The mere thought of a submissive, silent life for my daughter brought a lump to my throat and tears to my eyes. A mum myself, I couldn’t help but place myself in Jean’s shoes as she considered her daughters future. The ramifications of the word limit is severe and filters through the generations ensuring the continued dominance and reliance on the male members of society. I felt that the emotions conveyed were so raw and open, I could imagine just how useless Jean was feeling at her being prevented from providing so basic a need for her own child. I won’t go into detail, but quite early on there is an incident where her inability to speak to her daughter prevented her from providing comfort. For me, the saddest and most moving parts of the story were as Jean relayed the impact of the word limit on her relationship with her daughter. Told in the first person narrative through the eyes of Neurolinguist Dr Jean McClellan, we view life as it is for women in the present, and we also get to see via flashbacks of just how it became that way. Misogyny and patriarchy rule absolutely, and it is truly disturbing. There is no reading, writing or any other attempt to communicate allowed. A ‘bracelet’ that will deliver an electric shock if the limit is exceeded.

Women have been silenced and are only allowed to use 100 words a day, with each word being counted off by a ‘bracelet’ worn on the wrist. We need to find our voice as a collective as the question is hauntingly asked….what would we do if our voices were taken away? It preaches that women should not sit back, that we should stand up for our rights.

The novel alludes to things which are actually happening in the here and now, whilst reading I couldn’t help but think about the recent debates regarding abortion. The more of your own life, your own values and your own community you recognise, the closer it cuts to home. I’m a fan of dystopian fiction, and the best dystopian novels take a long hard look at society as it is, and propel forward to the very worst case scenario. When I read the synopsis of the novel, I knew it was one for me. It is a novel that is going to stay with me for a long time. I feel as if I’ve been on a rollercoaster and as I sit here typing, my emotions are all over the place. It has been a very long time since a book has held me as enthralled as VOX has done over the last 48 hours.

Vox christina dalcher