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zorroschance's review against another edition
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
tamarant4's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
When he walked past a group of women on the road – laughing and joking and making arcs against the sky – Tunde said to himself, I’m not here, I’m nothing, don’t notice me, you can’t see me, there’s nothing here to see. [loc. 3846]
Some time soon, teenaged girls everywhere begin to develop the ability to zap other people with electricity -- anything from a minor shock to a lethal one. A new organ, the 'skein', is identified as the organ of electricity. The girls can awaken the power in older women, too. And within months women all over the world are rising up, targetting oppressors, fighting back.
Alderman's four protagonists experience this change in different ways. Allie, whose Christian foster parents have abused her, begins to hear a guiding voice, convincing her to found an all-female community. Roxy, a London gangster's daughter, avenges her mother and stands up to her father. Margot, a middle-aged American politician, acquires the power from her troubled daughter Jos, and uses it to clear her path to power. And Tunde, a young Nigerian man who's training as a journalist, becomes a chronicler of this unforeseen revolution, travelling the world and meeting formerly-enslaved sex workers, female soldiers, and the redoubtable Tatiana, the wife of Moldova's president.
It turns out, unsurprisingly, that power corrupts: that women are capable of being just as violent and cruel as men. There are some deeply unsettling scenes in the latter part of the novel, and Alderman evokes the Bacchae at one point to remind us that there's a long history of female violence. And though at first it's amusing to see the microaggressions, the nervousness, the imbalances turned upside down, it quickly becomes sobering, even depressing.
Though I've owned this novel for some years, I'd never got around to it before. I didn't know about the framing narrative, which is set far in our future (though I don't wholly accept the implicit history of how we might get there from here) and I didn't know just how unpleasant some scenes would be. I'm glad I've read it, despite those scenes, despite the bleakness: it's well-written and inventive, with interesting viewpoint characters, and it examines its central conceit with care and nuance. I wonder if the novel would be more intersectional if Alderman were writing it now.
Fulfils the ‘self-insert by author’ rubric of the 52 books in 2024 challenge. The framing narrative features letters by 'Neil Adam Armon' to a 'Naomi', who is a successful author and probably a former lover...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Torture, Death of parent, Murder, and War
j_e_nnnn's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Think The Handmaids Tale, but less plausible.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
anikaandaj's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
This is a book that's been sitting on my shelf for years, that would have served me better had I allowed it to keep gathering dust. The premise is wonderful. The science and thought put into the skein was really unique. The first third of the book was engaging, and the introductions to the four main characters had me wanting to learn more. Then everything got a bit weird.
For starters, that's when Israel is repeatedly and randomly referenced. Frequently enough that you might wonder if there's some plot significance, but no, after 3-4 references to Israel within a span of 50 pages and characters who suggest others join the IDF, I realized this is just the author self-indulgently slipping their biases in. I dislike moments in reading where the characters and world slip away and you can feel the author inserting themself at your shoulder. I dislike it even more when I've spent the last ten months seeing Israelis commit genocide, and now can't even have peace from Zionists while reading. At 33%, I almost quit from this alone, but pushed through because surely it was just those references. But by the half-way point, I screamed in my room at 2 am because not only had there been 2 more Israel references, but there'd been another 2 references conflating anti-zionism with antisemitism. And I had to ask myself, because I don't have a direct line to ask the author, literally why? This book is about gender. Aside from giving a bit more context into the very weird portrayal of Muslim women immediately stripping off their clothes and DTF after developing the Power, these insertions do nothing but make me feel propagandized to, and hyper-aware of the author.
But I kept reading, because it was too late to return the book and I'll waste my time before I'll waste my money. And it'd be one thing if the author's personal opinions weighed down an otherwise good story, but it's barely a story to begin with. What starts as a great premise reveals itself as an empty shell. The plot isn't so much cause-effect, action-reaction as it is 'and this happened, and this happened, and that happened off screen' stuffed full of gratuitous shock value. The characters have the dimension and depth of paper dolls. They are vehicles in which to observe aspects of the plot from various settings. None seem capable of long-term memory, as the shift from patriarchy to matriarchy occurs over a very short period of a decade, yet all behave as if the flipped gender dynamics have always been. There are multiple detailed rapes, which are framed not as revenge or a reaction to the previous patriarchy but as a natural consequence of being the weaker sex, with the same justifications of "what was he wearing" and so on. I get its meant to be a cute, blinding neon sign at "the point" in mirroring the worst of the patriarchy within its newly elevated female characters, but it's hard to buy that an entire gender would wield the same weapons used on them.
I get it. "The nature of power is that it corrupts" blablabla. Its simplistic and lacking nuance, which makes for an increasing stretched and ridiculous world, and even worse: a boring book. Of all the interesting directions the author could have taken, she spent the entirety going straight to rape, murder, and sexual harassment. That's dull. It's so binary that in the entire book revolved around gender, the narrative steers clear of any mention to how the LGBT exist in this world? For the love of god, why do I know more about how Israel is affected in this universe than a Trans person???
