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BookblogbyCari (345 KP) rated Vox in Books

Nov 4, 2018

Vox

Christina Dalcher | 2018 | Contemporary, Fiction & Poetry, Thriller

8.8

(13 Ratings)

Book Rating

Book review by Cari Mayhew. Rating 7/10.

A country where women can only speak 100 words a day – a novel concept for a dystopian thriller! The protagonist’s bitterness was palpable, and there were huge stakes at play, making for an intense read.

This book is set in the USA in the near future. A religious party is in power which sees women as only caregivers. Every woman and girl wears a counter on their wrist, counting the number of words spoken from midnight to midnight each day, delivering a powerful electric shock if they are one syllable over their 100-word limit. Ironically, the central character, Jean, is a linguist.

The action of the main storyline starts when the president’s brother, develops Wernicke’s aphasia as a result of brain damage following a skiing accident. This condition renders the victim unable to convey meaning in their speech, allowing them to only speak gibberish. With her knowledge of neuro-linguistics, Jean is uniquely placed to be persuaded to return to the lab to develop a remedy. Only, when she does, she discovers there’s a lot more going on behind the scenes – and she’s one of a small few with the power to save the day!

As you’d imagine, the female central character is extremely bitter, bitter with society and bitter with herself. She frequently looks back at how things became this way and wishes she had done more. The author does an excellent job of showing how insidiously the propaganda behind the movement swallowed up the nation. Jean sees it in her sons and daughter.

I’d very much like to believe that nothing like this would ever happen in western society, but sadly there are still some cultures in the world where women are faced with oppression.

I have mixed feelings about this book. In some ways, there was too much going on, such as Jean’s mother’s aphasia, and Jean’s extra-marital affair with her Italian crush. On the other hand, Dalcher could have done more to convey how oppressive the rule was for society at large, rather than concentrating on one woman’s experience – particularly since it was a woman for whom the rule was lifted for.

Book review from Book Blog by Cari.

Kudos

Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated The Casquette Girls in Books

Jan 23, 2020

What an interesting read! The Casquette Girls is centered shortly after Hurricane Katrina, and of course, New Orleans, where the unexplainable happens.

Part One is a bit slow, with Adele coming back from Paris, reconstruction in the city after the hurricane, and the occasional unexplainable situation happening (aka dead people on the rise, and I don't mean zombies) but Part Two is when things really pick up.

Part Two and a bit of Part Three actually goes back to the past as Adele is reading her ancestor's diary, trying to figure out what happened in the early 1700s after being lead to a completely shut and by completely shut, I mean nailed in attic of the local convent. Of course, she's not lead to the diary until she accidentally "breaks" open a shutter of said convent and unleashes a threat to her entire town.

(I was sort of disappointed when the end of the diary was reached. *sigh*)

What's really neat is said threat is confined within a specific part of the city based on a curse from centuries ago it's usually either vampires or witches. If they are together, chances are there's a pack of werewolves running around or they're with others. Plus, everyone hates vampires by then, not that it isn't the case here.

The Casquette Girls was a neat read based on a hurricane, centering around vampires and witchcraft, although Alys really could have added in a translation of the many French words used (Italian was no problem for me). I wouldn't have felt as though I'm reading fragments by then, and I'm sure the translation guide would help other non-French speaking readers too!
<img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mvEgVOM_JGs/U3FfeZceS7I/AAAAAAAADQc/Omh5mPoZ6Gc/s1600/Translation_Please_.jpg"; height="320" width="301">
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Review copy provided by the author via Xpresso Book Tours
Original Rating: 4.5
This review and more can be found over at <a href="http://bookwyrming-thoughts.blogspot.com/2014/06/review-the-casquette-girls-by-alys-arden.html">Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
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