The Power
by Naomi Alderman
Reviewed by Peggy K. Potter
Imagine you are a male author and someone you respect suggests that you may have better luck publishing and selling your book if you publish your book under a female name. The opposite happens all the time today. Most men today would be horrified and insulted by the thought. This book takes place in the future where women have “The Power”. That power is an electrical shocking system that can be painful in the least, deadly at the most. Almost all girls develop the power at puberty. It makes them strong, powerful, and unafraid of men.
In Alderman’s novel, the tables are turned. It has been this way for five thousand years. Women can dress how they please; go when and where they please. There is no fear of assault or rape. Unless you are male. It is best men stay home and take care of the children. They are better at that anyway. Not a gender bender book, men are still men and woman are still women. But the power shifts and gives the reader an insight into how things might have been. One of the ten best books of 2017.
Peggy K. Potter
Director: Hutchinson Memorial Library
228 N. High St.
Randolph, WI 53956
920-326-4640
pkpotter@randolphlib.org
