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The Power

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The Power

Written by: Naomi Alderman
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh
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In this stunning bestseller praised as "our era's Handmaid's Tale," a fierce new power has emerged—and only women have it (Washington Post).

In The Power, the world is a recognizable place: there's a rich Nigerian boy who lounges around the family pool; a foster kid whose religious parents hide their true nature; an ambitious American politician; a tough London girl from a tricky family.

But then a vital new force takes root and flourishes, causing their lives to converge with devastating effect. Teenage girls now have immense physical power: they can cause agonizing pain and even death. And, with this small twist of nature, the world drastically resets. From award-winning author Naomi Alderman, The Power is speculative fiction at its most ambitious and provocative, at once taking us on a thrilling journey to an alternate reality, and exposing our own world in bold and surprising ways.

"Captivating, fierce, and unsettling...I was riveted by every page. Alderman's prose is immersive and, well, electric." —New York Times Book Review Coming of Age Dystopian Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Post-Apocalyptic Science Fiction Women's Fiction
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Brilliant, fast paced, unique story. Listened in 1 day, didn't want it to end.

Fascinating-Original

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Oh. My. Goddess. I haven't stopped talking about this book since I started listening to it! Every one of my female friends has been pestered thoroughly to pick it up.

What would the world look like if women were the more powerful gender? If men's opinions and physicality were valued less? If they were the ones vulnerable to exploitation? So often, we hypothesize that a matriarchy would be a gentler society, free of rape and full of empathy. Naomi Alderman confronts this Utopian vision and then grinds it under the heel of science fiction.

Beginning with teenage girls acquiring the electrical powers, the shift initially seems positive. They can defend themselves from those who would hurt them: rapists, kidnappers, abusers. I reveled in the first part of the book, imagining a world like The Power's. But then the change continues and all men begin to fear for their lives. The power imbalance flips and now women are performing horrifying acts of violence on the other gender. I found myself a little disgusted with myself, to have enjoyed the first part of the book's thought-experiment. I think this is what Alderman intended, to show how easily one can believe that dominance is deserved.

I really enjoyed the framing device the book employed, especially visits to the "artifacts" of the world before. I highly recommend this book to all, with the caveat that it may make you uncomfortable (as any truly good speculative fiction should.) Additional trigger warning for depictions of sexual assault and violence.

I had previously listened to Adjoa Andoh read Americanah and I loved her performance on both books.

I am BLOWN away!

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This was easily the best book I've read in a long time. I had such a guttural reaction to the very end that there aren't even words to describe the sounds that came out of me. I was stunned. Well worth the Audible credit.

F*ck Me @ That Last Sentence!

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This book was recommended to me in such a a way that it’s path, at times, came to be quite unexpected. I enjoyed listening to the story and being surprised and different turns, and found the main characters well crafted enough to be engaging. I *really* enjoyed the narrator, who met the challenge of many characters with a variety of accents, although I found the Bessapara characters all sounded indistinguishable from each other.

Enjoyable Listen

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Great book. well written. interesting concept. lots to think about. narration sometimes too much. overall would recommend.

electric concept that stays

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