The Power Review ⭐
‘The Power’ by Naomi Alderman is a one-of-a-kind feminist novel that requires readers to reassess what they may accept about gender norms and power dynamics.
The Power envisions a world in which all women worldwide are suddenly capable of wielding incredible Power at their fingertips. This immediately shifts the power dynamic, placing women in a position of dominance never seen throughout human history. The novel takes place across multiple settings, from Alabama to Moldova (the latter is remade into Bessapara), and features a wide variety of female characters, many of whom rise up from lives marred by abuse and oppression.
Key Facts about The Power
- Title: The Power
- When/where written: London, 2012-2016
- Published: October 2016
- Literary Period: Contemporary
- Genre: Novel / Speculative Fiction / Science Fiction
- Point-of-View: Third-person
- Setting: London, Alabama, New England, Nigeria, and Bessapara.
- Climax: Allie calling on the women of the world to start a global war.
- Antagonist: Power
Naomi Alderman and The Power
Naomi Alderman’s The Power was the novel that made her a household name, partially among those interested in the latest dystopian fiction. Before its publication, she had written four books, all of which were outside the dystopian genre.
But, her interest in female narratives was clear within her first novel, Disobedience, published in 2006. It is thought to have been inspired by the author’s orthodox Jewish community from her youth. It tells the story of a North London rabbi’s bisexual daughter, Ronit Krushka, and her life in New York.
She also published The Liars’ Gospel and The Lessons before The Power. The novel is influenced by Alderman’s time working in a mentorship program with Canadian author Margaret Atwood. (The author also dedicated her novel to Atwood.) She’s received numerous awards for the novel, such as the Baileys Women’s Prize for Fiction and the Orange Award for New Writers. The book is currently being turned into a television series as well.
Books Related to The Power
Alderman’s The Power takes its inspiration from genres of science fiction and feminist literature. Contemporary combinations of the two, such as in Margaret Atwood’s oeuvre, are incredibly popular today. Alderman’s novel has been, and continues to be, compared favorably to The Handmaid’s Tale and other Atwood books like The Heart Goes Last and Oryx & Crake. Her novel also relates to science fiction classics like The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin and The Female Man by Joanna Russ, published in 1975. The latter is perhaps the lesser-known of the two.
It challenges female identity through its focus on four women in parallel universes. They visit one another’s worlds and are surprised by the different views on gender roles. The novel ends with all four women realizing they are versions of the same woman.
Readers are also likely to find themselves unable to resist drawing comparisons between The Power and classics of the dystopian fiction genre, like Anthony Burgess’ A Clockwork Orange, George Orwell’s 1984, and other novels like Brave New World and We.
More recently, the novel should be considered alongside books like Future Home of the Living God by Louis Erdrich. Erdrich’s ground-breaking depiction of future society has women at the center of the plot and details a cataclysmic event that overthrows everyone’s perceptions of society.
The Lasting Impact of The Power
The Power is such an effective novel because of the way it responds to the contemporary moment. It touches on topics applicable worldwide, specifically those concerning women’s rights, patriarchy, and, more generally, the balance of Power in society.
The author chose to focus on a few specific places worldwide as well. For example, Moldova and Saudi Arabia both of which are historically seen as locations where women are in danger of sex trafficking or are afforded few rights in comparison to their brothers, fathers, and husbands.
Alderman ensured the lasting impact of The Power in the way that she acknowledged all the ways that women are, and have been, pressed in society. This includes in romantic relationships, in the workplace, and in society more generally. Today, the novel is shelved alongside science fiction, dystopian fiction, and feminist classics and is studied in universities and high schools worldwide.
The Power Themes and Analysis 📖
Published in 2016, ‘The Power’ is a famous dystopian feminist novel that follows the story of a world remade after women all over the world developed the “power” to release devastating electric shocks from their fingertips.
The Power Quotes 💬
‘The Power’ is one of the best-selling feminist dystopian fiction novels of all time. Throughout, Alderman explores themes like power, gender, and history through these incredible quotes.
The Power Summary 📖
‘The Power’ is a 2016 feminist novel published by English author Naomi Alderman. It falls squarely into the dystopian fiction and feminist genres.
The Power Character List
‘The Power’ is a dystopian feminist novel that was published in 2016 by Naomi Alderman. It features multifaceted characters, none of which fill the traditional role of the protagonist.