In a week after we were told that “Truth isn’t truth,” publication of the new book VOX
by Christina Dalcher seems chillingly apt. It is a dystopian novel set in the near future where women must wear a
counter bracelet and are only allowed to say 100 words a day (versus the 16,000
which is the estimated current average).
They and their daughters are not allowed other activities which we would
take for granted: to travel out of the country, to read a recipe or the mail
(or any book other than a women-only version of the Bible), to work outside their homes (of course, that means
essentially no female political representatives). Dalcher even has a character
asking: “How could this happen in less than a generation?”
Yes, her premise does stretch credibility;
plus, there is an uncomfortable element of religious zealotry (with members of
the Pure Movement in power) and the ending reads more like a spy thriller. On
balance, though, the beginning of VOX is both relevant and well-done and the “zingers” that appear
near the end of almost every chapter are very clever, cynical, and even shocking:
“What do they
study now, our girls? A bit of addition and subtraction, telling time, making
change. Counting, of course. They would learn counting first. All the way up to
one hundred.”
“Signing defeats
the purpose of what we’re trying to do here. … there are people researching the
new – you know – devices. They’ll be more like gloves.”
Looking for some near-term
real world connections? In addition to the #MeToo news, review the recent Pew Research poll on attitudes towards more female Congressional
candidates where 12 percent of Republican men are opposed although most
Americans (61%) think it is a good thing. New York Times has also just published a video (some graphic and offensive language) about difficulties which women candidates face. Or look at this scholarly analysis which was summarized in The Washington Post showing which states are
most sexist.
Dalcher’s debut, VOX, is a LibraryReads selection and
received a starred review from Library
Journal.
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