping) and any forms of reading or writing materials. The state-sanctioned mental, emotional and physical abuse resultant actually made me feel physically sick as I read.

Yet it is not all doom and gloom, as Christina Dalcher balances her horrors with an exploration of the indomitable, stubborn resistance of human nature; the kindness that can be found in some surprising places; and the reassurance that whilst Jean’s country followed this horrific agenda, other countries stayed well away from the bandwagon. Although they didn’t come rushing to help either, or even seem to take the situation particularly seriously… Yes, there is a lot of food for thought here, applicable to the past, present and (please, no!) future!

I was slightly disappointed as the pace changed towards the end, becoming more action-based and frenetic. The preceding narrative had been so thoughtful and well-balanced that I felt thrown off-balance and therefore did not really appreciate the climax and conclusion as much as I had hoped. In my opinion there was room for the book to have lasted about half as long again; making the finale as powerful and intense as the rest.

As I said in the truncated version, I would definitely recommend this book, especially for book groups (loads to discuss!) and for fans of sci-fi based around gender politics.

And now I’m off to read my daughter, and son, a whole load of stories…!



This is how things are now: We have allotments of one hundred words a day. My books, even the old copies of Julia Child and – here’s irony – the tattered red-and-white-checked Better Homes and Gardens a friend decided would be a cute joke for a wedding gift, are locked in cupboards so Sonia can’t get at them. Which means I can’t get at them either. Patrick carries he keys around like a weight, and sometimes I think it’s the heaviness of this burden that makes him look older.

– Christina Dalcher, VOX

Review by Steph Warren of Bookshine and Readbows blog

Jeanie lives in a near future version of America in a world where women are forced into their “traditional” role of mother and housewife. They’re limited to speak only 100 words per day by a delightful little wrist counter that gives an electric shock to anyone who goes over their daily allowance. Through an unlikely event, Jeanie is given permission to remove her counter, return to the workplace and continue her medical research into the creation of a drug that can repair the speech of someone who has had a stroke. However, as Jeanie finds out more about her role within a much wider team and the sinister ramifications of her research she is forced to decide – should she shut up and play along or make her voice heard?

I’ll be honest – Vox was a bit of a letdown for me. Despite being a very similar premise to The Handmaid’s Tale it was initially fairly well executed (with a few niggles – I’ll come to those in a moment). However, by the time I got to around 70% of the way in, shit got weird. Like crazy coincidence, why would that happen, why is she there, I don’t understand this ending weird.

Urgh.

But first things first – the good bits. I did initially enjoy the premise and I loved how pacey the writing was. At first, I was completely drawn into the story and I loved hearing Jeanie’s internal monologue knowing that she couldn’t vocalise her disagreement with the comments of her male children or husband and the sense of frustration and tension that built. There were some very touching scenes with Jeanie and her daughter, like when they couldn’t say goodbye to each other or when her daughter wins an award at school and Jeanie comes to the horrifying realisation that it’s because she’s not spoken at all throughout the day. Her eldest son is very much a product of the misogynistic regime and as much as I wanted to punch him in the face I loved the edge that this gave to their relationship and how it highlighted Jeanie’s powerlessness to parent without words. However, Jeanie has four children and I felt like her twin boys weren’t really fleshed out enough to be of any consequence – so why were they there?

Unfortunately there was also a number of other things that didn’t sit quite right with me. Throughout the book Jeanie is having an affair and although I could accept the possibility of that happening, it was the reckless way that she went about it that got on my nerves. You’re living in a totalitarian regime where your every word is recorded and your every movement tracked by CCTV and yet you still manage to go to a semi secluded house for regular extra-marital, contraceptive free sex? When the probable punishment is execution? Really?

As the book progressed I became less engaged with the storyline. There was a greater emphasis on the scientific nature of Jeanie’s work that, frankly, became quite boring and I began to feel that as the ending drew nearer things became a little rushed. There were far too many situations where Jeanie seemed to take ridiculous risks and the storyline all seemed a little too convenient (“I know exactly how to find that out – my husband just happens to work with the President! I’m sure he’ll have files that explain everything somewhere in our house! Oh look – there’s my uni friend who I haven’t seen in twenty years! Let’s just turn on an MRI machine for no reason to drown out our conversation – I’m sure that won’t look suspicious on the closely guarded CCTV!” etc. etc.)

