Originally published in 1984, this classic dystopian trilogy is a testament to the power of language and women's collective action. The interstellar Consortium of Planets forsakes the irredeemably violent Earth, condemning the planet to economic and ecological chaos. Given one last chance to halt Earth's annihilation, women freedom fighters discover a way to rid Earth of men's brutality-but it may have come too late. In the stunning conclusion to the Native Trilogy, female linguists must once again come forward and fight for the future of humanity.
"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
"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
"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."