I could go on, but I'll leave it at this. The most impressive aspect of this book is the way it feels like a hate crime against multiple groups from a 2016-era liberal white woman.
For starters, that's when Israel is repeatedly and randomly referenced. Frequently enough that you might wonder if there's some plot significance, but no, after 3-4 references to Israel within a span of 50 pages and characters who suggest others join the IDF, I realized this is just the author self-indulgently slipping their biases in. I dislike moments in reading where the characters and world slip away and you can feel the author inserting themself at your shoulder. I dislike it even more when I've spent the last ten months seeing Israelis commit genocide, and now can't even have peace from Zionists while reading. At 33%, I almost quit from this alone, but pushed through because surely it was just those references. But by the half-way point, I screamed in my room at 2 am because not only had there been 2 more Israel references, but there'd been another 2 references conflating anti-zionism with antisemitism. And I had to ask myself, because I don't have a direct line to ask the author, literally why? This book is about gender. Aside from giving a bit more context into the very weird portrayal of Muslim women immediately stripping off their clothes and DTF after developing the Power, these insertions do nothing but make me feel propagandized to, and hyper-aware of the author.
But I kept reading, because it was too late to return the book and I'll waste my time before I'll waste my money. And it'd be one thing if the author's personal opinions weighed down an otherwise good story, but it's barely a story to begin with. What starts as a great premise reveals itself as an empty shell. The plot isn't so much cause-effect, action-reaction as it is 'and this happened, and this happened, and that happened off screen' stuffed full of gratuitous shock value. The characters have the dimension and depth of paper dolls. They are vehicles in which to observe aspects of the plot from various settings. None seem capable of long-term memory, as the shift from patriarchy to matriarchy occurs over a very short period of a decade, yet all behave as if the flipped gender dynamics have always been. There are multiple detailed rapes, which are framed not as revenge or a reaction to the previous patriarchy but as a natural consequence of being the weaker sex, with the same justifications of "what was he wearing" and so on. I get its meant to be a cute, blinding neon sign at "the point" in mirroring the worst of the patriarchy within its newly elevated female characters, but it's hard to buy that an entire gender would wield the same weapons used on them.
I get it. "The nature of power is that it corrupts" blablabla. Its simplistic and lacking nuance, which makes for an increasing stretched and ridiculous world, and even worse: a boring book. Of all the interesting directions the author could have taken, she spent the entirety going straight to rape, murder, and sexual harassment. That's dull. It's so binary that in the entire book revolved around gender, the narrative steers clear of any mention to how the LGBT exist in this world? For the love of god, why do I know more about how Israel is affected in this universe than a Trans person???
I could go on, but I'll leave it at this. The most impressive aspect of this book is the way it feels like a hate crime against multiple groups from a 2016-era liberal white woman.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Racism
orange8's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, and Rape
Minor: Death
ladydi412's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Antisemitism
jordanez's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death, Rape, and War
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, and Pedophilia
napathetic's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Fun, well-constructed book. Enjoyed the sprawling cast of characters and multiple POV style storytelling where different subplots come together and merge.
With that said, I don’t think this book offers much insightful social commentary or analysis. The message here is simply that absolute power corrupts absolutely, regardless of gender. Would have been more impactful to add some nuance and go beyond that. (Also, the conversation between Naomi and Neil that bookends the narrative is very meta, but it ultimately feels gimmicky.)
With that said, I don’t think this book offers much insightful social commentary or analysis. The message here is simply that absolute power corrupts absolutely, regardless of gender. Would have been more impactful to add some nuance and go beyond that. (Also, the conversation between Naomi and Neil that bookends the narrative is very meta, but it ultimately feels gimmicky.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, and War
leilorenzo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Poderosa narrativa que discute el sexismo y patriarcado tóxico de hoy a través del análisis de una sociedad invertida.
Presenta desarrollos interesantescon personajes diversos que nos muestran múltiples facetas de la historia y su desarrollo. Vas cambiando de opinión al respecto de cada una/o a medida que avanza la historia. Hubo un par de plot twists que no me vi venir, estuvo muy interesante.
Le faltó un pelin para ser perfecto por lo GRÁFICO que fue y no me lo esperaba.
Miren las advertencias, realmente tiene de todo.
Presenta desarrollos interesantescon personajes diversos que nos muestran múltiples facetas de la historia y su desarrollo. Vas cambiando de opinión al respecto de cada una/o a medida que avanza la historia. Hubo un par de plot twists que no me vi venir, estuvo muy interesante.
Le faltó un pelin para ser perfecto por lo GRÁFICO que fue y no me lo esperaba.
Miren las advertencias, realmente tiene de todo.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexism, Sexual assault, and War
Minor: Child death, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
whiskrr's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Gore and Slavery