Earthsong (Native Tongue) [Paperback]

Suzette Haden Elgin (Author)

Book Description

Series: Native Tongue | Publication Date: February 1, 1994

On a future Earth in which all women except genetically bred linguists are treated as property, the female linguists plan for the liberation of their sex and plan to seize power to save the world from certain disaster. Original.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Earth has become dependent spells economic disaster for the planet until a woman of the linguist families proposes a startling plan for the world's survival. Set in a far future where women's rights are a thing of the past, Elgin's latest novel reaffirms her interest in feminist topics as well as her environmental concern. Despite a premise that strains credulity, her characters are forceful and dynamic, and her narrative voice is unforgettable. Fans of the this series will want this continuation.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From the Back Cover

On a future Earth where economic survival depends on communication and trade with alien species, linguistics has taken on a power and meaning unknown to us today. In this world thirteen families of brilliant, genetically bred linguists, trained from birth in nonhuman language, hold the key to Earth's economic survival because only they can provide translations during alien trade summits.

Yet this is also a world where the 25th Amendment, which denies women equal rights, has plunged civilization into a repressive dark age. Women are once again considered property--useful only for procreation and menial chores. Only the women of the Linguist Lines, whose talents are considered too valuable to waste, have ever been allowed to do anything beyond basic domestic work.

But when aliens suddenly abandon Earth, taking their technology with them, and plunging the Earth into economic disaster, can the women of the Linguist Lines, who have long planned for the liberation of their sex, now seize the power to save their world?

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: DAW; First Edition edition (February 1, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0886775922
• ISBN-13: 978-0886775926
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,850,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Imaginative departure from "Native Tongue", June 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Earthsong (Native Tongue) (Paperback)

This is presented as the third volume of the "Native Tongue" trilogy. In a sense this is true, since it uses the same universe and is set at a later date than the first two volumes. In most respects it is not, since it departs from the main theme ("language sets the stage for perception") and the grand design started in the first two volumes and picks up other ideas.

This is much less a true sci fi novel than the first two volumes and it is even more tongue-in-cheek. If nothing else, this book is highly imaginative and a pleasure to read.

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Feminist future fantasy about language altering thought, November 7, 1996

By A Customer

This review is from: Earthsong (Native Tongue) (Paperback)

This is the third book in a series of three, and is clearly the inferior of it's predecesors. In Native Tongue and Judas Rose, Suzette Haden Elgin wrote provokatively about the role of language in a fictional future where woman are second class citizens. Earthsong simulataneously abandons the major subject of the previous two books (the emergence of a "woman's language", laadan) and at the same time will make absolutely no sense to people who haven't read the earlier books. Also, many of the characters are mere snapshots (introduced to give us a flavor of the range of women's viewpoints in this new society) and the lack of deep characterizations and fragmented narrative can be disconcering, particularly if you like your fantasy with clear connections and resolution. I don't mean to sound totally negative, for there are some thought-provoking ideas here- particularly a new way to solve the problem of human starvation. But these ideas stretch the boundries of scientific credibility. For all these reasons, I give Earthsong a 4.