{"product_id":"vocal-break-lauren-elkin-9780374615338","title":"Vocal Break: On Women, Music, and Power","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eFrom the acclaimed author of \u003ci\u003eFlâneuse \u003c\/i\u003eand \u003ci\u003eArt Monsters\u003c\/i\u003e, a fierce, insistent, ecstatic investigation of the female voice, its power and vulnerabilities, and the ways women sing and speak their way through the world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFor millennia, women's raised voices have been called unruly, uncivilized, dangerous. Singing women were cast as sirens: mythical creatures who lured sailors to their death. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA vocal break is where the voice shifts from lower to higher registers--from one thing to another. What can be made in this space of transition? Lauren Elkin draws on her own experiences as a young soprano in the 1990s as well as showcasing a full-throated, full range of other singers, including Édith Piaf, Maria Callas, Cyndi Lauper, Kathleen Hanna, Tori Amos, PJ Harvey, Beyoncé, FKA twigs, and Billie Eilish. Looking closely at the way power and identity shape our voices, she immerses readers in an eclectic soundscape, from musicals and pop music to folk, punk, and opera. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAs she seamlessly blends cultural history, criticism, memoir, and feminist manifesto, Elkin lays out how women have used their voices to defy convention, genre, capitalism, racism, sexism, and the forces that attempt to keep them quiet. What makes women's singing so powerful--to the point at which others feel the need to control or manipulate it? \u003ci\u003eVocal Break\u003c\/i\u003e is Elkin's insistent, joyous call: Girls to the front, NOW!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Lauren Elkin\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0374615330\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780374615338\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Farrar, Straus and Giroux\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 11\/10\/2026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 384\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.00lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.25h x 5.38w x 1.00d","brand":"Lauren Elkin","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48871377535231,"sku":"9780374615338","price":30.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/vocal-break-lauren-elkin-9780374615338","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}