This science fiction work addresses a feminist fantasy of women’s great power — an ability to deliver electric shocks. The novel, which imagines it is written in the distant future about their distant past, by a man, tells the story of how this power developed and how it changed history. But the events set basically in the current time with cable news and cell phones. It has many characters, in the UK, the USA, Africa, and South America. The three main ones are Roxy, initially a girl in England, Eve, a sort of nun in the American South, and Tunde, a reporter from Nigeria. Women gradually take over personal and political power. They are able to kill or fight off men who sexually assault them, and they are increasingly aggressive in their interactions with many other men. Women start to take more positions in government, and in some places men become persecuted.

The main text is bookended by letters between the male author and a close female friend of his, written in the far distant future. They make clear that in this world, women are in control of society and men stay home and look after the children. Nearly all records from  the past have been erased, and there are only a few archeological records about our time and the previous centuries. The standard history told in this future is that women have always been in power, and the several indications that human society used to be patriarchal are not taken seriously, and are dismissed as irrelevant.

The Power is smartly written with multiple plotlines, and the main characters are charismatic So it is an enjoyable read. There are parts that include rape and cruel violence, which may be uncomfortable for some readers. But it is most impressive as a conceptual work exploring feminist themes, although it is far from depicting a feminist utopia. Indeed, it indicates that women will behave just as badly as men when given the power and opportunity.

© 2018 Christian Perring

Christian Perring teaches in NYC.