Reddit reviews The Power

They're taking that silly feminist book "The Power" by Naomi Alderman too seriously, and literally. But I guess this is the 'equality' that can be expected from feminists

Readers' reviews here: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Naomi-Alderman/dp/0316547611

There's a twist, as written by a commenter: "Alderman frames her novel with a satirical device. We are now in a future where women have been in charge for thousands of years, and one Neil Adam Armon, a member of The Men Writers Association (male novelists being so rare and unexpected a breed that they have to be labeled as such), is showing an historical novel to his mentor, an eminent author by the name of “Naomi Alderman.” Neil’s manuscript, The Power, purports to trace the origins of the matriarchy, positing an earlier age in which men were the ruling gender."

However, it's hard to understand that if women have been in power for thousands of years (and a male sets out to inform people that patriarchy once ruled), a young woman would have been sexually abused by her own father in the current scenario. Also, the fact that the author uses her own name in a work of fiction as a famous author mentoring a male is a bit over the top, as is "the power" which appears "all of a sudden" in young women.

It seems that under female rule, people still are living as they always have, except doing the same things men always have done, with crime, dissension, abuse, etc, which is disturbing that nothing changed for thousands of years of female rule. Is she saying that women and men think alike? That both sexes come from the same place?

I'll have to see if my local library has a copy.

The Power by Naomi Alderman (bonus for girl power!)

Seveneves by Neal Stephenson (mutation theme comes later in the book, but worth it)

I read the first books of both the Murderbot and the We Are Bob series last week. Both are great, and there are piles of sequels as well.

Over break: The Power by Naomi Alderman. Fabulously thought provoking, so I'm going to assign it to my incoming first year students next fall.