Native Tongue - by Suzette Haden Elgin (Paperback)

About the Book

A brilliant cult classic of literary science fiction--back in print.

Book Synopsis

A brilliant cult classic of literary science fiction--back in print.

Review Quotes

"Suzette Haden Elgin's Native Tongue trilogy, a classic text of angry feminism, is also an exemplary experiment in speculative fiction, deftly and implacably pursuing both a scientific hypothesis and an ideological hypothesis through all their social, moral, and emotional implications." --Ursula K. Le Guin, author of The Left Hand of Darkness

"Less well known than the The Handmaid's Tale but just as apocalyptic in [its] vision . . . Suzette Haden Elgin's Native Tongue. . . records female tribulation in a world where . . . women have no public rights at all. Elgin's heroines do, however, have one set of weapons--words of their own." --Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar, The New York Times Book Review

"Native Tongue brings to life not only the possibility of a women's language, but also the rationale for one. . . . [It is] a language that can bring to life concepts men have never needed, have never dreamed of--and thus change the world. Elgin never makes the mistake of easy utopiansim or over-optimism. Her women revel in patience." --Voice Literary Supplement

"As a nonreader of science fiction . . . I urge Native Tongue upon you. . . . Like Margaret Atwood in The Handmaid's Tale but more drastically and distinctly, Elgin has carried current fundamentalist views on women to their 'logical' conclusion. . . . Above all she understands that until women find the words and syntax for what they need to say, they will never say it, nor will the world hear it. . . . There isn't a phony or romantic moment here, and the story is absolutely compelling." --Women's Review of Books

"Elgin's novel will inspire those who believe that women's words can change the world. Read it!"
--Marleen S. Barr, author of Lost in Space: Probing Feminist Science Fiction and Beyond

About the Author

Suzette Haden Elgin (born Patricia Anne Wilkins; 1936 - 2015) is an American science fiction author. She founded the Science Fiction Poetry Association, and is considered an important figure in the field of science fiction constructed languages. Elgin was also a linguist; she published non-fiction, of which the best-known is the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense series.