The Power - Naomi Alderman

This novel came highly recommended, and it definitely didn't disappoint! Naomi Alderman's 'The Power' was published in 2016 and is a science fiction which explores what the world might look like if women developed superpowers and became the dominant gender. The novel won the 2017 Bailey's Prize for Fiction and has been described as "The Hunger Games crossed with The Handmaid's Tale". Alderman focuses particularly on a handful of central characters, including an abused foster girl, a rich Nigerian boy, a London politician, and her daughter.

One by one, girls around the globe begin to discover that they possess a frightening power and are able to release electricity from their fingertips, wounding and even killing others. This power can be harnessed over time and controlled by some, while others find themselves unable to restrain the electricity they emit and causing serious harm to those around them. The power is found mostly in young girls, but can be awoken in older women with the help of the young.

The characters are strangely likeable despite questionable morality. Although there are a number of central characters, you feel invested in each individual storyline, which eventually weave together. There are some difficult scenes including a rape, so trigger warning alert. But the concept of this book was so clever, and Alderman has portrayed a world in which our patriarchal society has been completely overturned. Suddenly men, and not women, are living in fear of their physical safety, and feel uneasy when walking home alone at night. Sound familiar to anyone? 

Parts of the writing were a tad slow, and I found myself losing interest a little during certain passages. But ultimately, Alderman returned to the action and I was gripped all over again. As another reviewer pointed out, an interesting parallel was made when the men "secretly liked it" (being zapped with electricity) during sexual activity, which is reminiscent of the "asking for it" culture when women are assaulted. Some of the shocking elements of the novel are actually not far from our current society, so the message is pretty poignant. Suddenly when it's women in control, it's a different story. 

I urge anyone to read this important book, which on the surface illustrates an extreme version of society, but in reality presents us with a familiar landscape. An enjoyable, uncomfortable and thought-provoking read.