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Donna M, Kennesaw GA, librarian
Vox by Christina Dalcher
Fascinating dystopian read, kept me up all night. What set this one apart for me is the questions raised by the characters, causing me to wonder about my own responses as well as my present activities. Book clubs will want this one for strong opinions alone.
Gail I. (Delray Beach, FL)
Vox: Not Simply Fiction
Vox: A Novel is more of a cautionary tale in this day and age when things we never imagined would happen in our country are suddenly happening. It makes you realize how people with extreme religious beliefs can hijack the government and take away the rights of others due to their beliefs. In this case, it's women and girls who are being suppressed. Their right to speech and even communicating the written word is severely limited. As a woman who continues to fight for the rights of all suppressed people, I find this concept frightening.
It's a must read book that makes you think about freedoms we often take for
…more granted. It's also very relevant in today's political climate! (less)If you could speak only 100 words per day, what would you choose to say?
Jean used to be apolitical, never imagining a fringe movement could gain such power. Now she's fighting for the lives of everyone she loves as part of an underground resistance network. Her tension, frustration, despair, rage, and fear are palpable. I could almost hear relentless, urgent music playing in the background as I read. It was particularly haunting to alternate reading this novel with listening to the third Maggie Hope mystery, set primarily in WWII Berlin. In the era of a Trump White House, this cautionary tale should inspire you
…more to exercise your right to vote, speak up, and join protest movements...while you still can.
Do not read this at bedtime because you'll either try to sleep and fail, or keep reading through the night until you finish the book.
For readers' advisors: story doorway is primary, character and setting are secondary. There is quite a bit of profanity, some sex, and some violence. Plenty to talk about for book clubs. Good choice for fans of The Handmaid's Tale or Future Home of the Living God.
Many thanks to Bookbrowse.com and the publisher for the ARC I received in exchange for my honest review! I don't usually read dystopia, but this was excellent. (less)There's a great deal to like about Vox. It's a dystopian tale with a strong female lead who's a wife, mother, and linguistics scientist who was on the verge of a breakthrough discovery when she and all other women were banished to their homes and no longer able to work. And then something happens that changes everything. I really enjoyed Vox. I liked the story, characters, plot, and writing style. It covered quite a bit of emotional ground and had plenty of twists and surprises to keep me engaged throughout while not being so gruesome that I couldn't go to sleep after a reading session. I have every reason to
…more believe this will be a very popular book, especially given the current climate in our country. Book clubs in particular should have some lively discussions about Vox. (less)In Vox, Christine Dalcher has crafted a mind-blowing dystopia that is shockingly sexist, and yet it is filled with cultural, religious, and political elements of credibility that bring her distorted environment to the present day. Accurate clinical depictions of neurological and linguistic disorders further heighten the reality and suspense of this page-turning novel. Written in the vein of Margaret Atwood's A Handmaid's Tale, this thought-provoking novel remains with the reader long after and serves to remind each of us to embrace and value the diversity and rights of all people.
Jeanne W. (Colorado Springs, CO)
A not-too farfetched future?
There will probably be a lot of comparisons to A Handmaid's Tale and that's an apt description, but Vox stands on its own merits. In a world where women are controlled by means of a band on their wrists limiting them to 100 words a day, no longer allowed to work and urged to take become "pure" in the new national religion, Dr. Jean McClelland is struggling to adapt to her new life. The horror and difficulty of parsing your words for the day comes through loud and clear. I wish the author had dealt with this issue a little more, and the whole conspiracy thing a little less though. Once Jean is allowed to speak
…more again, the novel loses some of its impact. But it's a great, fast read and I think it would spark lots of interesting conversations in book clubs. These cautionary tales are something we should be taking more seriously these days. (less)Jean is an interesting narrator. She's a neuro-linguistic scientist, studying how to enable repair of the speech centers of the brain after traumatic injury. Because of the word limit for women, we spend a good deal of time in Jean's head. A place where she not only informs the reader of what is happening, but what she sometimes believes, or wishes, is happening. It's a variant of an unreliable narrator, except where you're never quite sure what the truth is, Jean herself tells you very soon after the imagined scenario. I quite liked that about her. Because I often think in the same way, of possibilities, best-
…more and worst-case scenarios.
She's far from perfect. I actually loved that. She doesn't make excuses for herself, and you're presented with a unvarnished truth of her. I appreciated that she acknowledges that part of the reason this happened is because she didn't get active when things were less dire, she didn't even vote. And she is experiencing the consequences of those lack of actions on her and others.
Vox ended up being provocative read that made me think more than once. The only thing that could have made this better for me is more of how they got to that point, and more drama/suspense/action with the resolution. (less)
Diane S. (Batavia, IL)
Vox
The Scarlet letter for the near future, but instead of a Puritan society and the red letter A, we have a society where the Christian right has prevailed. Women, even babies are fitted with a leather wristband that limits the words spoken in a day to a hundred. The first time you go over, one receives a small shock, strength of shock is increased with each transgression. 1984, only it is now, cameras are fitted in each house, front door, back door. Books are locked up, only able to be accessed by men. No jobs, home is their new responsibility, the duties of a wife and mother. The LGBT community fares even worse.
…more This is the pure movement in the US and no one who transgresses is spared.
I found this chilling because I can actually see this happening, have seen men on TV who I can imagine loving just such a scenario. The importance of language, speech to show individuals we'll bring, forming personalities. How can you watch your young daughter not able to vocalize, tell you about her day? For Jean, it is torture, but a situation arises, and unwillingly Jean is temporarily reprieved, because the men in charge want something from her. Can she take advantage, make a difference? Well, that is the story, a quick moving one I was fascinated with. History has proven that with the wrong people in charge, anything and everything can happen. Can it happen here? (less)
