Good Read
Lauren Molyneux reviews a latest best seller to discover an author that has created an intriguing and terrifying dystopian fiction
Vox
Christina Dalcher
A terrible wave has swept the US, taking with it the rights and voices of women. Under the new government, language and communication are reserved for the men. Women are forced to wear wrist counters – if a woman utters one word over her 100-word daily limit, a thousand volts of electricity will course through her body.
The Pure Movement has seen every woman in the country lose her job, passport, bank account and voice. With cameras in every home and public space, the role of the female is set back 100 years.
The only world women have any hope of conquering is the domestic one. No longer are young girls taught to dream big. Schools replace the curriculum with sewing classes, gardening and cookery in a hope to breed obedient dolls who are dedicated to honouring their husband’s wants, and nothing else.
Those who attempt to rebel are made an example of – tortured, publicly shamed and taken away by the men in suits never to be seen again. Some are forced to work on labour farms for the rest of their days with a daily word limit of zero. Others don’t make it that far.
Dr Jean McClellan is one of the many women finding herself suddenly without a voice. With her research now kept under lock and key, work is no longer an option for her. Instead, she must spend her days in a home without books, with nothing but brainwashing political garb streaming from her television and a quiet rage that she can never hope to express as she remembers how things used to be.
But soon an opportunity presents itself. She can continue to obey and remain silent or she can rebel, using every ounce of pent-up anger and hatred in a fight against the system in the hope that every woman can once again reclaim her voice.
Channelling Atwood and Orwell, Dalcher creates an intriguing and terrifying dystopian fiction that actually makes the reader think, what if?
Highlighting the strength of the beaten, Vox explores masculinity and femininity in equal measure, and tells the story of strong men and strong women uniting against the struggle.
Vox is a story to get you thinking. It’s a reminder of how far we’ve come, how much there is still yet to do, and how easy it could be for voters to become victims. It is a deliciously dark dystopian text carrying messages that every reader can learn from, dismissing discrimination and promoting tolerance and understanding.
