THE POWER SUMMARY OF THE NOVEL ALDERMAN CONDUCTS

THE POWER

SUMMARY OF THE NOVEL • ALDERMAN CONDUCTS HER THOUGHT EXPERIMENT THROUGH THE LIVES OF FOUR MAIN CHARACTERS. THERE’S ALLIE, AN ABUSED AMERICAN FOSTER KID WHO REINVENTS HERSELF AS FAITH LEADER MOTHER EVE, AND IS SEEKING TO BUILD A COMMUNITY AWAY FROM MEN; SHE JOINS FORCES WITH ROXY, THE DAUGHTER OF A LONDON CRIME BOSS, WHO REVELS IN HER NEW ABILITIES. TUNDE IS A NIGERIAN JOURNALIST REPORTING ON SEISMIC GLOBAL CHANGE AND DISCOVERING WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE AN ATTRACTIVE YOUNG MAN IN A WOMAN’S WORLD; WHILE MARGOT, AN AMERICAN POLITICIAN ON THE RISE, COMES TO SEE THAT POWER RESIDES WITH STRENGTH RATHER THAN AUTHORITY – AND AS AN UNSCRUPULOUS MIDDLE-AGED WOMAN, STRENGTH IS WHAT SHE SUDDENLY HAS. THE NOVEL IS CONSTRUCTED AS A BIG, BRASH, PAGE-TURNING, DRUG-RUNNING, GLOBETROTTING THRILLER, ONE IN WHICH PEOPLE SAY THINGS SUCH AS: “IT’S ONLY YOU I’VE BLIMMIN COME TO FIND, ISN’T IT? ” AND “YOU WANNA STAND WITH ME? OR YOU WANNA STAND AGAINST ME? ” BUT IT’S ALSO ENDLESSLY NUANCED AND THOUGHT-PROVOKING, COMBINING ELEGANTLY EFFICIENT PROSE WITH BEAUTIFUL MEDITATIONS ON THE METAPHYSICS OF POWER, POSSIBILITY AND CHANGE. WE’RE COUNTING DOWN, THROUGHOUT, TO A GLOBAL CATACLYSM, WHILE THE BOOK ITSELF IS PRESENTED AS A “HISTORICAL NOVEL” FROM THOUSANDS OF YEARS IN THE FUTURE, WRITTEN BY ONE “NEIL ADAM ARMON” WHO DARES TO QUESTION HOW THE NATURAL DOMINANCE OF WOMEN OVER MEN MIGHT HAVE DEVELOPED.

WHAT IS SATIRE? • A PIECE OF LITERATURE DESIGNED TO RIDICULE THE SUBJECT OF THE WORK. • WHILE SATIRE CAN BE FUNNY, ITS AIM IS NOT TO AMUSE, BUT TO AROUSE CONTEMPT. • RIDICULE, IRONY, EXAGGERATION, AND SEVERAL OTHER TECHNIQUES ARE ALMOST ALWAYS PRESENT.

ASPECTS OF DYSTOPIAN NOVEL • LIKE MANY 21 ST CENTURY DYSTOPIAN TEXTS, A PREOCCUPATION WITH THE CONTROL OF THE BODY AND THE SELF • THE NATURE OF VIOLENCE AND CONNECTION TO POWER • SURVEILLANCE BY GOVERNMENT • THE ISSUE OF GENDER ROLES • HOW HISTORY CAN BE DISTORTED

ALDERMAN’S CREATIVE INFLUENCE • ALDERMAN DESCRIBES HOW THE IDEA CAME TO HER WHILE GOING THROUGH A BREAK-UP: “I GOT ONTO THE TUBE AND SAW A POSTER FOR SOME MOVIE, A THRILLER, WHERE THE MAIN IMAGE WAS A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN CRYING. IT WAS ALSO WHAT I WAS DOING: WAKING UP CRYING, FEELING THAT I MIGHT BREAK INTO PIECES. IT FELT LIKE THE CULTURE WE LIVE IN WAS SAYING: ‘GOOD. THAT'S WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING. WE LIKE IT. WE FIND IT SEXY’. " LIKE A COMBINATION OF THE SURVIVAL DRAMA OF THE HUNGER GAMES, AND THE INVERSE OF THE GENDER POLITICS IN MARGARET ATWOOD’S THE HANDMAID’S TALE, THE POWER IS SAVVY ABOUT PATRIARCHY, SOCIETAL SHACKLES AND SEXUAL DOUBLE-STANDARDS.

WHAT ALDERMAN HOPES THIS BOOK TEACHES US ABOUT GENDER ROLES? • THE DEMANDS OF HAVING TO BE ‘MASCULINE’ ARE AS DAMAGING TO MEN AS THE DEMANDS OF HAVING TO BE ‘FEMININE’ ARE TO WOMEN. I WISH WE COULD ALL AGREE JUST TO WASH IT ALL AWAY. BEGIN AGAIN. BE WHAT AND WHO YOU WANT, NO MATTER WHAT THE SHAPE OF THE STUFF IN YOUR PANTS OR UNDER YOUR VEST. NO HUMAN QUALITY BELONGS TO ONLY ONE CLASS OF PERSON. WE ALL GET TO BE BOTH AGGRESSIVE AND LOVING, WE ALL GET TO DELIGHT IN OUR CAREERS AND REVEL IN OUR CHILDREN, WE’RE ALL KIND AND BRAVE, SOFT AND HARD, SCIENCY AND ARTSY, INTERESTED IN BEING LOOKED AT AND IN ADMIRING OTHERS’ PHYSICAL FORM. EVERYTHING.

WHILE READING CONSIDER. . • HOW DOES THE NOVEL’S CONSTRUCTION IMPACT THE MEANING OF THE NOVEL? • WHAT ARE THE DYSTOPIAN CHARACTERISTICS WITHIN THE NOVEL? • WHAT IS THE NOVEL WARNING SOCIETY OF? • HOW IS THE NOVEL A SATIRE OF CURRENT ISSUES?