Hello everyone!
I'm back with another review, Vox by Christina Dalcher. Thanks so much to Penguin Random House for sending me an ARC of this book for an honest review, as always, all opinions are my own.
This book follows Jean, a sociolinguist mother of four in a near-future America where women's words are limited to 100 per day. No communication of any sort (writing, signing, etc.) is allowed since it can't be counted as spoken words by the 'bracelet' adorning the wrist of every woman and girl, waiting to send a shock to whoever when over their limit. The President, with the help of Reverend Carl, has sent America back centuries in time where women were submissive, worked in the home, and did whatever they were told to do. Jean never thought things would get this bad - especially not so quickly. A year ago, she was working on a cure for Wernicke's aphasia, a condition that often comes after a stroke, impairing a person's ability to properly communicate. Now, the government wants her help to finish the cure, but they seem to have an ulterior motive.
At first, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to really read or finish this book because it made me so mad. A part of me couldn't stand to read the horrible things that Dalcher depicted. Not even the limitations on language but the way Steven, Jean's oldest son was brainwashed by his school to think horrible things about women. That their place is in the home, that it was Jean's 'job' to get milk when Steven demanded it. The misogyny was so overt and not at all subtle because American society, in the last 20 years, had decided that it didn't matter because women could no longer fight back.
I really loved how the book expressly stated that this was an issue going on in the US only, not worldwide. Comments from outsiders were made that rang similar to those of today's political climate and what is going on in the States now.
Overall, I could really go on for hours about this book but it is one that is so important right now, you don't want to miss this one!