Then there was the actual ending itself. Perhaps I’d just got bored, perhaps I’d been a bit bamboozled by the science but I just. Didn’t. Get. It. Then *spoiler alert* there was the super trite “oh, my husband’s out of the picture so now me and my four-kids-who-definitely-won’t-be-scarred-by-all-of-this can be with you, handsome affair guy, and we can all live happily ever after!” Urgh, pleeeeeze .

So, all in all, Vox could have been a great book – it was certainly an interesting premise, had a fantastic start and was initially well written – but it went downhill fast. It felt like a response to an exam question where the student realises half way through that they’re running out of time, so they’d better start tying up loose ends in the fastest, most obvious way possible. Or like the author was, hmmmm, limited on words??? Was it a clever metaphor?

Nah, probably not.

Christina Dalcher's VOX is an eerily timely vision of a world in which the reaction to so-called "political correctness" has swung the hammer of social progress back in time to the 1950s era. Jean McLelland, a doctor of medical science, narrates our story through a time in which women have been stripped of almost all their rights - even down to their ability to speak. In this nightmarish version of the United States of America, women - even from birth - are limited to speaking just 100 words a day with immediate consequences for any infractions. They are stripped of their careers, their right to travel, and young girls are schooled in the arts of homemaking while boys are taught the ultra-religious perspectives of the far right. It is a world in which men exclusively - and unabashedly - run the show.

But one day, representatives of the US President come to Jean's home, seeking assistance in a matter where Jean's career expertise means that she holds the cards. Offered a deal in exchange for her help, Jean sees a way to try to effect change, to save her daughter from a life of oppression and potentially her sons from increasing levels of dominant brainwashing. But is the President's request for Jean's assistance - and the offer she receives in return - all it seems to be?

I cracked through this book at a pace not seen for quite some times. Make no mistake: the world we see portrayed in VOX - one that in many unsettling ways seems not all that far removed from certain parts of how we live now - is truly nauseating. At many stages I felt physically anxious as I read. The need to know how Jean - how her family, friends and neighbours - get through these events was so urgent that even though my skin was crawling I had to keep going. I can't say I've had such a physically visceral reaction to a book since I exclusively read horror as a teen.

There were a couple of minor things that jarred me a little - the first was the use of the word "kiddo", which sometimes appeared several times in one conversation. The second was that the final chapter seems a little fast as it tied up all the loose ends. That's certainly a satisfying place to be (I can't personally bear vague endings), but perhaps I was just reading too fast in my rush to get to the end. I'd certainly read more from Christina Dalcher!

What if you could only speak 100 words a day ?!?

In the US a new president has silenced all the women in the country, including young girls. Women can’t go out to work and at school girls are only being taught basic maths, cooking and sewing. Can this really happen ?

Dr Jean McClellan was a leading scientist until she was silenced and forced to stay at home and look after the family. Her five year old little girl is winning prizes at school for saying the least words in her class. How did this happen and what can she do to change this ?

The story is about how far one woman will go to try and save herself and those she loves. Can she regain her voice in time ?

This is a great book which shows how things can change so quickly and what people can really do to save themselves. A great concept and a brilliant page turner.

Thank you to HQ and NetGalley for a digital copy of this book.

Vox is the most intensely disturbing book I have read in a long time, in fact I haven't read a book this uncomfortable since The Handmaid's Tale.

The writing style is incredible, I loved the way it flows as we follow Jean, the main character, her frustration and fear leak off the page. Vox is so well written that it is impossible not to feel a connection with Jean, and also to feel something towards each of the other characters in the book, be it hate, love or anger.

The fact that, over the course of the book, we learn how easily this horrific situation came about and how quickly it could become even worse. I found it so easy to start hating Patrick and Steven, not because they were the worse characters in the book, but because they were close. Because it was easy to feel hatred because of their lack of action or because they were 'sheep'.

