Originally published in the 1980s, the Native Tongue trilogy is a classic dystopian tale: a testament to the power of language and women's collective action. In the second book of the series, a covert female agent is sent to break up the resistance.
In the second volume of the Native Tongue trilogy, the time has come for Láadan—the secret language created to resist an oppressive patriarchy—to empower womankind worldwide. To expand the language’s reach, female linguists translate the Bible into Láadan, and a group of Roman Catholic nuns are tasked to spread the language. But when outraged priests detect their sabotage, they send a double agent to infiltrate and destroy the movement from the inside.
“This angry feminist text 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
“A pioneering feminist experiment.” —Literary Hub
"A welcome reminder of the feminist legacies of science fiction. . . . Explores the power of speech, agency, and subversion in a work that is as gripping, troubling, and meaningful today as it has ever been." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
In the sequel to the feminist classic Native Tongue, a covert female agent is sent to infiltrate the resistance.
"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
"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
"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." —Marleen S. Barr, author of Lost in Space: Probing Feminist Science Fiction and Beyond
