Looking back, I would perhaps not have started reading this book on the same day as the Presidential election. It’s pretty clear that Trump’s agenda does nothing to respect or uplift women. His speech and policy indicate that women’s rights will likely be curtailed under his leadership. It’s a scary prospect that calls to mind The Handmaid’s Tale…something that seems not so far-fetched, after all. So perhaps reading this novel, about a present day where women are limited to speaking 100 words/day, while I anxiously watched the votes roll in was unwise.
On average, we each speak 16,000 words per day. Can you imagine if you were stripped of that communication? Or the ability to have a job? Or to read and write? Not men. Just women. That’s what happens in Dr. Jean McClellan’s America. One day she’s practicing progressive medicine, the next she has no rights. She watched as the shift happened both swiftly and sneakily. How? It’s always the little things, right? Schools lured her son to take an AP Modern Christian Philosophy course because the credits will help him score entry into a good college. As her son puts it, “The teacher’s cool. And she makes some good points.” Those points are about how hard it is on kids when both parents work and women should focus on gardening and cooking “instead of running around working dumb jobs.” But don’t worry “Not you, Mom. Other women. The ones who just wanna get out of the house and have some kind of identity…Anyway, it’s just a stupid class.” It almost makes sense when you slip it in like that, doesn’t it?
4.75 out of 5 stars.
Pair with: A Vieux Carré
Peaches to Apples 