In an America where half the population has been silenced, one woman will discover just how far she will go to protect herself and her daughter.
Dr. Jean McClellan had seen the signs that things were changing, that the government was becoming increasingly rigid and restrictions on women were increasing. However, she remained in denial . . . until the day that the government decreed that women are no longer allowed more than 100 words daily. Now, women wear bracelets that deliver increasingly painful electrical shocks if they go over 100 words a day. Cameras watch their every move and schools don't teach girls anything beyond basic math skills and, of course, home economics. There is no more reading or writing for women. When she is given an opportunity to work on a medical research project she had to leave unfinished, Jean is determined to reclaim her voice and go as far as she can to restore the voices of all women.
Think about how many words you say in a day. Did you know that the average person speaks 16,000 words per day? In this version of America, woman are limited to 100. Beyond 100 means electric shocks (and I'm not talking about something mild, either). And this is just the beginning if the government has its way (or rather, the way of the men running it). I really enjoyed this book and wound up staying up late last night to finish it because I could not stop turning the pages. The pace starts slowly, but then starts to pick up gradually, increasing the tension in the story at the same time. Jean's husband is involved in the government, so you have that layer adding to her relationship with him and their children. Jean's oldest son also starts to become indoctrinated (especially after the school starts a new religious studies class), which means he is starting to possibly be a danger to Jean. I wasn't sure what was going to happen at the end --- and won't reveal anything here.
I will say that this book is chilling in the same way that The Handmaid's Tale is; you can't imagine a world like this . . . until you can. I found parts of the book absolutely infuriating (on Jean's behalf) and wondered if I would be able to limit myself to 100 words per day. I probably could . . . but knowing that this was just the beginning would probably make me implode. The idea of not being allowed to read is impossible. And if you think about girls being born and never being taught how to speak --- it's a form of torture (especially because it affects brain development as a whole). Definitely a thought-provoking story.
No comments:
Post a Comment