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A review by meganisthebest
The Power by Naomi Alderman
5.0
Despite having a few concerns, I gave this book 5 stars because I have been thinking about it non-stop since I finished it a few days ago. Overall, an intriguing read that will have you rethinking gender roles and power dynamics.
Spoilers!
TW: rape
My few concerns are the following:
1. I strongly believe that there is never a need for writers to include explicit rape scenes. There are effective ways to portray the situation without getting into the mechanics which tend to be triggering and can at times feel normalizing. Rape culture played a central role in this novel and could have been just as impactful if written slightly differently.
2. The writing felt a rushed at times. For example, I don’t see Saudi women throwing off their hijabs immediately. This idea also seems to ignore the devout faith of many women, assuming that they only follow Islam as a form of subservience to men.
3. The disgusting mens rights bloggers were right and i don’t like that at all.
Despite these, I really enjoyed the book. I was pulled in by the overt discussions of gender and the role reversal in the way mens safety was discussed. Don’t go out after dark? Don’t go anywhere alone? It was his fault for acting that way? Sounds awfully familiar.
Above all else, I keep thinking about the way that gender expression was a direct result of power. In the nature vs. nurture argument alderman placed herself firmly on the side of nurture. At the end of the day, gender expression wasn’t related to physical sex characteristics, but physical power and dominance. As the book wrapped up and the women became more and more corrupt I started to feel indignant. Like the author was siding with the meninists, taking away the femininity I love and cherish. However, after a few days of stewing, I think I get it. “Feminine” traits aren’t specifically the result of being women, but the result of systematic oppression by a physically stronger group and creating an identity that blossoms from generations of emotional labor. As I’m writing this I’m still processing my opinion, and don’t think I quite portrayed it accurately… I’ll update once I consider it more.
Spoilers!
TW: rape
My few concerns are the following:
1. I strongly believe that there is never a need for writers to include explicit rape scenes. There are effective ways to portray the situation without getting into the mechanics which tend to be triggering and can at times feel normalizing. Rape culture played a central role in this novel and could have been just as impactful if written slightly differently.
2. The writing felt a rushed at times. For example, I don’t see Saudi women throwing off their hijabs immediately. This idea also seems to ignore the devout faith of many women, assuming that they only follow Islam as a form of subservience to men.
3. The disgusting mens rights bloggers were right and i don’t like that at all.
Despite these, I really enjoyed the book. I was pulled in by the overt discussions of gender and the role reversal in the way mens safety was discussed. Don’t go out after dark? Don’t go anywhere alone? It was his fault for acting that way? Sounds awfully familiar.
Above all else, I keep thinking about the way that gender expression was a direct result of power. In the nature vs. nurture argument alderman placed herself firmly on the side of nurture. At the end of the day, gender expression wasn’t related to physical sex characteristics, but physical power and dominance. As the book wrapped up and the women became more and more corrupt I started to feel indignant. Like the author was siding with the meninists, taking away the femininity I love and cherish. However, after a few days of stewing, I think I get it. “Feminine” traits aren’t specifically the result of being women, but the result of systematic oppression by a physically stronger group and creating an identity that blossoms from generations of emotional labor. As I’m writing this I’m still processing my opinion, and don’t think I quite portrayed it accurately… I’ll update once I consider it more.