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Alderman, Naomi. The Power. New York: Little Brown and Company, 2017.
341 pages.
Reviewed by J. d'Artagnan Love
The Power is a response to Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale wherein Alderman tries to answer the question: what would happen if women controlled men's bodies? Presented as a novelized work of historical nonfiction, the story starts when young girls develop the power to electrify things with their hands. This was a result of poisoned water during WWII that caused a genetic mutation passed on through generations. With this power, women are no longer controlled by men.
The characters in the novel are interesting and believable. Alderman does a nice job of making each character's experience with the power unique and individualized. The story is nicely timed; it doesn't drag but it also doesn't move so fast your head spins. There is a nice gradual build up to the climax. Much of what Alderman speculates about what might happen in this scenario are pretty close to what I think might happen.
There is one ugly, glaring problem with this novel that I can't move past to award a full five stars. Alderman fails to discuss race or ethnicity in any way, shape, or form. This is a big, big problem for this kind of world-changing shift in gender roles. You can't address changes in gender and power without also acknowledging the intricacies of gender, power, and race. I just will not let that slide. The only thought I had thought could potentially defend her position is that, if this is a response to The Handmaid's Tale, The Handmaid's Tale also fails to address issues of race and ethnicity. So they are at least parallel, but I just don't feel like that is a good excuse. I really don't.
Overall, it was an interesting read and a good response to Atwood's work, but falls flat in using any third wave feminist thought.
Recommended for: Readers who enjoy dystopian fiction, readers who enjoyed The Handmaid's Tale.
Not Recommended for: Readers sensitive to sexual violence or looking for a study on gender that includes intersectional identity.
4 darts out of 5
Click here to read my review of The Handmaid's Tale.
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