The Power by Naomi Alderman

From Goodreads

In The Power the world is a recognisable place: there's a rich Nigerian kid who larks around the family pool; a foster girl whose religious parents hide their true nature; a local American politician; a tough London girl from a tricky family. But something vital has changed, causing their lives to converge with devastating effect. Teenage girls now have immense physical power - they can cause agonising pain and even death. And, with this small twist of nature, the world changes utterly.

This extraordinary novel by Naomi Alderman, a Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year and Granta Best of British writer, is not only a gripping story of how the world would change if power was in the hands of women but also exposes, with breath-taking daring, our contemporary world.

My thoughts

I gave this a 3 stars or 6/10.

One of my favourite genres is Dystopian themed stories. I'd heard several good things about this story, so reserved a copy from my local Library.

The premise was an interesting one and in a role reversal women are given a Power that sees them being the dominant sex. In society at the moment men seem to be the dominant sex and have no power as such to wield, it's just the way it's always been. In The Power women are given the ability to channel electricity, which they can use to their own advantage either for the good or the bad.

I have to admit that I got around half way through the story and lost interest in it. It took me a while to go back to it, once I did I read larger chunks and finished it within a couple of days. If I'm honest I think the story was a little on the long side and could easily have been told in less pages.

I enjoyed the writing style and the premise, the execution of the story could have been marginally better. I found it a thought provoking read and feel that it would make a great reading group read.

Due to the nature of some of the story, I feel that it should come with a warning of taboo subject matter.