Book Review: The Forbidden Words of Margaret A. by L. Timmel Duchamp

I find it eerie that the two books that have sent a chill down my back in the last year deal with two different people named Margaret A. There was first of course The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood and now The Forbidden Words of Margaret A. I'm beginning to think that Margaret is the name of revolutionaries.

Bet her name is Margaret

This is a short story that follows a reporter who has finally received the opportunity she has worked her entire adult life to achieve, a photo-op with Margaret A., a woman incarcerated for her words and the power they exerted over the general populace.

It is told in such a brilliant way and you truly feel every bit the ramifications of the situation. The fact that the freedom of speech has been taken from a single individual whom the government has deemed too dangerous. The fact that while they want to silence her, they also don't want to make her a martyr. 

So in order to perpetuate this rouse they allow these monthly photo-ops to keep the public at bay in the hopes that Margaret A. will become nothing but a memory given enough time. The story describes the public's inability to let go of their obsession with Margaret A. as a forbidden fruit. The newer generations may not know her words, but in a way that spurns them on. Why are we being kept from something that others have had? We want it too and we won't stop until we have it.

Words have very effective powers and a person's right to speak and hear them is vitally important. I cringed hearing of Margaret A.'s living quarters. The fact that on the outside it doesn't seem all that bad, but a prison is a prison is a prison no matter how you look at it.

Though the MC has maybe ten minutes with the infamous Margaret A. it is all that is needed to change the trajectory of her life. She was always fascinated, but now she wants Margaret to be freed and you get the impression that this goal will consume her life.

Over the course of 14 pages you are told a beautifully tragic story and even though it may not have the satisfying ending you'd hope for I feel it is more wanting you to take a call to action. The world is fraught in turmoil and if we aren't careful the imagery presented in this story and others like it won't be far off.

Be worried, be vigilant, be the change.

You can read this story for free on the author's website by clicking HERE.

5 out of 5 stars

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