This is a book reminiscent of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid's Tale. It is the story of a near-future America in which women and girls are given just 100 words to speak per day. They receive a jolt of electricity through a metal counter (i.e. bracelet) for every word they speak after 100. Women have been sent back in time to where they are the homemakers, cooking dinner for their husbands and tending to household needs while the men work "real" jobs. Books are thrown out or locked up with the only key on the husband’s keychain; men are in charge of everything from finances to medical decisions; women aren't allowed to write or even gesture with their hands to communicate. Adulterers (women only, because "boys will be boys…") and homosexuals are taken to labor camps in the Midwest. The country, in short, is run by morally "Pure" men.Though Dalcher’s writing took some time to get used to (she is a little more candid than I am used to), by the midway point, I was totally sucked into the story. It's a semi-believable plot with just enough sexist garbage to really fire me up! Dalcher really knows what to say to frustrate the heck out of women reading this, but in the best possible way! It had me wanting to march in the streets and burn down the patriarchy.
To conclude, I ended up enjoying this book. It's a solid debut and I recommend it to those who like Atwood or other dystopian works of fiction.
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