For those of you following along, so far I have mostly talked about books that had simple, perfectly wrapped stories. Naomi Alderman’s The Power was something different. In fact, this book took me well over three weeks to read because of how much there was to think about.
The premise is simple but unsettling: Teenage girls around the world suddenly develop the ability to generate electrical jolts from their fingertips. This newfound ability gives women a physical advantage over men, reshaping the balance of power between the sexes. As women begin to understand their abilities, governments, religions, and social structures change in ways nobody could have predicted.
One of the most interesting aspects of the book is how it explores our world through this role reversal. Alderman follows characters across the United States, Britain, Nigeria, and Bessapara, a fictional country south of Moldova. Through their experiences, we can see how various cultures might react to a sudden shift in societal expectations. Some women use their abilities to protect themselves, while others use them to gain political influence or control.
While the writing is relatively easy to follow, the concepts are mind-bending. There are moments that are deeply disturbing, others that are heartbreaking, and a few that are downright ridiculous. What made these moments so effective is that they forced me to question how much of what we consider normal is determined by who holds power. The book can be uncomfortable, especially when familiar situations from our society are presented with the roles reversed.
I have seen The Power be compared to Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale or described as a story about the power of female puberty. While I understand these comparisons, I do not think either fully captures what Alderman is trying to accomplish. Initially, I viewed the novel as a dystopian take on what might happen if women were suddenly in charge. However, after reading Alderman’s explanation of her book in an interview, I began to look at it differently.
Alderman explained: “People say to me, ‘Ah, your novel is a dystopia.’ And I say […] ‘It’s only a dystopia for the men.’ And in my world, nothing happens to a man that is not happening to a woman in the world we live in today. So if we find my world to be a dystopia, then we are already living in a dystopia.”
When I read this, it completely changed how I thought about the novel. Rather than simply imagining a frightening future, Alderman asks us to consider whether the world we already live in contains many of the same problems. What initially seems extreme or disturbing becomes even more unsettling when we recognize its parallels to reality. To me, this book is not necessarily about women being better suited to lead than men. Instead, it examines what happens when the balance of power changes and whether those who gain it will actually do anything differently.
Ultimately, the book becomes less about men and women and more about the nature of power itself. Having the ability to protect yourself does not necessarily mean you will protect others, and experiencing oppression does not automatically make someone compassionate once they gain control. This made me think about leadership in our own college community. At Stevens, many of us take on leadership roles. While these positions are very different from the power explored in Alderman’s novel, they still raise an important question: What do we do when we are given authority over others? It is easy to assume that putting different people in charge will automatically lead to different outcomes, but The Power challenges that assumption.
I found The Power compelling precisely because it was so jarring. It is unlike anything I have read before, and I appreciated how it challenged assumptions I don’t really stop to question. This is not a light read, and I would not recommend it if you are looking for something comforting. However, if you have a couple of weeks and are open and curious, I would encourage you to give it a try. After all, the most interesting question Alderman leaves us with is not what happens when someone gains power, but what any of us would do if we had it.
