The Power by Naomi AldermanMy rating: 2 of 5 stars
'She throws her head back and pushes her chest forward and lets go a huge blast right into the centre of his body. The rivulets and streams of red scarring run across his chest and up around his throat. She'd put her hand on his heart and stopped him dead.'
Suddenly - tomorrow or the day after - girls find that with a flick of their fingers, they can inflict agonizing pain and even death. With this single twist, the four lives at the heart of Naomi Alderman's extraordinary, visceral novel are utterly transformed, and we look at the world in an entirely new light.
What if the power to hurt were in women's hands?
Well..... I'm finding it hard to rate this book. The premise of it is simple. Imagine a world where woman, due to some sort of pollution in water, suddenly develop "Skeins" a structure within their bodies that enables them to discharge electricity, to lethal levels. The Power.
There is an exchange between the supposed "author" of a historical work, (Neil) and his friend Naomi before and after the main content of the book which suggests that they are now 5000 years on from the "Cataclysm" that resulted from women gaining The Power and the main part of the book is Neil's version of what happened.
So far so good. But....the events describing what actually happen are told through several POVs and none of the characters are particularly likeable. The slide into warfare between men and women is described graphically. There is a male rape scene that is especially gruesome and graphically described. There is also a storyline that follows one character who takes on the role of a female God. It's disjointed.
The author seems to be wanting to show that having the power and being able to turn the tables on men is not necessarily a good thing.
The exchanges between Neil and Naomi suggest that women are now in control but things are more balanced but there is no real explanation of what happened after the Cataclysm and how things have progressed to where they are and what the world looks like with women no longer inferior to men.
The idea that women could gain power in this way is an interesting one but writing a book on how that would pan out was not very well executed in my opinion. This was a book club choice. I'm sure it will provoke debate.
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There is an exchange between the supposed "author" of a historical work, (Neil) and his friend Naomi before and after the main content of the book which suggests that they are now 5000 years on from the "Cataclysm" that resulted from women gaining The Power and the main part of the book is Neil's version of what happened.
So far so good. But....the events describing what actually happen are told through several POVs and none of the characters are particularly likeable. The slide into warfare between men and women is described graphically. There is a male rape scene that is especially gruesome and graphically described. There is also a storyline that follows one character who takes on the role of a female God. It's disjointed.
The author seems to be wanting to show that having the power and being able to turn the tables on men is not necessarily a good thing.
The exchanges between Neil and Naomi suggest that women are now in control but things are more balanced but there is no real explanation of what happened after the Cataclysm and how things have progressed to where they are and what the world looks like with women no longer inferior to men.
The idea that women could gain power in this way is an interesting one but writing a book on how that would pan out was not very well executed in my opinion. This was a book club choice. I'm sure it will provoke debate.
View all my reviews
That lack of detail about the world 5,000 years later sounds frustrating too; that’s usually the most interesting part of a speculative jump! At least as a book club pick, it’ll give you guys plenty to tear apart over wine.
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Thanks for your review. Doesn't sound like a book that would interest me! Maybe a glass of wine...
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