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The Power

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The Power

By: Naomi Alderman
Narrated by: Adjoa Andoh, Naomi Alderman, Thomas Judd, Emma Fenney, Phil Nightingale
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About this listen

2017 Winner of the Baileys Women's Prize for Fiction

'She throws her head back and pushes her chest forward and lets go a huge blast right into the centre of his body. The rivulets and streams of red scarring run across his chest and up around his throat. She'd put her hand on his heart and stopped him dead.'

Suddenly - tomorrow or the day after - girls find that with a flick of their fingers, they can inflict agonizing pain and even death.

With this single twist, the four lives at the heart of Naomi Alderman's extraordinary, visceral novel are utterly transformed, and we look at the world in an entirely new light. What if the power to hurt were in women's hands?

©2016 Naomi Alderman (P)2016 Audible, Ltd Dystopian Fantasy Fiction Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Political Science Fiction Thriller & Suspense Women's Fiction Exciting Heartfelt Suspense

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Critic reviews

"Electrifying! Shocking! Will knock your socks off! Then you'll think twice, about everything." (Margaret Atwood)
" The Power is a subtly funny, lyrical and utterly subversive vision of an impossible future. As all the best visionaries do, Alderman shines a penetrating and yet merciful light on to our present and the so many cruelties in which we may be complicit." (A. L. Kennedy)
"Alderman is a fluent and powerful writer." ( Sunday Times)
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This starts off really good, the early chapters which introduce the premise for the story is very well done and written. For me though once the premise has been fully covered the overall plot starts to drag, with the various stories of the individual characters failing to keep me engaged, being a little naff and increasingly rambling, compared with I suppose the potentially fairly epic idea behind the book. Just a shame it didn't maintain the quality and fully utilise the main idea brought out in the early story. Narration was pretty good if a little annoying in certain areas.

Excellent start - drags as it progresses.

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At times this book can feel a little like an essay. A he said, she said (literally), & I do admit it dragged for me a little at the start but once the world is set & everything established this book goes deep with story & meaning. I’m not sure I’d say I enjoyed it like I enjoy other tales of fiction but I certainly enjoyed it in a different way & recommend it for sure

Great listen, story & commentary

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Loved it! I was hooked from start to finish. Exquisite narration throughout; how can one woman do so many accents?! The story was well paced, I loved the plot and I enjoyed the development of all main characters. I hope this becomes a gritty film one day!

Just.... amazing!

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I enjoyed this enormously. It reminded me of Joe Hill's writing.

I think it's more about power than gender inequality, but fascinating nonetheless.

Recommended!

Very entertaining

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A very different and well written story. The narration was so good - The best of all the books I have listened to. It’s a story of tables turned and women becoming dominant - a case of be careful what you wish for! A strange and intriguing reality. The end was very
cleverly done. A well worth read.

Cleverly thought provoking. Loved it !

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This is not a listen for the faint hearted. I have found it shocking, sometimes harrowing and deeply unsettling but always riveting. I had to give myself short breaks just to think about what I’d heard but I had to know what happened next.
A brilliant concept that is, unfortunately, all too believable. Although challenging, this is a must listen.

Wow, what a story.

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Honestly. One of the best books I've ever read.

It should be taught in schools.

5 stars all round.

Frilliant.

Absolutely brilliant.

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Loved the book and characters. Great story and very compelling. A bit of a must read.

Great Well Plotted Story

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One of the most amazing narrators I've ever had the pleasure of listening to!! The book itself is a work of genius.

This is phenomenal

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Very interesting concept and definitely thought provoking. I liked all the characters and thought they were developed very well. The performance was really good and the accents were spot on. Worth a read.

Loved it!

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