As a mother I found it so hard to read in places and the scene in which the protagonist's daughter is rewarded with an ice cream for having spoken the least words that day - 0 - was so heartbreaking. The world that Dalcher has created is scary because it overlaps so much with our own.

The short timescale and the frequent flashbacks really helped keep the pace of the novel quick, and I read Vox in two days. I just could not put it down, and since finishing it I haven't been able to stop thinking about it.

The author at the beginning of the book writes that Vox should be seen as a cautionary tale, and I definitely read it as such. I found it so disconcerting to read, as a women and as a mother.

I really liked the way that each of the characters was flawed in their own way, some more than others, from the passive Patrick, the easily influence Stephen and even the protagonist Jean who realises too late that she needs to use her voice and that living in a bubble is not a good way to live.

“My fault started two decades ago, the first time I didn't vote, the umpteen times I told Jackie I was too busy to go on one of her marches or make posters or call my congressmen.”

I would definitely recommend Vox for those who are fans of Dystopian fiction. It's an excellent and thought-provoking read made all the more intense because of the uncomfortable subject matter.

VOX is a chilling dystopian novel in which the religious belt of America has taken over the country and elected into office a president and party who believes that the country will be better off by reverting back to 1950’s values (and then some) where women should only be allowed to look after House and home and become second class citizens to all men. In doing so all females have been fitted with devices that will send an electric shock through them if they speck for than 100 words in a day.

I will not tell anymore as I do not want to give away anymore of the story. But I would highly recommend you read this.
I found it alarming, thought-provoking and alarming. It made me boil with anger when our main character, Jean, “discusses” things with her eldest son. How close are we to something like this happening?
For me it is an interesting and intelligent novel. It touches on the effects of having no voice on a human being, on society and what growing up in that environment can have.
The second part is a fast-paced, brilliant thriller with lots of action; is this character really who you think they are?
I raced through this story and would highly recommend it goes straight to the top of your reading pile.

The pictures were all taken around Cardiff Bay.
Megan (Margaret) Watts Hughes was a Welsh singer/songwriter, scientist and philanthropist. She is recognised by sources as the first to experiment and observe patterns made from the resonation of the human voice. Somewhat appropriate?

Imagine a world where women can’t speak more than 100 words a day, men are in charge of every decision made within a household, adultery results in banishment, homosexuality is considered a lifestyle choice that must be reversed. Welcome to America!

I’m not a huge reader or fan of dystopian and fantasy books but this book intrigued me from the description above. The idea that men take back control and make all women subservient and basically glorified home makers is both horrifying and ridiculous at the same time, however there were parts of the story which could be frighteningly plausible and that made this story even more interesting to me.

Dr Jean McClennan, a renowned and respected doctor has spent the past year silent, unemployed, raising her 3 sons and young daughter in this new Pure world with her husband. Unable to speak more than 100 words, forbidden from even opening the post, Jean is struggling to accept this new life.

Vox is a powerful and utterly thought provoking story which I read in a day and thoroughly recommend.

Oh I LOVED this!!! I wasn't sure about the concept at first, but the premise is so persuasive, so realistic that I was hooked straight away. The story is woven so well into the current political climate, the rise of fundamentalism and the need for men to exert power - just perfect. I enjoyed everything about this story and the dilemma that Jean finds herself in - between a rock and a hard place - is phenomenal, so perfectly balanced. Talk about tense!

I really enjoyed the narrative voice, the whole story is perfectly paced and completely riveting.

Reading the premise of this book left me in awe and intrigued. Which is why I was so thankful that I was approved of a copy! Thank you, HQ and NetGalley.

Told from Dr. Jean McClellan’s point-of-view. Jean is set to be challenged by the changing world of having a 100-word limit daily. Along with her children especially her only daughter Sonia. She wants to fight for her. She worries for her. And with the boys in their home, she discovers that her sons are being brainwashed by the new system.

How can she fight back? When an opportunity presents itself to possibly bring back her old life at a price of working for the people she hates, will she accept it?

