“These things are happening all at once. These things are one thing. They are the inevitable result of all that went before. The power seeks its outlet. These things have happened before; they will happen again. These things are always happening.” – Naomi Alderman, The Power

It’s not often that you read a book that scares you and makes you laugh and think, “something about this book makes it feel important” all at the same time. The Power is the rare combination of thought-provoking and thoroughly entertaining. The story is mainly told through the voices of four main protagonists in the wake of an earth-changing event: teenage girls, and then women, are able to shoot electricity through their hands. Almost overnight, women become more physically powerful than men. There is an almost joyous sense in the beginning of the book as women who have been oppressed and exploited are able to defend and free themselves from the men who victimize them. As their power grows, there are even indications that there may be entire nations led by women, policed by women and free of the old ways of doing business. And then things, well … they kind of take a turn, but I don’t want to spoil it for you.

There are so many things to recommend The Power. It is by turns frightening and sad and thrilling and funny. Alderman is so smart – as someone with an English background, there were times when I would pause and think, “wait, how did she just do that?” and then have to go back and read through the section again. If it sounds like I’m gushing, it’s because I am. The writing has a cinematic quality to it and you can see Alderman’s descriptions unfolding in front of you. Although the novel covers a decade, the pacing is strong and there was never a point where I felt the story lag. What was most compelling to me was how real the alternative present Aldermen created felt. The ability of women to shoot electricity out of their hands aside, everything in the novel felt like it could be happening right now because by and large, it is. Alderman pulls from politics and religion, history and Internet forms, media and academia to hold a mirror up to society. As women grow more powerful in the book, some of them also grow to abuse that power. Scenes where men are attacked or afraid to walk alone at night were terrifying but with the roles were reversed, it also made me realize how desensitized we are to hearing these same stories from women. As the novel progresses it slowly becomes clear that everyone wants the same thing: to be safe; but not everyone can have what they want.

This is not a book about gender wars, nor is it casting blame on one side or another. Through the novel, Alderman seeks to explore what power does to our humanity and ultimately sees power and the desire to wield it as part of what it means to be human.

I normally don’t read a lot of speculative fiction but several people recommended this book to me and I am glad that they did. Sometimes I think as readers we need a nudge out of our comfort zones – it’s easy to run the risk of letting the genre determine what you read and what you avoid. For what it’s worth, I think The Power is worth picking up. Beyond Alderman’s clear abilities as a storyteller, the story she is telling is an important one for our times.

Until next time, happy reading!