ThePowerBuddyRead

The Power | Naomi Alderman

so-so

I completely failed to keep up with #ThePowerBuddyRead and made it only to page 80 in December. 🤦🏼‍♀️ But I finally finished the book, and it was mostly just “meh” for me. I liked the premise and the setup a lot more than the actual story.

#BOTM #MountTBR #MarchMadnessChallenge

JenP

dgingo It had good potential, but it was not nearly as good as it could have been/should have been. 7y

echalpan I‘m having a hard time finishing this one. So far, I feel similarly 😕 7y

118 likes2 comments

Blaire

Poetry Speaks: Hear Great Poets Read Their Work from Tennyson to Plath (from Sourcebooks, Inc. ) | Elise Paschen

Poems read aloud by the poets...and my #currentread = #poetryandpower #nuyear

Cinfhen, TrishB

Cinfhen Perfect❣️❣️how are you liking

The Power

Blaire @Cinfhen it‘s fascinating and I think will make for a great discussion at my feminist book club. 7y

Cinfhen Definitely!! @mrozzz posted really great questions for the power buddy read...there is PLENTY to talk about 7y

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mrozzz Thanks @Cinfhen 😃 @Blaire they‘re searchable through #ThePowerBuddyRead if you‘re interested 7y

Blaire @mrozzz @Cinfhen fab!! I will look these up before my book club meets. Thanks!! 7y

TrishB I like the sound of poems read aloud by poets ❤️ 7y

Blaire @TrishB it‘s great. I got it in college and it‘s amazing to hear Robert Frost, sylvia Plath, Langston Hughes and more read their own work. 7y

TrishB I have Plath on tape reading her poems ❤️ I could go for a few others! (edited) 7y

55 likes8 comments

Riveted_Reader_Melissa

The Power | Naomi Alderman

pick

What a clever book, imagine the battle of the sexes or the stark world of The Handmaid‘s Tale turned on its head, in a world where women have suddenly developed a new and frightening “power”, the social structure we take for granted will never be the same again. First must read of 2018!

#ThePowerBuddyRead

awishman I have it on hold at the library! I'm really excited for itm 7y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @awishman I can‘t wait to hear what you think of this one! 7y

Kristelh On my list to read in February 7y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @Kristelh yes 7y

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MeganAnn

The Power | Naomi Alderman

pick

This book is everything! I couldn't stop after this week's chapters for #thepowerbuddyread and went on to finish. It blew me away!! There are so many thoughts and ideas and nuances I almost want to read it again right now. If what it means to be male and female is flipped, what happens? What would our society really be like if women held all the power? Instead of stars, I give this ⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️⚡️

Cinfhen, mrozzz

Dolly It sounds thought provoking. 🤔 7y

Cinfhen Great review!!! I really loved this one too!!! I made a friend read it so we could discuss this book in person...she didn't love it as much as I did but we still had a great discussion... 7y

MeganAnn @Dolly it definitely is! 7y

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MeganAnn @Cinfhen thank you! It's thanks to your initial post that I joined in for the buddy read and I'm so very glad I did!! 7y

Cinfhen I remember! And @Reviewsbylola who encouraged me to join, bailed early on! Funny, how those things work out sometime 😊 7y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I continued on and finished tonight too! 👍 7y

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mrozzz

The Power | Naomi Alderman

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“He has written in the scribbled notes of his book: ‘At first we did not speak our hurt because it was not manly. Now we do not speak it because we are afraid and ashamed and alone without hope, each of us alone. It is hard to know when the first became the second.‘”

Does this line make you sympathetic to the men in this story? Is it justice? Their comeuppance? Can equality be truly achieved now or ever? #ThePowerBuddyRead

Cinfhen, Riveted_Reader_Melissa, mjdowens, bedandabook, Lidia, TheAnitaAlvarez, AmyG, Redwritinghood, MeganAnn, Betty, mklong, BrainyHeroine, hes7, AceOnRoam, riversong153, Laughterhp, hermyknee, litenthusiast, parttimedomestic, shendrix413, stuck.in.the.stacks

MeganAnn This reminded me once again of the #metoo movement. I think so many women have felt exactly the way Tunde described his feelings. It did make me feel sympathetic while at the same time underlining the inequality we see today. Do the men deserve it? Of course not! Saying that all men deserve to be treated this way completely undermines equality in so many ways. 7y

mrozzz @MeganAnn PERFECTLY said!! 7y

Cinfhen So many powerful (no pun intended) paragraphs...it was interesting to see the thoughts of shame, weakness, inferiority assigned to the male species. 7y

