Reviews

The Power by Naomi Alderman

ameliatmoss's review against another edition

3.0

I agree with everyone saying this would be a great TV Show/Movie. The best part about this book is honestly the premise that the book is a work being presented to a colleague for review in a world where a matriarchy has always been in power. I had some issues with the POV swaps and got kind of annoyed that a book with such a cool premise focused solely on women abusing their power, but I also acknowledge that this is mostly just a reflection of male power in our society.

This book 4 sure makes you think and feel if you are into that sort of thing.

quiet_vulture's review

dark tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

kgossard4's review

tense slow-paced

2.0

itsaceftw's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

hgurnik's review against another edition

dark emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

5.0

leafblade's review

2.0

-Great idea, awful execution
-Really white-centrist narrative
-You don't need this much drugs nor rape scenes in any book that pretends to be good
-The ending was a fucking mess, the last 100 pages or so are confusing and at times plainly unreadable if you don't want to read the same paragraph three times
-I didn't connect with any of the characters, and I don't think the author wanted us to
-Sometimes it felt like a man with weird sexual fantasies was writing it
-Ryan (is that his name??) is set aside so the author doesn't have to bother with including a not-cis narrative to the story, and he's intersex. Trans people aren't discussed at all
-I don't think the author could keep up with the political intrigue she was trying to write
-There isn't a character whose development doesn't include getting progressively more stupid and annoying
-Sometimes it felt like it wanted to demonize women for killing or harming men who had done terrible things to them. Kill them all, sweethearts, and make them suffer as much as you can

bbryan88's review against another edition

5.0

This is one of those books that really make you think. It shows a cool perspective on how power and anger can shape a world in unexpected ways. Definitely recommend this one. My main takeaway is power can always corrupt, no matter who has it.

tamar66's review

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

pkiwi's review

4.0

Written extremely fast-paced to the point of breathlessness, this book is a thinkpiece more than a story. It put me on the wrong foot several times and it was not until well half-way through that I first discerned the contours of the message.
I applaud the writer for making me strongly doubt the book before resolving it satisfactorily, but I withhold the last star because as a novel it lacked the nuance that comes from thinking the subject through really well. It was ultimately unsurprising.

cate_zh's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25