The Power
Summary:
In “The Power” the world is a recognisable place: there's a rich Nigerian kid who lounges around the family pool; a foster girl whose religious parents hide their true nature; a local American politician; a tough London girl from a tricky family. But something vital has changed, causing their lives to converge with devastating effect. Teenage girls now have immense physical power - they can cause agonising pain and even death. And, with this small twist of nature, the world changes utterly.
This extraordinary novel by Naomi Alderman, a Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year and Granta Best of British writer, is not only a gripping story of how the world would change if power was in the hands of women but also exposes, with breath-taking daring, our contemporary world. (Summary and cover courtesy of goodreads.com)
Review:
I did NOT like this book. It had so much potential to explore feminism and the intricacies of discrimination, how it impacts daily life, and other nuanced topics, but it really fell flat for me. It felt like the over-arching attitude was “the solution to getting hit is to hit back harder”.
Instead, “The Power” was a role reversal of violent brutality and slipping into terrible assumptions of how those with power consistently take and take. I’m not saying there isn’t any reality to observations, but they were so extreme I felt it unlikely the book would change anyone’s perspectives in real life. The character interactions were interesting in that they touched a variety of cultures and contexts, but very shallow. And I believe the pacing and cohesiveness of the story could have been developed more fully, which resulted in jolting from chapters to chapter. What commentary that was present, was easy to miss as it only superficially slipped in. I had high expectations because there was such a buzz around the book, but ultimately I did feel any expectations were fulfilled.
Warning: Contains extensive violence and sexual content.
Rating: 1 stars!
Who should read it? I honestly cannot recommend it.