The Power
Shocking the nation
Naomi Alderman's 'The Power' is an electric tale of gender inequality
Decades have passed since Atwood's 'The Handmaid's Tale' raised the stakes for women's dystopian fiction. Years later, we still praise the novel- study it, reconstruct it, review it. But we're hungry for something more. Or at least this was the gut reaction I experienced when stumbling across The Power in the low-lit basement of a London bookstore.
Atwood placed women in the centre of institutionalised oppression within her dystopian future, as literal slave breeders for men. We saw them publicly humiliated, stripped of individual identity and rendered powerless to the state. But what would happen if things were to turn out a different way? What if, instead of our dystopian women being weak and defenceless, they were in fact quite the opposite? What if they had beautiful...wonderful... ruthless...dangerous...tremendous power?
This is the future that Alderman crafts for the females in her novel. All around the world, gradually, but universally- women are discovering a hidden power within them. This originates from a special organ situated just above the collarbone called the "skein"- which acts as a biological source of electricity. Women, and ONLY women, are born with the power: the ability to inflict electric shocks, ranging from the level of minor discomfort, to mysterious pleasure, to excruciating pain (and even death).
It goes without saying, of course, that the power throws a spanner in the works of the general social order established between men and women. With the simple ability to shock and paralyse their male associates, women are wasting no time in crushing the long-established male hierarchies of the world. Male leaders are being overthrown, the victims of sex trafficking and slavery are finally seeking liberation, and women are banding together to fight for superiority. Indeed, the effects of such a discovery are beyond measure. To make it more simple for us, therefore, Alderman focuses on the lives of a few characters in particular, with the narrative constantly switching to focus on each one at random.
The first character we are introduced to is fierce, red-headed Roxy, the 14 year old daughter of a British gang leader, hell-bent on avenging her Mother's brutal murder. Across the pond we have Margot Cleary, the American Politician who longs to overthrow her patronising male rival. There is also Allie, a hapless foster child with a dream to escape her abusive stepdad and follow the mysterious voice within her. And lastly, there is Tunde, the strong-willed teenager who strives to become a journalist after the women of his world begin to act in wicked and violent ways. All 4 characters are headed towards a particular identity, trying to escape the restraints of their former lives. All 4 characters want to become something extra-ordinary. The power allows them to do this.
Aside from the intertwining plot-lines, there is also a fascinating historical backbone to the novel. We are introduced to ancient artefacts and documents, presenting as evidence of the great female rebellion. It is almost as if we are positioned millions of years in the future, looking backwards to a time in which females took the world by storm with this magnificent electrical power. This of course plagues the reader throughout with the question: so what happened? Why are these ancient artefacts buried beneath the rubble, alluding to a forgotten time? What happened to all these powerful women? Read, and you may form your own answer to that question.
Such is the style of the novel that the reader finds themselves caught somewhere between science-fiction and feminist activism. The Cosmopolitan described it as 'The Hunger Games crossed with the Handmaid's Tale', which may be an accurate, albeit reductionist, way of looking at its form. In this new reality, women can be the perpetrators of great battles, playing host to fast-paced fight scenes and bloody brawls. Yet, in their next breath, they are the nurturing Mothers of children, the loyal friends providing emotional support. Alderman's women are violently ruthless, yet profoundly emotive. Whoever decided that women cannot be both?
Perhaps, although, a criticism lies in combining two drastically different genres and still expecting to maintain credibility. The fight-scenes, for the most part, are simple and straight-forward, which doesn't seem to make a lot of sense alongside the complex, often muddled political messages. There were times in the novel in which I found myself wanting to Google the plot overview, (a terrible act, I know), simply to work out what exactly was going on. In my head, I can hear an English Professor arguing, 'Ah yes, but here's what it represents...'. Instead, I find myself wanting to ask, 'Okay, but what does it actually mean?'
Nonetheless, the decision to include multiple narratives is certainly effective, as it allows us to experience this revolutionary event from many different perspectives. This was something I criticised in my review of The Handmaid's Tale a few months ago, that the novel could really have benefited from including an alternative viewpoint. What Alderman particularly excels at, I would add, is including Tunde's narrative from a male perspective. Of course, discovering that one possesses electrical power is going to be quite significant for the female, but what about the reaction of the males? It is incredibly interesting to experience this shift in power through the eyes of a young, male teenager, old enough to understand gender inequality, yet young enough to wish to challenge it.
Moreover, including a male perspective prevents small-minded spectators from playing the "sexism" card, that this is a radical feminist novel, written to praise women and condemn men. I assure you, if you are expecting to read a novel that presents women as unequivocally faultless, and generally a race worthy of supremacy, then you shall emerge disappointed. This is not a novel that deems women as the master-race, it is a novel about society, and the general injustices that we ALL face as a result of regarding one gender as the absolute authority. It is a novel about power.
Such is the style of the novel that the reader finds themselves caught somewhere between science-fiction and feminist activism. The Cosmopolitan described it as 'The Hunger Games crossed with the Handmaid's Tale', which may be an accurate, albeit reductionist, way of looking at its form. In this new reality, women can be the perpetrators of great battles, playing host to fast-paced fight scenes and bloody brawls. Yet, in their next breath, they are the nurturing Mothers of children, the loyal friends providing emotional support. Alderman's women are violently ruthless, yet profoundly emotive. Whoever decided that women cannot be both?
Perhaps, although, a criticism lies in combining two drastically different genres and still expecting to maintain credibility. The fight-scenes, for the most part, are simple and straight-forward, which doesn't seem to make a lot of sense alongside the complex, often muddled political messages. There were times in the novel in which I found myself wanting to Google the plot overview, (a terrible act, I know), simply to work out what exactly was going on. In my head, I can hear an English Professor arguing, 'Ah yes, but here's what it represents...'. Instead, I find myself wanting to ask, 'Okay, but what does it actually mean?'
Nonetheless, the decision to include multiple narratives is certainly effective, as it allows us to experience this revolutionary event from many different perspectives. This was something I criticised in my review of The Handmaid's Tale a few months ago, that the novel could really have benefited from including an alternative viewpoint. What Alderman particularly excels at, I would add, is including Tunde's narrative from a male perspective. Of course, discovering that one possesses electrical power is going to be quite significant for the female, but what about the reaction of the males? It is incredibly interesting to experience this shift in power through the eyes of a young, male teenager, old enough to understand gender inequality, yet young enough to wish to challenge it.
Moreover, including a male perspective prevents small-minded spectators from playing the "sexism" card, that this is a radical feminist novel, written to praise women and condemn men. I assure you, if you are expecting to read a novel that presents women as unequivocally faultless, and generally a race worthy of supremacy, then you shall emerge disappointed. This is not a novel that deems women as the master-race, it is a novel about society, and the general injustices that we ALL face as a result of regarding one gender as the absolute authority. It is a novel about power.
Thus, I urge you to read this novel if you wish to understand the issues within society today, as voiced through a range of perspectives: the privileged, the oppressed, the forgotten, the deprived, and of course- the powerful, By all means, expect to find illumination regarding a range of problems, yet do not expect to find a solution. I confess that I did not finish this novel satisfied, in fact quite the opposite- I left it more perplexed with the world than ever before. Yet, I emerged inspired to make a difference, to seek the solution that Alderman leaves so desperately unprovided at the end of her story. That, for me, is enough to deem this novel a modern masterpiece.
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