Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Power by Naomi Alderman

19 reviews

steds's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

3.5

As audiobook. Intense, interesting, thought provoking.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Torture, Trafficking, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Murder, Police brutality, War, Genocide, Hate crime, Slavery, Violence, Bullying, Death, and Gaslighting

hellenalawliet's review

dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Sexual harassment, Trafficking, and Rape

Minor: Blood and Death

niliii's review

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Violence

Moderate: Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual assault

Minor: Physical abuse, Sexual content, Antisemitism, and Racism

mamaquiereleer's review against another edition

adventurous challenging reflective 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Trafficking, Murder, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Racism, and War

mikki_9's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, War, and Death of parent

Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Bullying, Confinement, and Mental illness

Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Chronic illness, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Racism, and Transphobia

supernova_reader's review

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, War, and Xenophobia

its_kievan's review

dark tense 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? It's complicated

3.5

The writing is absolutely flawless. Alderman does an incredible job of mixing poetic prose with some of the most brutal scenes I've ever read, and the story as a whole is just incredibly affecting. Where it falls flat is Alderman's attempt to merge a philosophic treatise on gender roles in society with a sci-fi novel about women getting superpowers. The sci-fi lessens the impact of the gender commentary, and the commentary means that a lot of the stuff around politics and war feels underdeveloped and shallow. However, this is a still a really well-written book, and in my opinion it's one that everyone should read at least once in their lives. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Sexism, Violence, Medical trauma, Rape, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Trafficking and Drug use

Minor: Racism

alexbobalex's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

Everyone should read this book at least once. It’s a story everyone can relate to, as we all are affected by gender and it’s power dynamics. This book made me relook at human history itself, and wonder. All that being said, strongly recomend.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Trafficking, Torture, Violence, Stalking, Sexual violence, Slavery, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Religious bigotry, Racism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Kidnapping, Infidelity, Hate crime, Gun violence, Gore, Grief, Genocide, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Cursing, Confinement, Cannibalism, Bullying, Body shaming, Body horror, Blood, Biphobia, Antisemitism, and Acephobia/Arophobia

LOOK AT THE TRIGGER WARNINGS. This book it for a mature audience and contains many, many triggers.

laura_abbott's review

This book is extremely disappointing from an intersectionally feminist point of view. Two things really bothered my partner and I about this book:

• Non-western cultures are portrayed in a very overly-simplified, stereotyped ways. It is very clear that the book was not passed by any kind of sensitivity reader, as no non-western women were given a voice at all-- these countries and cultures are all described through the perspective of a man. All non-white cultures are described as oppressive and conservative, without any nuance or depth given to the characters in western cultures. 
• The book is a violent revenge fantasy-- which, if it acknowledged itself as such, might actually have an inkling of the empowerment it purports to provide. Instead, it simply reverses the oppressive direction of the gender binary in an utterly pointless, violent way. This, according to the author herself, was apparently the goal of the book (in order to illustrate what a dystopian world we live in-- as if we didn't know). Instead the author's radical portrayal illustrates her alarmingly limited understanding of feminist theory-- let alone intersectional feminism-- and willingness to throw away decades of work feminists have spent disabusing people of the mistaken notion that feminism is about establishing a matriarchy. The fact the author believes a future run by a violent and oppressive matriarchy would be 'empowering' for women is sick.
• Finally, I just can't buy into the level of extreme decision-making the author depicts in the book. She writes all characters as if they are secretly waiting for the opportunity to hurt another, just for the fun of it. She then escalates this predatory mentality to the scale of nations. It's not only a perverted depiction of women, it's a perverted depiction of humanity as a whole.

The fact this book is being hailed as a feminist landmark is extremely problematic, and I am tremendously disappointed in the response this book has received.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Murder, Drug use, Death, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Islamophobia and Racism