In terms of the world-building, right of the bat from the first page. I already was scared. (It’s a good thing.) A new world dawned, where women were silenced and limited to a 100-word per day. And was stripped off rights to a job, education and expressing sufferage. Basically, evolving backward.

The tone and message of the novel were well received. I was angry, it wasn’t a just world hence dystopia lol. How the world now in America had been, the educational system was completely changed. There had been a public humiliation for behavior that defies the rules set by men. It was a hating world, homophobia, anti-women. DARK I SAY.

Everything in this aspect has been described vividly good. The medical procedures, medical jargon to the teeny-tiny bit of details.

The introduction came beautifully strong as I progressed around 50% it turned as a chore to read.

So, here’s where it went wrong for me.

-the whole world-building was great but I feel like the religion here being too antagonized
-speaking of the well-detailed world, it was a wee redundant
-the whole cheating thing, it fetishizes it, not cool, never will be
-the action aligns too perfectly, it was too neat, coincidences were too obvious
- the MC came as unlikeable
-first half was going well the second just went down the hill, things turned really unimaginable

Vox sure made a huge impact on me. It gave me reflections and strong thoughts of “what ifs”. A dark, science fiction dystopia that will provoke you, make you angry and it will make a dent in you to question everything.

One word review: Electrifying

Rambling review: Thrilling, compulsive, smart, electrifying, petrifying, poignant.

This book will leave you speechless, leave you screaming, leave you analysing the breadth of your own vocabulary, leave you questioning your own morality and how far you will go to protect your own, protect society.

It's incredibly intelligent (I found myself feeling almost one step behind as the plot thickened) and sharp, playing on the current climate deftly. There were numerous nods to the current political discourse in America today which made it even more haunting: “make America moral again.”

I will be forcing this into the hands of everyone, especially women.

[100 daily word limited reached]

** blog post to go live on August 20th **

I do wonder if it would be easier to have no word allowance at all than to be restricted to 100 words per day. This is definitely not a book that made me envious of the characters’ lives and I did feel the need to remind myself repeatedly that it was a work of fiction and not treat it as a vision of the future. I didn’t particularly take to the main character Jean but I did get a little emotional about her 6 year old daughter Sonia. I can imagine book groups having some lively discussions about this one.

(100 words)

This was compared to The Handmaid's Tale - and for obvious reasons. It does tackle some of similar themes but it's always dangerous to compare to such a phenomenal book as Atwood's as it's almost certainly not going to match up. A worth contender, however.

I’m still chilled by this book. It is a really good piece of dystopian fiction but with a premise so disturbing that at times it can be a tough read. Our heroine, Jean, lives in the US where after the rise of a new president far-right religious fundamentalists have taken over. Women and girls have all been fitted with counters on their wrists – they are allocated 100 words a day and if they go over this they are punished with electric shocks, increasing in severity with the degree of the infraction. Women’s rights are completely stripped away – they are once again considered men’s property whose only role is in the home, silently feeding and caring for their children and husband. Jean used to be a neuroscientist and when the president’s brother suffers brain damage she is, out of necessity, called in to work on the cure. It is then that she discovers a secret plan to permanently silence women.

Jean is a hugely sympathetic character, struggling to cope with her new reality and watching in horror at the effect the new regime has on her children – her young daughter is practically mute and her eldest son has been so indoctrinated that he is a monster.

This is such a horrifying premise and so chillingly rendered. Every time I put down the book I felt a desperate need to talk. It really makes you think about the importance of having your own voice both in your personal life and in the wider world. Jean constantly berates herself for missing the signs, for her lack of political engagement, which is an important message for us all.

I have been hearing talking about this book for months and months and when I finally got my hands on an early copy, for which I’d like to thank HQ, I devoured it in two days. I was completely blown away by its unrealistic and scary plot and I couldn’t put it down.

