The Power

What if tomorrow, women all over the world discovered they had the power, deep within, to hurt – maybe even kill? Alternating points of view, Alderman studies the political and societal dimensions of the event, she investigates gender relations without going for the easy, expected conclusion. Echoing changes in our society, she delivers a fascinating, absolutely feminist novel.

Naomi Alderman's 'The Power' is one of those rare novels of political fiction which is simulataneously entertaining and thought-provoking. The author uses a frame story purportedly written by a male novelist to relate the events set in a pre-Cataclysmic times when male domination is called into question after females all over the world find themselves possessed with the power to deliver lethal electrical shocks following a seemingly spontaneous mutation of mysterious origin. As the story progresses against a backdrop of global religious and political upheaval, Alderman never succumbs to simplistic visions of gender relations, reminding one of the old proverb of the female being 'the deadliest of the species'. 'The Power' will definitely call into question readers' conventional visions of male domination in society in a most inventive and unpredictable way. An indispensable read for our transitional times, perfect for fans of quality dystopian fiction.