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In a world where women speak 13,000 to 16,000 words a day, it\u2019s hard to imagine one where we\u2019re silenced. It\u2019s no wonder then that Vox<\/em> by Christina Dalcher<\/strong> is presented as something perfect for The Handmaid\u2019s Tale<\/em> fans. After all, the cover is sure to make you think of that scene when Aunt Lydia pulls down the cover of the Handmaid\u2019s mouth in the Capitol to realize that her mouth has been pinned shut.<\/p>\n Vox<\/em> goes a slightly different route, bringing more of a sci-fi<\/a> element to the story, but it\u2019s one that stands out. It\u2019s a world where women have been silenced, only allowed to speak 100 words per day, and when they speak more than that, they\u2019re given electric shocks that get more painful the more they push their limit.<\/p>\n Despite being out since 2018, Vox<\/em> is gaining a new audience. This is likely because it\u2019s described as the next Handmaid\u2019s Tale<\/em>, but it is far darker when you look at all the details of the world.<\/p>\n What about writing things down? Or maybe it\u2019s possible to sign? Women can\u2019t even do that. They try to do the simplest thing, such as blow a kiss, and yet, they\u2019re punished for that. Young girls aren\u2019t taught how to read or write fully, because what\u2019s the point? They won\u2019t need to work, so there\u2019s no need to learn any of this.<\/p>\n Like in The Handmaid\u2019s Tale<\/em> by Margaret Atwood<\/strong>, some people were able to escape. They saw what was coming, and they headed to Canada or Mexico, as America became the laughing stock of the world. However, our lead protagonist, Jean, couldn\u2019t do that. Her young daughter didn\u2019t have a passport<\/a>, and when she went to apply for it, not only did it never come, but her own passport was confiscated.<\/p>\n Now, the families are prisoners in their own country, and young children are being raised with the new way of life. Jean tries hard not to hate her own sons and husband, but she can\u2019t help it, especially as one son shows he\u2019s more and more indoctrinated into the system.<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard not to feel for Jean in this situation, and as a mother, it\u2019s easy to feel her pain in thinking how much she hates one of her sons. This isn\u2019t the man she would have raised, but she\u2019s getting no choice in the system. All she sees is how her daughter is going to be raised without even knowing the life before, and there\u2019s an element of helplessness in it.<\/p>\n At one point, her daughter, Sonia, complains about being taken out of school, sharing that she was going to win the contest at school that day. The contest? Speaking as few words as possible, and the day before, she had only spoken two during the school day, making it clear that she was fully into the idea of speaking less simply because she was so young.<\/p>\nA World Where Even Sign Language Is Banned<\/strong><\/h2>\n