Offered Books:
After the Eclipse by Sarah Perry
Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang
The Dark Lady by Sarah Bailey
The Power by Naomi Alderman
Manhattan Beach by Jennifer Egan
Selected:
The Power by Naomi Alderman
Others Purchased:
Beasts of Extraordinary Circumstance by Ruth Emmie Lang
Naomi Alderman's The Power follows various women - a mayor-turned-Senator, her daughter, a foster child w/abusive parents, the daughter of a mob boss - and a male journalist as women all over the world gain the ability to send electric shocks through their hands. These shocks are enough to incapacitate or kill, and younger women have the ability to unlock this power in younger women.
This sort of change would affect the entire world, and Alderman does a great job of exploring how this affects various cultures, even if it does tend to focus on American/European ones. This new ability for women to defend themselves upends society and, like any major change, has people that resist the new status quo as well as people who embrace it.
The first part of the novel - as the first women start developing the power and spreading it - is great. It captures the fear and uncertainty this change brings and how those currently in power (i.e. men) try to control the development and spread. The problem, however, concerns the latter half of the book.
Once the women of the world all have the power, it has them become corrupted by it. Without giving too much away, there are several developments - gangs of women capturing and raping men, women dictators starting their own countries, even a cult developing around one of the characters - that seem to go too far into that corruption. It's not to say that power (of any sort) wouldn't corrupt women just as much as men, but it feels like Alderman has all women give in to this corruption - leading to an ending that - while an interesting way to frame the story - strikes me as unlikely, even with all the world-building Alderman does.
It also introduces but doesn't follow up on various scenarios that might have been worth exploring. Some men develop this power also, but it never explores what makes these men different. And this unexplored thread could also lead to how this could affect trans women and their treatment in this new society.
This novel isn't bad, but it definitely feels like its potential wasn't met. Alderman very obviously wanted to explore one potential aspect of this novel, but I can't help but feel that the book suffered for that singular focus. I'd recommend it, but more for a discussion of what could've been rather than what we received.
No comments:
Post a Comment