A review by williamc
The Power by Naomi Alderman

dark mysterious reflective fast-paced

• 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

4.0

 An unexpected, political apocalypse of sorts that mixes the revelation of latent biological powers to a reversal of the global female/male power dynamic. Alderman flips this switch skillfully enough that when the lights come on, as it were, the reader is struck not just with the fundamental transition that is taking place, but with the deeper realization of the imbalance it seeks to replace. And this, in part, is what makes The Power so engaging to read -- that where Alderman could have winked to her reader, or simply been more obvious of the novel's direction, her story is instead compelling, creepy, ghastly, righteous, uneasy, and often stands on not-implausible justifications. The truth of the story is that a horrible dynamic exists, and her use of faux letters, unearthed artifacts, more than one unreliable narrator, and reproductions of real-world archeological detritus gives the reader a true sense of the reckoning that is due. Wonderful, if spooky, and just, if at times punishing in its sudden moments of violence.