Recommendation: The Power by Naomi Alderman

[aurora]

I just finished The Power by Naomi Alderman and can't get it out of my head, in a good way! Has anyone here read it?

Without giving spoilers in this post, it's a futuristic, muti-narrator story in a time where women have literal electrical power to shock people, and how that has changed gender power dynamics. A lot of it is about the transition as women gain this power.

I read it after seeing it recommended by Margaret Atwood, and the style is similar to hers.

Happy to discuss if anyone else has read it!

[dontlook]

I read it but it was a while ago. I remember enjoying it, but only gave it 3 stars on goodreads.

[charlatti]

I read it in 2017 and liked it enough to give it 4.5 stars, but it’s not sticking with me — I can’t remember what I liked about it or much about the story. That probably says more about me than about the book.

[meowmaps]

I really liked it! I think I read it in 2018...?

I think what stuck with me is that no matter who is in power, if it’s not equal representation, there will be abuse of power. The women became as bad as their predecessors. Very interesting.

[aurora]

Mar 18, 2021 18:09:00 GMT -5 meowmaps said:

I really liked it! I think I read it in 2018...?

I think what stuck with me is that no matter who is in power, if it’s not equal representation, there will be abuse of power. The women became as bad as their predecessors. Very interesting.

Yes - "power corrupts" was definitely a theme! But also the whole part about it being hard to imagine anything different than what we know.