****SPOILER ALERT****

I knew going in this would be a feminist anthem.....not my choice of reading material.....but, it still sounded interesting. I was wrong.....it was far worse.....its a political hit job....a propaganda piece. By page nine we're already told that this entire awful scenario was conspired and carried out by white Christian conservative men....mainly those from the South....insert dramatic eye roll.

Unfortunately, my gripes with this book don't end there.

For a book based on liberal ideologies......it isn't very liberal or inclusive. Dalcher apparently only cares about white wemon, lesbians, and bashing religious white males.....there is a very limited cast of characters....mostly all white. She cares nothing about the graphic, and completely uncalled for, animal testing and experimentation scenes she has chosen to include. This book sets a negative, inaccurate, and dangerous image of medical science. Having a family of medical professionals....this is a major negative for me.

There's also the unrealistic plot......the main protagonist happens to be in a medical field......and just happened to have been working on a serum that would treat
aphasia caused by a tramatic brain injury.....and is needed by the POTUS after his brother is involved in an accident....it is hinted that this is all a scheme, but its never clarified.

While this situation is unfolding, her Mother just happens to suffer from a stroke resulting in......you guessed it, aphasia. Surely you'll find that this was caused by the government right? No way the writer would expect to us to believe this on top of the already WAY too coincidental circumstances right? Nope...and yep, its supposed to be all coincidental.

The main protagonist is absolutely insufferable! The fact that this woman expresses hate for her sons, simply because they're males, is deplorable! She misjudged her husband, but never recognizes it or apologizes. She chooses to sleep with the man she was already having an affair with prior to the whole VOX situation......even knowing that she is risking being prosecuted and hauled away from her four children for doing so.....as adultry is illegal for women and harshly punished.....but, we are supposed to feel sympathy for her that abortion isn't an option for her??? Of course, those children must not mean much to her,, since she seriously contemplates leaving America with her lover and leaving them behind. Or how about the fact that she is supposedly a feminist....but has no problem relying on her big strong Italian boyfriend to save her. Her husband dies to fight the battle and win freedom for women.....and she finds herself thinking she sort of misses him and wishes he was still there....SORT OF? This is the Father of her children and husband of 20+ yrs!! Theres more....but I'm tired of this woman and ready to be done with her at this point.....so, I'll stop here.

The ending finishes off this awful book in an equally....and I guess aptly.. awful way....at least she's consistent. The final scene is anticlimactic and pretty much over in a chapter.....with the protagonist getting her happy ending and leaving with her Italian lover to live happily ever after.

Needless to say.....I won't be reading anything else from Christina Dalcher. ( )

Zox by Christine Dalcher I loved this book. I'm surprised it has only a 3.5 star rating. I considered it in a category with something George Orwell or Margaret Atwood would write. I gave it a 4.5 star rating. ( )

In a world where women have been silenced, their speech limited to 100 words in a day, one woman is given an opportunity to change things.

I read this book in a day. The world she describes is terrifying. I had a visceral reaction to it. The main character is interesting, so I got on board with the whole thing. I wanted to see what happens with her.

However, there is one major problem that perpetuates this novel: it is not believable. Sorry, even for a dystopia, you can't just shut down your logic muscles and go along with whatever the writer comes up with. The background story of how this world came to be is very weak. I cannot imagine this happening under any conditions in a world which is deliberately very much like our own.

There are inevitable similarities with Atwood's Handmaid's Tale, the TV show even more than the novel. This is not a bad thing. This novel is fresh enough in its own way and it is a good, quick read. At least if you're not digging into it too deep.

But, I wonder, why did Christina Dalcher picked such an important, difficult topic and decided to give it such a superficial treatment? This is not a breezy summer read. I just can't judge it as such.

Although for me this was more a 2 than a 3, I enjoyed parts of this book. It makes for a good book club discussion, despite being so flawed.

SPOILER
The resolution was so unbelievable to me, almost fairy-tale-like. All the characters just manage to conveniently show up in one place? It was laughable.
And the hero of the story of female subjugation is - a man! A man that the main character is cheating on. He even gives her his blessing to go live with her lover.

Also, I wanted to see what exactly happened when Patrick came to that meeting, the reaction of the public, the aftermath... We are given crumbs about the changes that happen after, but it is all very weak and unsatisfying. ( )

Vox is set in America where it has been decreed by the government that women are limited to 100 words per day, must only be homemakers and girls are not taught to read.

I enjoyed this book but wanted more. I feel like this could have been truly heartbreaking and terrifying if the story delved a little deeper. I was sad but I could have been sobbing my eyes out. I was reading to see what would happen next but it could have been nerve wracking. There were some interesting points on feminism but it could have been a strong social commentary on the perception of women.

This isn't to say I didn't like the book, because I did. It was sad and tense and thought provoking, I just wouldn't add it to my 4 star reviews. ( )

A great read. All too easy to see this happening. ( )