Vox by Christina Dalcher – a Review

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Description:
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.

Review:

Vox by Christina Dalcher is a standalone novel.  This story is set in future America, where women have lost the right to speak or hold jobs; all they could do was stay at home to take care of their husband and children.  They were forced (including children who were girls) a bracelet that limits them to 100 words a day, or they will get shocked, with each violation becoming stronger.  These women were also smart, successful women who could were forced into a world of silence; as only the men are able to talk, work, read, etc.  The above description says it all.

I had mixed feelings about this book, since the treatment of women was not only appalling, but downright depressing.  I know people compare this to Handmaiden’s Tale television show, which I have no plans to watch, and reading this confirms my decision. 

Jean McClellan, our heroine, is a former neurologist, one of the best in her field and now she is just a homemaker, with little opinions.  We get flashbacks to a few years past, when Jean saw signs from friends who warned them about this government, and an evil reverend.  Her husband was a member of the government, but he was sympathetic  to Jean and other women’s predicament, but was too afraid to do anything but follow the rules.  We get to meet her children, and her bleak life. 

When women or young girls are punished for continued violations, or promiscuity/adultery; they are sent away to a private institution where they can no longer speak, and are treated horribly.  Fortunately, when things are at the worst, Jean is called to help a brother of the leader of the government who has a brain injury.  She holds out until they give her what she wants, the bracelet off for her, her daughter, and a co-worker, that she requires to help.  Once given approval, Jean can speak and go to work again.  She works with her cohorts (one a sympathetic former lover)  to come up with a serum, and at the same time try to find a way to escape. 

What follows is an exciting last ¼ of the book, where others sympathetic to the women’s cause will form a resistance, which will help Jean and her lover release some other women.  The ending was decent, though a little fast.  Jean was a good heroine, and we did root hard for her.  I did think Dalcher’s writing was very well done, but it was hard to keep reading, as it caused anger many times; even to the point at times I wanted to throw the book away.  Vox was a very thought provoking story.

Reviewed by Barb

Copy provided by Publisher