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Redwritinghood This role reversal really highlighted women‘s issues today. Many of the men didn‘t deserve it, but some definitely did. 7y

mrozzz @Cinfhen @Redwritinghood I absolutely agree. 7y

AmyG Seems like a complete role reversal. Gave me a laugh, for sure. Also makes me wonder if there is any difference between the sexes after all. :( 7y

mrozzz @AmyG one would hope that in the real world, if ever in a similar position, the women in charge would be able to keep history close at hand. But also, there might not be a difference, women just haven‘t had the outright opportunity like the one presented in the book. 🤷🏼‍♀️ 7y

AmyG @mrozz We should only get the opportunity!!!! 😂 7y

mrozzz @AmyG 😏 7y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa It made me think of all the discussions even here in the US as to why did you stay with your abuser, I‘m thinking about domestic abuse here, well why did you stay, you could have left, you could have (as Roxy said) hit them with a frying pan instead of hiding... this part of the book reminded me of all those arguments. How genders internalize their abuse as their fault, no matter who they are...and then blame themselves for it. 7y

mrozzz @Riveted_Reader_Melissa such a good response 👌🏻 so true 😔 7y

riversong153 I feel for the men here because they are being oppressed and there is shame, mental and emotional things that come out of that experience. No one should have to experience that, no human at all! 7y

mrozzz @riversong153 agreed! 7y

19 likes13 comments

mrozzz

The Power | Naomi Alderman

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Bessapara issues a crackdown on men‘s individual freedoms like traveling solo etc. Are you surprised by this turn? Did you expect it to take hold & be enforced?

Do you think other countries in the region might follow suit? Was Tunde being reckless and cavalier when he assumed he could be the one man to flout the new laws?
#ThePowerBuddyRead

MeganAnn I can't say I was surprised by Bessapara's new laws against men with the way the women in the area were treated before the power came. Nor was I surprised by the violence that followed. Once again, power corrupts those who wield it. I do think other countries might follow eventually. Tunde was absolutely reckless thinking he could continue on there without repercussions. But, his experiences in other places have led him to believe he is invincible 7y

Cinfhen Tunde was still thinking & acting like a guy...a bit reckless a bit invincible 7y

Redwritinghood I think Tunde was banking on his celebrity a bit too much. The crackdown on men‘s rights seemed strange, but I understand the author is just trying to highlight gender issues. 7y

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ReadingEnvy Nah because I've read Animal Farm. ;) 7y

mrozzz @ReadingEnvy Ha! Definitely a must read for anyone who hasn‘t... 7y

mrozzz @Redwritinghood definitely. And as extreme as it is, I liked that Alderman went there. 7y

mrozzz @MeganAnn @Cinfhen it‘ll either be his downfall or what keeps him alive... a few more pages will tell! 7y

Lidia I was not surprised by this. It seemed the natural course of events for Bessapara. Tunde was being reckless thinking he was immune to these new laws just because he was a famous reporter. 7y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I love that our discussion has already sunk down to a, he thought he was immune because he was a guy or a celebrity. In reality he thought he was immune because he thought of himself as a free individual. Whether you were a freeman and trafficked back into slavery or a woman sold into slavery you think it won‘t happen to you because you believe you are free and that it can never really happen until it does. I don‘t think it had anything to do ... 7y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ..with his gender or fame. It was that he was human, and didn‘t think people would really enforce those laws, that they would really be that strict, that cooler and wiser heads would prevail, that the average people were better than that. It‘s how bad things have happened throughout history, people thought their friends & neighbors wouldn‘t do horrible things because the rulers said to, anyone who‘s read about the Holocaust knows that‘s not true. 7y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Saying he did it because he was male and a celebrity and therefore more reckless than the average person sounds a bit like the...he deserved it for walking after dark, in the wrong area, wearing something too xyz.... it‘s like victim blaming to me. 7y

mrozzz @Riveted_Reader_Melissa he definitely didn‘t think the new rules would be carried out, you‘re right, he assumed his freedom would last. But assuming the same world history exists in the book, do you think he was being a little naive? 7y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa @mrozzz We could say as a man he was used to being able to go where he wanted when he wanted and didn‘t take it seriously enough, because that kind of fear wasn‘t in his history (gender history) for past generations. BUT, and this is a big one, we could also say that women reporters during the Arab uprising who were grabbed were Naive too for trying to report during such a time of upheaval, alone, in that culture, etc, etc and make it their.... (edited) 7y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ...fault. It‘s the same situation in reverse, they are all just doing their job that they‘ve always been able to do in the past. It is scary to me how quickly he becomes naive and stupid for being there, which is the same thing you hear on some circles about female reporters in war zones or conflict areas now. The what did they expect being there, in a mans world‘s type thing, should have left that job to a woman in Tunde‘s case.☹️ (edited) 7y

