candimisms's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I will have more to say on this incredible feminist sci-fi novel, but I will caution that it's a product of its time. It's not very intersectional, in fact it's laughable how in this society race apparently is no longer a point of discrimination. But other than that, I found the story so acute in its representation of how men treat women, and have created societies based on that mistreatment, including showing how the most incosequential ways are in fact the most insidious.
axl98's review against another edition
5.0
This book was SO GOOD. While I was reading, I would recommend it to others, but I always found it difficult to explain what exactly it's about. I could explain the world, and the characters, but the actual plot I would stumble on. Which was amazing, considering just how engaging it was to read. Even without a clear, linear story, I was could hardly put it down. Near the end, I realized why I think the book felt so unclear for much of it: it functions as an introduction to the story. It's practically a prologue, as the book ends where some books may have decided to pick up: with the beginnings of the dissemination of the female native tongue, and women being separated from the men. The beginning of their attempt to escape male oppression. But this is in no way a negative thing—this book did a fantastic, entertaining job of setting up the world, the history, and the characters. I had a great time reading it, and I can't wait to read the next two.
As it is, Native Tongue functions both as a very realistic look at misogyny—using real-world ways that woman-hating presents itself to make a believable, relatable future dystopia—and as a super unique, engaging science fiction novel. The story is told from the point of view of a variety of characters both male and female, both Lingo and not, and the variety of perspectives allows you to see the contradictions, and how they justify the obvious contradictions. An example is the way the men discuss women as being "more primitive creatures," and the more primitive the creature, the faster they mature, as a way to explain away Nazareth being much less emotional and more intelligent than her male counterpart, Aaron. Similarly, non-Linguist characters have a set opinion of how Linguists act and feel, and when one behaves in a way that contradicts their preconceived notions, they come up with some explanation as to how they are still correct. Dirty stinkin' Lingoes, after all! Always purposefully making normal people feel stupid.
Similarly to the Handmaid's Tale (the show, I haven't read the book yet), Native Tongue takes the very real misogyny that real women face, be it in the past or in the modern day, and update it to the future setting. This means that even though the setting would be hard to relate to, and the catalyst event of women being legislated to being legally children (and therefore unable to make their own decisions, own their own money, etc.) is extreme, the actual oppression the women in the story face is something most women can empathize with. The way all the different female characters handle the horrible situation they live in was appropriately diverse, and even when I was frustrated with how a character was acting, I could understand where she was coming from, in an attempt to protect herself or others. For example,. It called to mind Right Wing Women by Andrea Dworkin, and the way that women will enact misogyny onto their daughters in an attempt to protect them. Though they recognized how horrible it was that Nazareth was betrothed to a man she hates, they feared what would happen to her if she felt that they agreed it was wrong.
The society in the world of Native Tongue was very unique, and interesting. The idea that, in a world where we interact with many alien species, each with many languages to learn, a powerful class of Linguists would control the world, is something I've never seen addressed in science fiction before, and it a really cool idea. I feel like sci-fi often bypasses the language barrier, through some sort of unexplained universal translator or because the aliens can speak English or some other handwave. Because the author, Suzette Haden Elgin, was a researcher in experimental linguistics, construction and evolution of languages, she had a unique perspective on the role language would play in a science fiction future, and it was awesome.
As it is, Native Tongue functions both as a very realistic look at misogyny—using real-world ways that woman-hating presents itself to make a believable, relatable future dystopia—and as a super unique, engaging science fiction novel. The story is told from the point of view of a variety of characters both male and female, both Lingo and not, and the variety of perspectives allows you to see the contradictions, and how they justify the obvious contradictions. An example is the way the men discuss women as being "more primitive creatures," and the more primitive the creature, the faster they mature, as a way to explain away Nazareth being much less emotional and more intelligent than her male counterpart, Aaron. Similarly, non-Linguist characters have a set opinion of how Linguists act and feel, and when one behaves in a way that contradicts their preconceived notions, they come up with some explanation as to how they are still correct. Dirty stinkin' Lingoes, after all! Always purposefully making normal people feel stupid.
