Vox

Overall, this was well-done dystopian fiction. There are obviously some influences here from Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, and Sinclair Lewis’s It Can’t Happen Here. The plot is pretty straightforward. The United States has elected numerous officials into office from a radical Christian bent who are intent upon restoring “traditional” gender roles in the United States and putting women in their place. While women are subordinated, all sexual deviants and “immoral” actors are consigned to what amount as prison/concentration camps. Whereas Atwood speculates that women might be forced into concubinage when the elite experience infertility, Dalcher imagines a world where technology has allowed men to restrict the ability for women to speak. Women become limited to 100 words per day, with a “shock collar” being affixed to their wrist that will punish them for transgressing this quota with a series of escalating electric shocks. With women unable to speak, read, or write, men now take over all aspects of public life.

The protagonist, a renowned female neurolinguist whose research focused on Wernicke’s aphasia, is drawn unwittingly into the underground resistance that seeks to overthrow this new order in the United States.

By and large, I thought the pacing, action, and plot were all well executed until the very end. I thought the last fifty pages or so were rushed and produced an oversimplified resolution to what I would argue is a very intriguing and complex dystopian world.

This book will aggravate pretty much everybody. It seems written to bait conservatives with the obvious parallels to the Trump administration and popular religious figures; however, progressives who've studied gender theory, even a little, will notice that Vox explores these issues with all the nuance of a sledgehammer. If you're just here to enjoy the thriller, you will be disappointed with the mediocre writing, confusing action scenes and a "twist" I saw coming a mile away.I wanted to like this book because the premise is so bold, but the execution failed in a lot of ways.

Jean begins this story as a sheltered white woman, sitting in her ivory tower until things effect her personally. I was hoping to see her evolve, but she barely did. Her biggest takeaway from living in a totalitarian state is "my kids are good, men = bad, except this one particular sexy Italian man." She learns to appreciate Jackie, but doesn't give a second thought to the importance of people like Del and Sharon, nor does she seem to want to incorporate any lessons about gender equity into her life.

Additionally, Her characterization as a dedicated academic is shaky. She has a Ph.D. in linguistics, but her thought patterns and actions are short, confused, jumbled. She judges Jackie and Morgan for being crass, yet swears every other sentence and uses imprecise language (ex."There's something anime about him..."). Even when she's in her element, in her lab doing research, she is talking about men and ruminating on her personal life. I know there are many ways to be an academic, but Jean comes off as unfocused despite being the "leading expert in her field."

The other characters are more like caricatures; Jackie the scary feminist, Patrick the dopey husband, Lorenzo the sexy Italian. Steven had the most interesting character arc, showing how easily young men can and are being indoctrinated into extremism.

Finally, the plot. Everything went so incredibly right for these characters. You would think working in a government lab in a fascist regime would provide some tension, but at one point the steaks become so low, Jean and Lorenzo are straight up openly threatening their bosses. The beginning of the book felt like a thriller, but once Jean starts working in the lab, it's smooth sailing and leads to an unsatisfying climax. Then, she dips to Italy and we don't even get to the see the aftermath. The same transition was repeatedly ("Now, i'm…[flashback]") which was grating to read.

Vox is a high-concept work that fell flat. It does provide a lot of discussion fodder for book clubs, but it's not something I would recommend picking up for fun. Personally, I would love to read a redux with better writing told from Del and Sharon's perspective since we barely got to learn about the resistance.

In the same vein as A handmaid's Tale, Vox is the story of a dystopian America where the female population is oppressed after a newly elected president and his cronies take steps to bring back the old days when women had no rights. Women are no longer allowed to work outside the home. They can still drive, and go to the grocery store, they can still care for their children, but they are allotted only 100 words per day and there is severe punishment should they speak more than that. They can not read, even instructions from their own doctors will be sealed in an envelope addressed to their husbands. Mail is also only for husbands. Children still attend school but with drastic differences for boys and girls. There is punishment for sex before marriage, and outside of marriage, and for being homosexual. As Jean tries to do what she can to raise her children under such circumstances, she becomes aware that there is an even more sinister plan in the works. With the current divisiveness in the states this was certainly a timely read.

4 out of 5 stars

I received an advance copy for review.