Review by Booklist Review
Native Tongue, originally published in 1984, follows the tradition of feminist-science-fiction trailblazers Octavia Butler, Marge Piercy, and Joanna Russ: revealing in infuriating detail the impact of paternalization and biopolitics on the oppression of women. Elgin's dystopia roots itself in her expertise: linguistics. By 2205, women have been subjugated for centuries classified as minors, not allowed to lead or vote, not permitted to speak for themselves. The Earth's economy depends on the insular male linguists, whose wives are bred to be translators and mothers until they're sent to the Barren House. But resistance is brewing: while pretending they're as foolish as men believe, the women at the Barren Houses are hard at work creating Láadan, a language designed for women. The book is expansive, exposing the reader to the institutional and familial sexism that infects this world; but it is also focused, rooted in the private rebellions and inner fury of women. Linguist Nazareth chafes under male rule; nurse Michaela sets out to avenge her subjugation. This carefully crafted, fascinating dystopia is a call to action even decades later, and highlights the importance of language and its uses in politics of power.--Leah von Essen Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This reissue of Elgin's 1984 classic, a call to arms about the power of language in an oppressive society, is a welcome reminder of the feminist legacies of science fiction. In the 22nd century, following the repeal of the 19th Amendment to the United States Constitution, a new society has formed in which women must be supervised by male citizens. Women's only value now lies in their abilities to breed and to translate the many languages used in the intergalactic economy. Nazareth Adiness, the most talented linguist of her family, has spent her life translating and supervising children's language education. At last she is allowed to move to the Barren House, where women past childbearing years go to die. Upon her arrival, Nazareth learns that the women have been using Nazareth's own ideas to build a women's language called Láadan that will lay the foundations of a revolution. Elgin (1936-2015) held a doctorate in linguistics and published a Láadan grammar and dictionary alongside her novel and its sequels; the depth of her knowledge is evident, but never gets in the way of the story. She explores the power of speech, agency, and subversion in a work that is as gripping, troubling, and meaningful today as it has ever been. (July) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
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Review by Library Journal Review
Originally published in 1984, a year before Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, to which it it often compared, this work from Haden, a linguist as well as a science fiction author ("The Ozark Trilogy"), imagines a future where women are legally considered minors. In the 22nd century, linguists are the only people capable of communicating with aliens. The government has a clandestine (but unsuccessful) project to train babies to speak alien languages. Nazareth Chornyak is a talented linguist, but she would rather retire to the Barren House, where women past childbearing age are sent. Then Nazareth discovers that women in the Barren Houses are creating a language of their own so they free themselves from men's control. Amy Landon provides a smooth reading. VERDICT This story, the first in a trilogy that is followed by The Judas Rose and Earthsong, may appeal to fans of Atwood or other dystopian works.--Denise Garofalo, Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, NY
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A feminist classic revived.This book was published in 1984, a year before The Handmaid's Tale. The two share several similarities. Both take place in a not-too-distant future in which governments use Christianity as the rationale for stripping women of basic rights. Human reproduction is regulated by men. And women work together both to make their own lives bearable within this system and to create a better world for their daughters. Elgin (Peacetalk 101, 2002, etc.), who died in 2015, was a linguist as well as a science-fiction author, and the conceit at the heart of her dystopian narrative is brilliant: When humans make contact with aliens, people who understand how languages work will become an invaluable resource for connecting with other sentient species. Linguists become a sort of aristocracy, both necessary for interstellar trade and reviled for their elitism. While it's true that the men of the linguist families enjoy some power and authority, the women of their houses are valued solely for their ability to work as translators and their capacity to produce children who will work as translators. Once they are infertile, they retire to the Barren House. The central household in this novel is the Chornyak family, and what the men don't know is that the women in their Barren House have been creating a secret language, a language that will allow women to communicate with each other, a language that will let them express experiences for which they have found no word in any language that they've learned. The worldbuilding here is intriguing. The concept of women freeing themselves from patriarchy by developing their own language is awesome. The execution, though.This is a novel about language, but the characters all sound the sameand there are so many characters that it's hard to keep them straight. Not only do they sound the same, they also sound quite distinctly like characters in vintage genre fiction. Who imagines a future that includes words like "honcho" and "damnfool" and "loobyloo," let alone swears such as "Sweet jesus christ on a donkey in the shade of a lilac tree"?For women's studies majors and hardcore fans of old-school science fiction, and probably nobody else. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
