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startjpw23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Torture, Rape, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Death, Medical trauma, and Misogyny
saara_ilona_muu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Torture, and War
madredeleones's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, War, Torture, Suicide, Gun violence, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Medical trauma, and Death
Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Medical content, Cursing, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Adult/minor relationship, and Drug use
Minor: Religious bigotry and Racism
innerweststreetlibrarian's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
I really needed the first half of this book after the grinding misogyny of the last one I read, but oof it got really hard to keep going once I was about halfway through. Definitely needed more contemplation time between chapters to process what was going on. And that was quite a LOT. Very, deeply thought provoking, and a tad horrifying. Basically excellent.
Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Death, Sexual assault, Drug use, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Torture, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Hate crime, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, Trafficking, and Gun violence
Minor: Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and War
paukinra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Antisemitism, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Drug use, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, War, Child abuse, Police brutality, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Grief, Hate crime, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Rape
puddlemud's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I chose to read this book due to a recommendation by bookstore employee, because I asked for any recommendations for feminist novels. In my words I’d say that “The power is a dystopian novel, where women get ‘the power’, which can cause pain, or even death, with a flick of their fingers. And suddenly men see themselves losing their own power.”
All that with the essence of a “Midsommar”-esque plot (though Midsommar came out after this book was published) that sadly, in my opinion, failed.
Though the pacing of the book was fine, the writing style was unbelievably hard to get into. Due to this fact I was dreading finishing, or even just reading a few pages of the book. So it took me incredibly long to even get to a point where I was motivated enough to just read through it. This was due to a few reasons.
Firstly: The changing perspectives. While I’m fine with changing perspectives in books, the perspectives in this book changed so much (with the perspectives of so many characters) that it was really hard to even understand the storyline.
Additionally, the motives of the characters were hard to follow and they weren’t really fleshed out all that much, which especially hurt the potential of the storyline:
It really seemed like Naomi Alderman tried to convey a certain effect onto the reader. One, where you at first feel for the main character(s) - defending their (sometimes questionable) actions - because they went through horrible trauma, until it all gets so extreme, that you just can't do that anymore. This, sadly, was not accomplished, because the characters were just so unlikable. Sure, Allie and Roxy went through some horrible, traumatic events, but their revenge just doesn’t feel satisfying at all and so the “Oh! Maybe so much power isn’t all that great after all!”- moment was a rather minor conclusion.
Another issue I take with the book is simply: it just isn’t clear what is happening by the end of it all. Is the main plot supposed to be written as a ‘history book’/part of history? What do the emails mean? What happened to some of the characters? I genuinely don’t know. Maybe I’m too dense to understand it, but I’ve spent some time discussing the book with friends and yet we’ve not gotten any closer to understanding it. And the fact that some plot lines were just left open, didn’t help either.
There also are just some things I take personal issue with:
There is not a single queer character in the book? In an extremely matriarchal society? Not only was there so much potential to do so, but it also would have just made so much sense. Why would the love and unity with women not expand to the romantic level? Also Allie and Roxy were just extremely gay, I'm sorry. The fact that they actually weren’t, was a shock to me.
Which also leads to the fact the way sex was described and portrayed in the book was honestly disgusting and unsettling. The passionate and the not so passionate scenes were just so graphic - (*warning*) for example: “It’s good; her around him, him inside her. They fit.” (Page 289) - that I didn’t want to continue reading the book. Especially after a graphic rape scene. I honestly just wish that there would have been a content warning for this.
And this is not to say that I didn’t like some aspects of “The Power”.
I liked the honest portrayal of real life experiences of women under patriarchy and it just shows the trauma that comes from it very well. Also, I liked how the aspect of power was portrayed here. In a discussion about the book a friend of mine said: “Whoever holds the power, abuses it.” and I think this summarizes it pretty well.
The conclusion of the book is: men are not the problem in patriarchy (or at least not the root of it all), women would not be the problem in a matriarchy. The problem is the power that the people get and the fact that they abuse it to benefit themselves. Obviously uneven power structures create an unequal society and there is no ethical way to hold said power.
This abuse of power is portrayed especially well in the context of the cult. How it may feel comforting at first, but will hurt you in the long term even more.
All in all, like I said: the concept of the book was nice, but sadly was not executed well. There was so much potential that was left untouched.
3/5
Graphic: War, Rape, Violence, and Misogyny
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Medical trauma
mimlleigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Rape, Violence, Sexual violence, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Trafficking, Gun violence, and War
neevechristine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: War, Transphobia, Physical abuse, Murder, Gun violence, Grief, Kidnapping, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Death, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Sexual violence, and Sexism
gracekatreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual content, Pedophilia, Medical trauma, Transphobia, Sexual assault, Violence, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, and Body horror
kennim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Rape and Violence
Moderate: Medical trauma, Drug use, and Sexual violence
Minor: Child abuse