mrozzz @Riveted_Reader_Melissa it‘s true... I‘m still loving all the thoughts that come with reading this book. All the things we have to consider with a new lens (or the same one) 7y

riversong153 @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I don‘t think Tunde was reckless because he was a man. He was reckless because he didn‘t take the threat seriously. He assumed that bureaucracy would make the effects a bit slower but he lived through how fast the power changed the world. I don‘t see it as victim blaming in this sense, he knew he was taking on risk but he assumed he‘d be able to figure something out. He has to own his decision, what happened was... 7y

riversong153 wrong but he‘s dealing with the consequences just as Roxy is dealing with her consequences. All decisions have consequences whether good or bad. It doesn‘t mean that a person “deserves” what happens but actions result in consequences. 7y

riversong153 I think it‘s just a matter of time before this starts to happen in other regions. I‘m the naive one here because I didn‘t see the travel ban/guardian thing coming. It‘s The Handmaid‘s Tale in reverse 😕 but both are great reads. 7y

16 likes18 comments

mrozzz

The Power | Naomi Alderman

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Do you think that if what the waiter says is true about the press, that this is the beginning of the end for democratic female leadership? Will the world return to the former order, merely with a different gender facing varying levels of oppression? #ThePowerBuddyRead

MeganAnn Yes, we've been seeing the signs of this from the opening letters! 7y

Redwritinghood Maybe not to the former order, but things will probably become calmer after whatever happens. 7y

mrozzz @MeganAnn @Redwritinghood Yes... wondering how much resolution there can be after all this. 7y

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Riveted_Reader_Melissa It does look like it‘s just going to result in a flip of the current norms....but Mother Eve has something else in mind, I think even she thought that the Holy Mother would be a kinder figure than it‘s turning out to be...so I‘m wondering if we‘ll see her try to right the ship, and maybe have more of a religious order than state order. Which is odd, I never thought that by the end we‘d be looking for Eve to fix things....how far we‘ve fallen.🙈 7y

mrozzz @Riveted_Reader_Melissa indeed! I‘m surprised that her religious influence got her this far. 7y

riversong153 @mrozzz agree with you and @riveted_reader_melissa. This seems like the beginning to the end of any kind of democratic leadership. If the men managed to turn things around, they wouldn‘t go back to democracy after all of that. I‘m interested in seeing Allie‘s end game though. 7y

13 likes6 comments

mrozzz

The Power | Naomi Alderman

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Poor Roxy. Is that really what she deserved? Betrayal of family after so much sacrifice... is there a worse kind?
#ThePowerBuddyRead

Redwritinghood No, what happened to her was really a betrayal by her father. I was shocked to find out he was behind it. 7y

MeganAnn My heart hurt for Roxy in this moment so much! Did she deserve it? No, I don't think so. Should she have seen it coming? Absolutely! Her family has done nothing but betray others since the beginning. It was only a matter of time before they betrayed her as well. 7y

Cinfhen This was definitely a surprise for me... 7y

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shendrix413 I cried for her, it was just awful, I was surprised, but not surprised, if that makes sense 7y

Lidia It was definitely a shock for me too finding out his father was behind it all. She didn't deserved it, she spared his life when she found out the truth about her mom's death 😔 7y

mrozzz @MeganAnn @Redwritinghood @Cinfhen Absolutely, my jaw dropped at the moment when it was revealed that her father was there. I was also surprised she survived the removal and I‘m wondering if she thinks she can find Darrell and have her skein re-inserted. 7y

mrozzz @shendrix413 it does make sense. That family is unpredictable. 7y

mrozzz @Lidia definitely disappointing but like @shendrix413 says, we probably shouldn‘t have been so surprised! 7y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I agree, so sad for her after the compassion she showed them... but no, she shouldn‘t be really surprised either. 7y

riversong153 @MeganAnn I agree. She should‘ve expected something, she described chemical smells and a seedy meeting place, she should‘ve backed off, but as the reader we see what‘s coming. She didn‘t deserve it though she has done some horrible things herself. (edited) 7y

14 likes10 comments

mrozzz

The Power | Naomi Alderman

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“She‘s unstable. I think in a few months‘ time the country will be ready for a new leadership. And the people here trust me. If I were to say that you are the right woman for the job....”