Similarly to the Handmaid's Tale (the show, I haven't read the book yet), Native Tongue takes the very real misogyny that real women face, be it in the past or in the modern day, and update it to the future setting. This means that even though the setting would be hard to relate to, and the catalyst event of women being legislated to being legally children (and therefore unable to make their own decisions, own their own money, etc.) is extreme, the actual oppression the women in the story face is something most women can empathize with. The way all the different female characters handle the horrible situation they live in was appropriately diverse, and even when I was frustrated with how a character was acting, I could understand where she was coming from, in an attempt to protect herself or others. For example,
Spoiler
when the older women mourned Nazareth's betrothal in secret, but actually talking to her they called her foolish and laughed at her distressThe society in the world of Native Tongue was very unique, and interesting. The idea that, in a world where we interact with many alien species, each with many languages to learn, a powerful class of Linguists would control the world, is something I've never seen addressed in science fiction before, and it a really cool idea. I feel like sci-fi often bypasses the language barrier, through some sort of unexplained universal translator or because the aliens can speak English or some other handwave. Because the author, Suzette Haden Elgin, was a researcher in experimental linguistics, construction and evolution of languages, she had a unique perspective on the role language would play in a science fiction future, and it was awesome.
meganpbell's review against another edition
5.0
It’s a damn shame this feminist science fiction cult classic trilogy is out of print today. Elgin was a linguist, and this novel explores a world where women’s rights have been revoked, but the birth of a women’s language may change everything. Also ALIENS! Native Tongue is not a subtle book but it is a fascinating one, narratively, historically (2nd Wave feminism, Moral Majority), and in how it interacts with linguistic theory. I’m really looking forward to reading the rest of the trilogy.
funcharge's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Slavery, Child abuse, and Child death
secanno's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
orangeburrito's review against another edition
challenging
dark
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
The linguist's version of The Handmaid's Tale. A bleak but somewhat inspiring tale of what sisterhood means and the thousand small defiances of women in times of subjugation and oppression. The aspect of a secret project to break their shackles that takes generations to come to fruition is beautiful and melancholic.
mikhaela_reid's review against another edition
4.0
Considering how obsessed I am with dystopian science fiction, I can't believe I never read this feminist cult classic until now. It's not as well-written as the Handmaid's Tale, but it's still pretty amazing.
The stuff about language reminds me a lot of 1984 and the Newspeak dictionary--the idea that taking away words for certain concepts or creating/encoding words for others can change the way people think and behave and affect whether they have the capacity to rebel against an authoritarian regime.
The book's biggest flaw is gender essentialism. The women in the book are for the most part unreservedly good and nurturing and sweet. The men are pretty much evil bigoted pigs, although a few are a little more complicated than that. The book seems to advocate creating a women's world and women's language that totally writes off all men as irredeemable. (Although despite that, all the characters in the book also seem to be heterosexual, which is a whole other issue).
That said, it's still a great and fascinating read. Plus one of the heroines of the book is an assassin spy named Michaela, so how could I not love it?
The stuff about language reminds me a lot of 1984 and the Newspeak dictionary--the idea that taking away words for certain concepts or creating/encoding words for others can change the way people think and behave and affect whether they have the capacity to rebel against an authoritarian regime.
The book's biggest flaw is gender essentialism. The women in the book are for the most part unreservedly good and nurturing and sweet. The men are pretty much evil bigoted pigs, although a few are a little more complicated than that. The book seems to advocate creating a women's world and women's language that totally writes off all men as irredeemable. (Although despite that, all the characters in the book also seem to be heterosexual, which is a whole other issue).
That said, it's still a great and fascinating read. Plus one of the heroines of the book is an assassin spy named Michaela, so how could I not love it?
hannah_doc's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
yaelm's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5