The Power

An interesting idea but felt it was limited in its characters and plot line. Surely there would have been other women who had the power who would have chosen to use it differently? I would have liked to have seen more of them and some contrast rather than all the women out to get revenge, be corrupted by or hurt men. Ultimately I found it disappointing and sad in its outcome.

The opposite of misogyny and the powerless of women in society is not their having the power to become men. As Gloria Steinem said, "It's not about imitation, it's about revolution." Although that revenge fantasy is fun for few minutes, the book is predicated on the premise that given the power to best men physically, we would essentially become as the worst of them are. If mere physical prowess were the sole determinant of sex inequality, that would fly, but the book doesn't tackle things with any degree of complexity or depth, making the whole thing mostly a superficial escapade -- fun for a moment, but mostly unsatisfying. You can't overcome that simply by in turn physically subjugating men. the plot takes complex, entrenched decades-old influences and reduces it to simple prowess. Which is a pity. Let's be real: we could have dominated the world just by limiting the number of male children we allowed to populate the planet, or just start shooting them. And part of the reason we CAN be dominated is that we are socially programmed to participate in our own subjugation. We're not equal in violent potential to the degree that worst of men are, or we would have been that already, because nothing is really stopping us from that. The whole thing falls apart if you look at it for more than a minute. I won't even weigh in the "magical" thinking that the author credits for our newfound superpower. Meh. I will say, I appreciate the fact they aren't all tottering around in strapless, skintight bodysuits.

Brilliant in its conceptualization, this book is quite unusual. There is an alternate reality in which women have a very special ability. Is it, however, part of our past, our present, or our future? No matter, it is quite a dystopian vision. For women, with just the use of their hands, are capable of bringing others to their knees and even rob another of life itself. It is an ability that can change the balance of power. Will it be turned on the opposite sex, as a way of righting past wrongs, real or imagined? This is definitely a highly imaginative, ambitious novel. I confess that I had a bit of a love-hate relationship while reading it. Some of it made me wonder about human nature in a way that was not positive, at least not by the standard set in this book. The issue of gender relative to power was certainly food for thought. I found parts of it difficult to reconcile with my understanding of woman in a general sense. Still, it is a novel well worth reading.

!!****spoilers****!! The storyline in this book basically takes one from the patriarchal and misogynistic society of our world into the opposite of that. Seeing things from this perspective might be novel or revelatory for those who don’t see the veins of sexism already ingrained into everything (I thought the reversal of misogyny in the letters in the beginning and end was a cool way to emphasize what life is like for a woman especially in relation to men of influence or authority.) But to me, it was overall unimaginative and uninspiring. It seems that perhaps there is a point being made about how power itself corrupts anyone, no matter the gender, and will always do so, no matter who is in power. But it still managed to feel like the same story, different day. I wanted so much more for this book. I was disappointed as it seemed like the energy and potential of the idea presented in the beginning was lost somewhere along the way when the women chose to use power the same way men have and do, instead of a creative re-imagining of power dynamics or any other way besides the same old violent and heartless grab for power by sociopaths. Near the end it was unsatisfying to be led to conclude that people would just always be taking turns oppressing eachother for millennia depending on who had evolved more advantageously. I did enjoy some special moments in the thoughts and psychology of some of the main characters and their interactions. And I appreciate the bit on how history is written by those in power, and how beliefs or ways of life that entire civilizations are built on can be misunderstood (or re-interpreted by those who are invested in a certain interpretation) through the tiny pieces left behind. And I appreciate the attempt to bring awareness to realities of the oppressed across the globe and how inequality harms everyone.