Vox by Christina Dalcher | An ARC Review

It's nearly three in the morning as I put down my advanced reading copy (ARC) of Christina Dalcher's debut novel, Vox, a wonderfully angering (an oxymoron I never thought I'd use) novel that I began reading just over 24 hours ago. The synopsis on the back cover reads:

"In an all-too-realistic near future, the government has placed a limitation on the speech of women and girls - one hundred words a day. The price for exceeding one's daily quota is a painful electric shock administered via the counter adorning each female wrist. How would you raise your daughter to be strong and independent? How would you teach your son to respect women? How would you react when your husband gently reminds you not to speak? If you had only one hundred words a day, what would you do to be heard?"

The novel follows Dr. Jean McClellan, a former cognitive linguist who has been silenced and sentenced to a lifetime of traditional wifely duties, along with the rest of the female population in the United States. Women can no longer hold jobs and girls are no longer taught to read or write. The rest of the world is aghast as the nation reverses a hundred years through time.

"We are called as women to keep silence and to be under obedience.... When we obey male leadership with humility and submission, we acknowledge that the head of every man is Christ, and that the head of every woman is the man."

Though fiction, the story possesses a compelling air of plausibility. The likeness to our current political climate is incontrovertible, from the male-dominated Congress to the questionable qualifications of our Commander-in-chief. Jackie, Jean's grad school roommate, reprimanded her in college for her apathetic views on both voting and participating in women's rights marches. Soon, these Christian extremist beliefs become the norm across the country.

"Somewhere along the line, what was known as the Bible Belt, that swath of Southern states where religion ruled, started expanding. It morphed from belt to corset, covering all but the country's limbs----the democratic utopias of California, New England, the Pacific Northwest, DC, the southern jurisdictions of Texas and Florida----places so far on the blue end of the spectrum they seemed untouchable. But the corset turned into a full bodysuit, eventually reaching all the way to Hawaii. 

"And we never saw it coming."

I will note, without giving anything away, that the ending left me wanting for more--and not in a good way. In the last several pages, lose ends were predictably tied and certain plot elements seemed to be added simply because it was convenient for the author, not to advance the sloryline.

This gripping story is a cautionary tale to those, like myself, who have neglected their duty to vote during elections, are reluctant raise their voice during rallies, and insist that our rights (though still not equal to our male counterparts) are safe. When the current leader of our nation first put his name into the pot, our country laughed. Now, we cower in front of our electronic screens and fear for the future of our nation. Perhaps it is time to raise our voices before they are stolen.

Vox by Christina Dalcher will be released August 21, 2018. Click here to pre-order your copy today.