THE NATIONAL BESTSELLER • ONE OF ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY‘S AND SHEREADS’ BOOKS TO READ AFTER THE HANDMAID’S TALE“[An] electrifying debut.”—O, The Oprah Magazine “The real-life parallels will make you shiver.”—Cosmopolitan Set in a United States in which 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 … 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 one hundred words per day, Dr. Jean McClellan is in denial. This can’t happen here. Not in America. Not to her.
Soon women are not permitted to hold jobs. Girls are not taught to read or write. Females no longer have a voice. Before, the average person spoke sixteen thousand words each day, but now women have only one hundred to make themselves heard.
For herself, her daughter, and every woman silenced, Jean will reclaim her voice.
This is just the beginning…not the end.
One of Good Morning America’s “Best Books to Bring to the Beach This Summer”
One of PopSugar, Refinery29, Entertainment Weekly, Bustle, Real Simple, i09, and Amazon’s Best Books to Read in August 2018
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VOX is intelligent, suspenseful, provocative, and intensely disturbing — everything a great novel should be.
The Handmaid’s Tale meets 1984.
Vox is a feminist dystopia set in future America, where women are given a 100 word limit per day. Their bracelet counters shock them if they go over the limit. Dalcher successfully portrays how by taking away someone’s words, you can take away their voice, power, and identity. Her world-building was so fascinating and disturbing — I often had to put the book down before reading the next sentence.
Yet Dalcher falls short of creating a believable conclusion. The end of the book feels rushed and doesn’t do the rest of the book justice.
This is one of those books where I loved it, but didn’t love it at the same time. It is definitely a very unique book that kept me on my toes from start to finish.
The good… The overall story was so intriguing. I think because it’s almost possible, whether it be our country or another country, it made it that more interesting to read.
The characters were so well developed. I felt connected to them whether it was in a positive or negative way. I felt vested in each character. Good versus evil. Who will prevail? These characters were absolutely outstanding.
The plot moved at such a wonderful pace. I couldn’t put it down. I was anticipating the end in a way that had me on edge to see what was going to come of these characters and the country as a whole.
The bad… I never like to be able to feel a writer’s political bias in their writing. If I wanted political bias, I would pick up a political non-fictional sensational book, not a fictional book. I could pick out this authors biases left and right, and I will admit, it left me feeling unsettled. I had a hard time with wanting to finish the book because of it at times, even though I was totally vested in the book. So caution to authors, while you are human, know that your audience may not like your personal political bias trickling into your work, whether they share your bias or not.
Overall, this is definitely a book I would recommend to many. Not all. There are those who are absolutely not going to like it. Usually, those that wouldn’t like it are those that are close minded and easily ruffled. Those of us with open minds and thick skin are going to enjoy this book.
I’m not usually a fan of science fiction but the premise for this novel intrigued me. I looked at it as an escape from heavy historical fiction and thrillers. I was looking for a quick read that kept me interested and this book did just that.
There are many, many reviewers who are up in arms about comparisons to the current political climate, the naming of one religion, Christianity, as the culprit in this book. I didn’t go into this as a foray into the future, one that could not possibly happen, I was reading it for entertainment. So my review will be different than lots of others. I do think she could have written the same book without singling out one particular religion, but it’s freedom of speech, right??
From the blurb you know that society in the United States has gone back to the dark ages regarding women. They no longer can hold a job, vote, travel, use a computer or read and they are limited by the counters on their wrists to 100 words per day. Supposedly this has been brought on by the political climate, the President himself and his followers. It is being called the Pure Movement, women belong in the home, raising children, cooking, cleaning, etc. Female students will only be taught home ec type classes on how to manage a home and care for children, a little basic math is allowed, after all they have to measure those ingredients for recipes right?
Dr. Jean McClellan had been a renowned scientist studying and reaching linguistics. She and her team were on the cusp of a cure for aphasia which would help certain stroke victims and others find their words again. She along with all of her team of women scientists are now shackled at home or in a “camp” for those who continued to speak out. One of Jean’s best college friend’s had tried to warn her as far back as those college years that things were getting out of control, that she should speak her mind, go to protests, marches, etc. but Jean always was too busy studying and didn’t think anything like this could happen in the United States, right?
I found the book entertaining. Of course it’s far fetched, it’s science fiction, I was able to suspend belief for a while. The pace is quick and the characters are interesting. What happens towards the end kept me reading until 2:00 a.m. to finish and it was a good ending.
I received an ARC of this book from the publisher through Edelweiss.
The Handmaid’s Tale meets The Chemist: In an eerily and completely imaginable America, a puppet president is elected, the Christian far-right takes over, and women are stripped of all rights – including the right to speak. When they need a specialized scientist to work on an important project, they pull Dr. Jean McClellan from her life of silence and repression back into the world she used to know…but she has plans of her own.
