The Power

It’s a very uncomfortable read in places, but necessarily so - firstly, to highlight the oppression faced by women through flipping that oppression over; secondly, to observe very clearly that the issue being raised in the book is not just the madness of systemic gender-specific power (though the dismantling of the patriarchy, within the book, is a goal achieved rapidly), but also in the tendency of ALL humans to invent power structures which favour one trait over another, to value strength over humanity, and to allow the oppression of others to go unchallenged. For me, the wraparound “letters” and illustrations made this book even better. It gave it a sense similar to that of the final chapter of A Handmaid’s Tale - the future, post-event, and how things have settled in society.

Naomi Alderman's answer is not a ‘more kind, more gentle, more loving and naturally nurturing’ matriarchy that lets men off lightly. This is a violent, tumultuous tale that sometimes makes uncomfortable reading. But this is not ‘merely’ a list of feminist talking points brutally driven home; Alderman plays a long and subtle game, bedding in the most important and durable perspective changes (at least for this male reader) subtly over the course of the entire novel.

This novel is perhaps a kind of response to the call of Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale, to which it owes much; from the framing of near-future action within far-future intellectual perspectives, to the presentation of events that appear at first preposterously unrealistic, until one realises that most have actually happened, and in some cases continue to happen, IRL.

It's a gripping, prespective-changing read.

The Power asks the question; What if women were the stronger sex.

It is an interesting sci-fi question with allot of potential and while it was interesting to see the inversion of the power dynamics, Alderman did not go much further than opposite world.

Her answer seem to be, just as bad as men.

This is a legitimate point of view, but I would have hoped for a more speculative novel.

Yes, yes, I should read the original before watching the adaptation, but sometimes you can't help it. What's interesting here is the way the TV series tells the story in a much more conventional way than the novel, especially omitting the framing device that allows the novel to speed through many parts. There are times when I wished it would slow down a little and explore ideas a bit more, but it's a good read and raises a lot of interesting questions - and what if our whole existence is just part of a fable to explain the lost history of a distant future?

A fantasy I could indulge in but philosophically shallow, positing only that power corrupts. A simple reversal without consideration of history of oppression, blanketing humanity with the empathic capacity of a child wanting to be king of the hill.

I kept falling asleep constantly/unexpectedly all week because my anxiety finally crashed so it took me a while to get through this one, but it was super entertaining. A little too binary, but an intriguing premise. Ordered with my refresh of the sci-fi collection at work.

this sure made me have a lot of feelings. [return][return]Definitely a book I'd like to talk about with friends.

Aside from being a bit transparent from the outset, the premise and flow of this "tale" is good. I particularly enjoy the view of the world in obverse. It does help make today's world seem, somehow, more clear.

Thought-provoking

The concepts are really interesting and (once you get over the sketchy science of the skeins) quite plausible. For my taste, the storytelling was too disjointed and the separate character arcs didn’t come together soon enough. The writing style was sometimes a forced. Overall, a worthwhile read.

Really wonderful science fiction about a world slipping into dystopia after women are suddenly in possession of the ability to shoot electricity from their fingertips. The book switches between characters at each chapter break, so we get a variety of perspectives on the situation. It all unfolds about like one might expect. Grim stuff, but an interesting thought experiment. Riveting, too.

The weakest part for me was the framing device (set many years later), which I found to be a bit on the nose, especially in comparison to what Atwood was able to do with the historical notes to "The Handmaid's Tale (to which this book is often compared to) or Orwell was able to do with the appendix to 1984.

Highly recommended, overall.

Really Good

I’m a sucker for speculative fiction and this book nails it. Simple premise, excellent execution, and great writing. I liked how the different plots threads converged at first, randomly then inevitably. Finally, the slow steady ratcheting of changes to the social norms actually took me off guard.

It starts out really empowering, making me feel the same way when leaving Marvel’s “Black Panther”. Like I could do stuff.
Soon the mood changes and the whole story gets quite scary, actually. Worth the read, but really not a light topic, in a sneaky way. You’ll find yourself thinking about it a lot afterwards, even without meaning to.

When the power to control society changes hands, does the violence and coercion in society change, do the formerly powerless seek revenge and advantage over all else or can we fashion new ways of relating? Reminded me of Parable of the Sower, but with less of a palatable point.