On Facebook I promised a review of the wonderful book, The Power by Naomi Alderman. I am still reading the book as I write this but by the time I share it I will have finished the book. I am a big reader in general, most gift receiving holidays I ask for books because I can cuddle up and spend countless hours swimming in their words while also learning about a new world. This year for Christmas my husband gifted me with The Power thanks to the reviews and it being on The New York Times 10 Best Books list. I am happy he gifted me The Power because it is not a typical book I would choose, with the genre being science-fiction. I am big into mystery and realistic fiction.
The Power opens with a letter to Naomi from Neil describing that he has finished his book and is sending it to her for "guidance or at least that I'll finally hear the echo of it as I drop the pebble of this book down the well." He states that his book is "Not another dry volume of history"
The Power is written from many different characters perspectives.
So there is not one universal protagonist.
The Power follows a ten year span of time for Roxy, a English crime syndicate, belonging to a family with a complicated history of crime. Tunde, a college aged male who turns into a reporter during the time that we follow him. Tunde is a very attractive male and it feels like his attractiveness is what leads to his entire career as a reporter. Margot, an American Politician left to make decisions during the years after finding that women now possess this power. Allie, later deemed Mother Eve, an American orphan who finds that she possesses a very unique skill, of hearing who she believes is the voice of God. Each of these characters help show a different aspect of how life is changing post-The Power.
The Power, is an electrical current that they find all women possess, they have a built in weapon that no one can take from them. Ultimately this leads to women now being the dominant gender.
It takes you down very dark trails of how women learn to dominate the world. Starting in a lighthearted and fun way. Morphing into a very dark and scary place. Some parts of the book are very hard to read. You get a very translucent view of how women learn to rape, torture and kill men. I would like to believe this is not what would happen but it is likely a very realistic view of what the world could become. We get the writer's take on how power corrupts. Which happens to be the whole point of this novel.
I plan to re-read the book out-loud to my husband because I cannot feel alone in this dark knowledge. I am a fanatic of true crime podcasts and documentaries, but reading is a whole new level to me. I suffered through In Cold Blood by Truman Capote. It feels too personal for me to be reading the dark stories rather than hearing them in a third persons words.
The books are written in third person, of course, but it still feels too close. I get so wrapped up in what I am reading, I am surrounded by the story and inside it. Watching the crimes taking place in these stories is not like watching them on the Television. It is like watching a fight in your home. Witnessing it and feeling the pain when someone gets hit.
I have finished the book and the ending is extremely unsatisfying. I felt no sense of closure or understanding of what I just spent 400 pages reading.
I announced to my husband that I wanted to read the book to him next and he has said that he has no interest in hearing it. I feel so alone in my learned knowledge after completing the book and disappointed. I read others reviews, and found a lot of women who find it a misogynistic work of art.
I don't feel that it is misogynistic, but I do feel that it is pessimistic, I understand where Naomi is coming from. I think power always has the opportunity to corrupt. I think Naomi wrote with that in mind. Rather than building the utopia that many of us would like to believe women in control would build. She writes about another dystopia where women take advantage of the power and belittle men the same way that women are so belittled in some areas on our world.
I would recommend the book to anyone. If you are looking to do a deep dive into human nature, Naomi Alderman depicts it perfectly. The book can be dark but so can the world.
I believe a college curriculum could benefit from adding The Power to it's reading list. I also think book clubs who focus on politics or human nature would benefit from adding The Power to their list, as well. I would love to spend hours talking about the novel with others who have read it.
Let me know if you have read The Power or plan to read it so we can have a discussion about it.
Comments