I really liked the premise of the book, and the first half where Dalcher lays out how the world got to be where it is and shows how Jean’s own family has changed was fantastic. However, the second half of the book, when they got to the lab, lost a bit of the suspenseful insidiousness and moved into straight thriller territory, which isn’t my cup of tea. I also didn’t think the storyline with Lorenzo was necessary (and honestly it made Jean much less likable).
“To you, dear reader…I do hope you enjoy it. Most of all, I hope it makes you a little bit angry…”
It did. It made me more than a little angry, but also afraid. Jean’s reality is plausible in this day and age, though we did not see much of what led up to it or the first 12 months of this new world. As her words are very limited, a lot of our time was spent in Jean’s head in flashbacks or as she processed her world. I enjoyed her reflections on her inaction at the beginning, her regret for those mistakes, and her worry for her daughter. As a neurolinguist, Jean knew the implications of limiting language in a still developing brain. She also battled her frustration and anger at a teenage son who drank the Kool-Aid while she was helpless to really fight that process. We watched neighbors struggle through this adjustment and the harsh reality of the consequences.
I liked the concept of the last chapters of the book, however it felt rushed. That speed made things feel choppy and that details were missing. I would have loved an epilogue to tie up the loose ends and character connections.
Overall, I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read, but thought provoking as well. I will recommend it to others as I know this is a book that will stay with me long after I’ve finished it.
Advanced copy from Berkley for honest review
Wow! This book blew my mind. It was intense and terrifying in a realistic sort of way. I found myself chewing at my nails, nervous as to what would happen next. No matter your stance on politics, religion, society…this book is going to rock your world and make you think. It’s a definite five-star read that I highly recommend if you’re in the mood for an eerie dystopian tale that’s so close to reality, it’s frightening!
So glad I received an ARC of this novel. Once I started I could not put it down. It’s dystopian done at it’s best.
Like a shock of cold water, VOX was another wake-up call for women to watch out for their rights–plus, a great read.
Excellent and thought-provoking!
I felt about this book the way I imagine a lot of people feel about The Handmaid’s Tale. the events of Vox feel realistic and far-too-possible in today’s political and social climate. The science is not overwhelming, and the breakneck pace kept me on the edge of my seat from word one to the end. I couldn’t put it down, and read during every spare minute.
With language crystalline and gleaming, and a narrative that really moves, Christina Dalcher both cautions and captivates. The names that come to mind are Margaret Atwood, George Orwell, and Aldous Huxley — had Orwell and Huxley had a taste of the information age. VOX is a book for the dystopic present. It woke me up.
A bold, brilliant, and unforgettable debut.
Really gripping novel. I enjoyed it very much
I picked up VOX based on the recommendation of a friend. She told me it was a book that would make me mad. She wasn’t wrong. From the moment I read the premise that VOX is set in an anti-feminist future where women are reduced to wives and mothers, their identities outside the men that define them completely stripped away, and even their WORDS taken from them, I was mad. Of course I had to read the book immediately and I’m so glad that I did. I devoured it in less than a day. It’s fast paced and keeps picking up speed until the climatic end. The characters aren’t always likable but then, if I was forced to give up everything that makes me who I am I doubt I’d be likable either or that I would care. I’ve seen a couple reviews that call the author out for putting blatant political and perhaps even religious bias onto the page but I applaud Dalcher for calling out this current culture. Yes, this is science fiction. It’s dystopian. But it’s far too easy to see how this could become a reality if we don’t demand changes now. As one of the characters says, its a slippery slope. In conclusion, if you enjoyed Handmaids Tale, you’ll likely enjoy VOX. Personally I think it should be recommended reading for all but hey, what do I know, I’m just a woman and in the VOX world, that doesn’t account for much. Thank god this is fiction, right?
This book may come off as feminist, but it is more about loss of freedoms for all. From the first page, the reader is drawn into a strange and frightening America. All females are put back 200 years with less freewill even. Imagine only being allowed to speak 100 words every 24 hours when the average person speaks over 16,000 words a day! Violations are more severe with each incidence. I applauded our heroes in this story. Great wake up call for all on how quickly things we take for granted can be taken away. Intense read!
similar to the handmaids tale but the unexpected ending will make your mouth drop!
This book was excellent. I read it in a day. Quick read but it will stay with you forever.
I really enjoyed this book! If you love Margaret Atwood’s Handmaids Tale you’ll love this!!
This book was polarizing for my book club. Some found it too unbelievable, I chose to take it for what it is – entertaining fiction.