Reviews tagging 'Sexism'

The Power by Naomi Alderman

171 reviews

cristinareading's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

3.25

First things first I want to say if you think this is a feminist book I very much disagree. This is a book about how women suddenly got the power to use electrical force and then become inhumane as a way of revenge towards men. As a feminist, this was difficult to read without getting sad. 

This book is well written but I base my star rating on how much I enjoy reading something and this was a difficult book to read. It had a very sad way of seeing the world. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Drug abuse, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Sexual violence, Murder, Misogyny, Slavery, Sexism, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Violence, and Police brutality

paigerini's review

dark reflective 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? Yes

4.5

I read this for class as a part of a book club with some of my classmates.

This book has multi-faceted, dynamic characters, a captivating plot, and an interesting concept of "What if only women had electricity powers?" This story shows how society would change (and fall apart) if women became the "stronger" sex, with all the political, social, and religious turmoil that comes along with it.

I've heard that some people criticize this book for being too pessimistic or portraying women as too destructive, but I believe that is the point. This portrayal is supposed to be exaggerated to further enhance how sexism plays a part in both our society and this apocalyptic one.

For me, this was an amazing read. I like that it is abrasive and controversial, as some of the best books strike up the best conversations. I should check out some of Alderman's other books.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, Violence, Drug use, Murder, Sexual assault, and War

Moderate: Sexism and Trafficking

sbox's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.25

Definitely a gripping book! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Murder, Death, Death of parent, and Sexism

Moderate: Trafficking, War, and Cursing

Minor: Racism

aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition

medium-paced

3.5

Check out content/trigger warnings (I don't think the ones I chose are all inclusive of what is in the book so look up all the reviews that have the warnings) because some stuff can be quite graphic. 
Overall liked it but didn't love it. I didn't really care for the ending but enjoyed the overall idea of the book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Death, Pedophilia, Torture, Blood, Gore, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Murder, Violence, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Sexism, and Child abuse

Moderate: Confinement

jordansmoot's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Murder, Sexism, and Sexual violence

donomak's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Torture, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Murder, Violence, and Physical abuse

noomlum's review

adventurous dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

4.25

A really interesting take on sexism, feminism, and power. The world devolves in a power struggle based in fear and revenge, with the concept of innate softness and the maternalistic nature of women being flipped on its head. The writing makes this all so easy to digest and visualise, and I was hooked to the characters throughout. A must read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape

Moderate: Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Sexism, and Violence

penguins_save_lives's review

challenging dark emotional reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, and Rape

Moderate: Medical trauma, War, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Torture, Police brutality, Murder, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Stalking

vninny's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Bullying, Death, Incest, Rape, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Trafficking, Blood, Gore, Sexism, Sexual violence, and War

oddpilot97's review against another edition

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

2.0

I hated this. And I don't say that lightly.

*Be aware that this book contains DETAILED depictions of rape.*

Starting this book, I thought it would be about women reclaiming their power (no pun intended) and crafting some strong commentary about the effects of the patriarchy and rape culture.

When the book first started flipping harmful ideologies, I found it thought-provoking. The idea of women seeing online that a few men posted that they like being shocked by the power during sex, and therefore the women decided the men must all “secretly like it” seemed to accurately reflect the disgusting narrative I’ve seen that “if some women have a CNC kink, no women should complain about rape, they must enjoy it”. But from there, the parallels spiraled out of control.

It quickly devolved into “won’t someone think of the poor men??” And my heart broke at the horrible stories. Until I remembered: this is OUR narrative, just flipped. Why should we have to flip it for people to care? And why should i read something that makes me cry for imaginary people when this happens to real people every day. I have empathy fatigue for imaginary situations now, when that empathy could be directed towards real suffering.

I read an interview with the author, because I couldn't believe she would try to make the point she did.

Finally, you have to ask, are women better than men? They’re not. People are people. You don’t have to think that all men are horrible to know there are some men who abuse their strength. Why wouldn’t the same hold true for women? -Naomi Alderman (The New York Times).

Would women sexually abused men at the same rates if the roles were reversed? I have to fundamentally disagree, and the notion makes me queasy. There were several times this book made me feel sick to my stomach (specifically the scenes of assault and justifications of it).

Even if that  were true, what was the point of writing this? Egalitarianism is the goal, not enacting a matriarchy. I don't think this book needed to be written and it negatively impacted me to read. I do believe that power corrupts. But at the end of the day, I have to ask myself what stories are worth our energy and which ones we should be platforming. And a book that asks “what If the real life victims were the abusers” helps no one, in my opinion.

Many have compared this to “A Handmaid’s Tale”. That parallel couldn’t be further from the truth, in my opinion. Margret Atwood did what good dystopian stories do: she took an idea present in our society and pushed it to the limit. That’s not the case with “The Power”. Alderman was apparently mentored by Atwood, and I'm genuinely curious what her perspective would be on this book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia, Incest, War, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, and Sexism