What do you think of Allie entrusting Roxy with the presidency of Bessapara?

Is there a woman in real life (politician, celebrity, activist or otherwise) who you‘d entrust with such a role and do some good with it? #ThePowerBuddyRead

Redwritinghood Well, Clinton probably could have done so. Not sure about Roxy - she‘s smart but also a little too ruthless. 7y

mrozzz @Redwritinghood #stillwithher but agreed, Roxy doesn‘t seem focused enough but it also seemed like Allie just wants a figurehead anyway 7y

shendrix413 I think Roxy would be a dangerous choice! But yea, ❤️Hillary is still my girl 7y

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AmyG I agree @mrozzz in that I think Allie wanted a figurehead. 7y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa I love the Hillary love here. (You really have no idea how great it is to see from the middle of Trumplandia), but yes I think her, and Elizabeth Warren have showed themselves to be pretty dogged fighters for underdogs with some empathy for others. Otherswise, some who have shown great empathy in other areas, maybe Oprah? But yes, she picked Roxy because of their friendship more then anything, but then again Roxy did show competency at running... 7y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa ..a huge complex ‘business‘, she showed empathy with her father, and even she had a heart for those in the current underclass...Allie didn‘t like the way the current President treated her men and Roxy wouldn‘t have let the refugee thing play out the way it did if she had her powers...so maybe I‘m not giving her enough leadership credit when I think she‘s a bit too harsh for the job. She‘d at least be fair, fairer than many in this book apparently 7y

mrozzz It would definitely be interesting to see what Oprah would do if she were in charge! @Riveted_Reader_Melissa I also think that Roxy doesn‘t have the mature focus required of a competent leader— but Allie just needs someone she can control and never intended Roxy to actually be a decisive leader 7y

riversong153 @Riveted_Reader_Melissa Roxy is not balanced enough to be a president. If she were I doubt she‘d follow what Allie wants her to do. She seems like the type who would not want to be a figurehead. She‘s unstable and way too violent. (edited) 7y

11 likes8 comments

mrozzz

The Power | Naomi Alderman

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Allie says: So what, then? What is any of my power worth if I can‘t use it here?

The voice says: Remember what Tatiana says. We don‘t have to ask what they‘d [men] do if they were in control. We‘ve seen it already. It‘s worse than this.

-But is the story‘s current direction actually better? Is a rapid decline approaching? There is less than a year left before whatever will happen, happens. #ThePowerBuddyRead

Redwritinghood The current direction does seem to be leading up to a big fallout. Although I like to think that the horrific scene at the refugee camp wouldn‘t happen, the reality is that there are always people who will abuse their power, male or female. 7y

Lidia The current direction of the story is not better. Women are not being wiser than men using their power. They're abusing it. I believe a big fallout must be coming. 7y

shendrix413 I think it's gonna be bad! And that makes this feminist heart said, but like @Redwritinghood said there are always some that will abuse their power no matter their gender 7y

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mrozzz @Lidia @Redwritinghood it‘s true the Power has allowed women to literally seize leadership power and run with their most inventive or base desires for revenge on men. Horrifying what happened at the camp... I have no idea how it will end! 7y

AmyG I had hope the women would be better than men...for lack of any other way to say it. It makes me sad that they are no different. 7y

mrozzz @AmyG Same. 😔 7y

Riveted_Reader_Melissa Yes, it seems to be leading up to a big something...and oddly only Allie and Roxy are starting to see the turn it‘s taking as a big problem. Sadly the refugee camp story isn‘t that unusual, Tunde is sadly correct when he says we‘ve seen it before ... it‘s history repeating, even if before it was all the female genital mutilation and the numbers of women raped at refugee camps. It‘s disturbing how quickly the women turned to the same tactics.☹️ 7y

mrozzz @Riveted_Reader_Melissa crossing my fingers they turn around from the path they‘re currently on, before it‘s too late 🙁 7y

riversong153 @AmyG you‘re right! It seems like whoever is in the position of power immediately wants to ensure that they keep it through oppressing others. It‘s really disheartening and makes me wonder about a larger question: are humans capable of having “power” whether political or physical power like we see here without oppressing others?! 7y

mrozzz @riversong153 such a good question... 7y

AmyG @riversong87 I thought about that question, too. :( 7y

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