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Fiction for the End of the World
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Shop nowNative Tongue
Native Tongue: Book #1
Narrator
Amy Landon
This audiobook uses AI narration.
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Length
13 hours 42 minutes
Language
English
Bookseller recommendation
“While one may certainly choose to read this classic feminist SF work in its recent print reprint edition, I strongly endorse enjoying this work about language and its ability to not just reflect culture and reality, but actually form it, via its audio incarnation. While listening / rereading, I noted on social media, “Me reading NATIVE TONGUE back in the mid-80's -- ooh, disturbing but unlikely. Me rereading now -- damn, triggering!” I hope some of the current difficult conversations in our own timeline will lead to a future in which women don’t need to create Láadan. Recommend the trilogy to readers of all genres, with caution for some dated concepts.”
— Maryelizabeth • Creating Conversations
Originally published in 1984, this classic dystopian trilogy is a testament to the power of language and women's collective action.
In 2205, the Nineteenth Amendment has long been repealed and women are only valued for their utility. The Earth's economy depends on an insular group of linguists who "breed" women to be perfect interstellar translators until they are sent to the Barren House to await death. But instead, these women are slowly creating a language of their own to make resistance possible. Ignorant to this brewing revolution, Nazareth, a brilliant linguist, and Michaela, a servant, both seek emancipation in their own ways. But their personal rebellions risk exposing the secret language, and threaten the possibility of freedom for all.
Suzette Haden Elgin (born Patricia Anne Wilkins; 1936-2015) was an American science fiction author. She founded the Science Fiction Poetry Association, and was considered an important figure in the field of science fiction constructed languages. Elgin was also a linguist; she published nonfiction, of which the best-known is the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense series.
Amy Landon is a classically trained actress with numerous off-Broadway, film, and television credits. Her voice can also be heard on many television and radio commercials. She has an easy facility with dialects, which she also coaches and teaches, and she is happy to find her lifelong obsession with books is matching up with her acting and vocal work.