In a near future, a pure religion movement has taken control of the government of the United States and has established a law according to which women are allowed to use only 100 words a day. And to be sure they follow this law the women have to wear a bracelet that gives them electric shocks whenever they go over the limit. The protagonist and narrator of this novel is Jean McClellan. She was a linguist scientist before all women were banned from doing any job. I shared Jean’s frustration and anger as she watches helplessly as women are forced to give up not only talking, but also working or even simply reading a book or the mail. All they have to do is to take care of their house and their family, waiting for the men to come home. There are bracelets that keep your word count, cameras that watch every step you make, and men that take you away to camps if you do something that it’s deemed impure. Jean has four children, one of which is a six-year-old girl who is so scared to talk that she never uses her 100 words a day. On the other hand, her seventeen-year-old son Steven is being brainwashed at school in becoming one of the government puppets. But how did they get to this? Through Jean’s flashbacks, we see how nobody really believed that something like this could really happen until it did.

I really liked the character of Jean. She is strong-willed and determined and, even though she is limited to 100 words a day, she doesn’t give up on hope that one day things will be better and fights for her right to speak. She wants a better future for her daughter and all the other women and this makes her brave and dangerous.

VOX is chilling, it’s scary and it makes you furious and frustrated at the way not only women, but also people of different race or LGQBT are treated page after page. It’s a dystopian thriller full of twists, it’s suspenseful, compelling, and completely gripping, and it should be on everyone reading list.

An apt book at a time when women's rights are being discussed more with movements like #meto this is a fast paced and gripping dystopian read set in the near future where women have lost their rights to work, read and speak. A tracker band on the wrist of every woman and girl in America keeps them shackled in silence, only able to speak 100 words a day or be punished with increasingly severe electric shocks.

This novel looks at the effect of this not only on women and girls but on the boys being raised in such an environment and how quickly they can become indoctrinated with the message that they a re superior. As a mother how do you react to being told you are a second class citizen by your own child, can you still love and respect a husband that you can't communicate with even within your own home?

There were some truly horrifying moments that made my heart leap, mostly involving Sonia the 6 year old daughter off our main protagonist Jean.

It was a thought provoking and disturbing novel. Although I do have to wonder , would women really sit quietly by and let this happen, would most men roll over and let their partners, wives, mothers, daughters be silenced so completely. Having said that the pathway was so simple and well laid out by the author, the stealth removal of passports, removal of birth control etc that it felt very real and scarily possible.

It isn't a perfect novel there were a few elements that jarred a little, such as Jean's 11 year old twins, who seemed to be written as much younger children despite their age being mentioned several times. Overall once I started I couldn't put it down.

In a near-future USA, society has changed greatly from what we know. If it were down to social media slogans it would be #malelivesmatter, #no,mefirst,youdistantlytwo, or suchlike. But it came down to a religious upswelling from men, and religiously-minded men in an expanded Bible belt, that forced their way to the top. Down with homosexuals, bring back an ancient idea of the nuclear family, remove the colour issue, and most of all, shut women up. From now on they are forced to wear wristbands that electrocute them if they vocalise more than a hundred words per day. Everyone is on CCTV to make sure nobody gets used to sign language. Writing implements and books are male-only preserves. In this world, however, our heroine finds herself in a great quandary. If she undergoes a job she is loathe to do, she would once more be 'free' in the sense of having her old career back, as opposed to her drudgery and housework, and back in the world of the vocal – but only while she carries that work out. Can she even bring herself to take it on?

Whatever the brilliance of the situation, and however well the high concept is married with the narrative, there are flaws here. You're supposed to love Jean, but she says too much about the weaknesses of man, and whinges too much about even her own children's behaviours. And the book also ticked me off. Yes, it has a highly removed world – women aren't allowed congress, books, alcohol and so much more besides self-expression, but this is always compared to Nazi Germany. Yet the book didn't even need arranged marriage to come into it for anyone to see the clearest comparison with the prehistoric religious lifestyle here is with Islam. It's all down to an Ayatollah-styled TV guru, and not initially a political movement. Here is an author clearly not brave enough to say that out loud.

She's not quite got a perfect grasp on the action scene, either, for I found the closing chapters a little woolly. Still, the chapter count is high, the readability is generally strong, and the page turning is done quite rapidly, with this – a book to be lauded for aiming high with a mind to making you think, as opposed to something that doesn't try much and just acts as a diversion.

Three and a half stars.