A review by oddpilot97
The Power by Naomi Alderman

challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I hated this. And I don't say that lightly.

*Be aware that this book contains DETAILED depictions of rape.*

Starting this book, I thought it would be about women reclaiming their power (no pun intended) and crafting some strong commentary about the effects of the patriarchy and rape culture.

When the book first started flipping harmful ideologies, I found it thought-provoking. The idea of women seeing online that a few men posted that they like being shocked by the power during sex, and therefore the women decided the men must all “secretly like it” seemed to accurately reflect the disgusting narrative I’ve seen that “if some women have a CNC kink, no women should complain about rape, they must enjoy it”. But from there, the parallels spiraled out of control.

It quickly devolved into “won’t someone think of the poor men??” And my heart broke at the horrible stories. Until I remembered: this is OUR narrative, just flipped. Why should we have to flip it for people to care? And why should i read something that makes me cry for imaginary people when this happens to real people every day. I have empathy fatigue for imaginary situations now, when that empathy could be directed towards real suffering.

I read an interview with the author, because I couldn't believe she would try to make the point she did.

Finally, you have to ask, are women better than men? They’re not. People are people. You don’t have to think that all men are horrible to know there are some men who abuse their strength. Why wouldn’t the same hold true for women? -Naomi Alderman (The New York Times).

Would women sexually abused men at the same rates if the roles were reversed? I have to fundamentally disagree, and the notion makes me queasy. There were several times this book made me feel sick to my stomach (specifically the scenes of assault and justifications of it).

Even if that  were true, what was the point of writing this? Egalitarianism is the goal, not enacting a matriarchy. I don't think this book needed to be written and it negatively impacted me to read. I do believe that power corrupts. But at the end of the day, I have to ask myself what stories are worth our energy and which ones we should be platforming. And a book that asks “what If the real life victims were the abusers” helps no one, in my opinion.

Many have compared this to “A Handmaid’s Tale”. That parallel couldn’t be further from the truth, in my opinion. Margret Atwood did what good dystopian stories do: she took an idea present in our society and pushed it to the limit. That’s not the case with “The Power”. Alderman was apparently mentored by Atwood, and I'm genuinely curious what her perspective would be on this book.
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