Across the pond in America is politician Margot, who discovers that her newfound strength gives her an electoral advantage. In England we follow Roxy, who’s caught up in her father’s shady underworld and wants to avenge her mother’s murder.

The book moves between multiple female characters as the power shifts and discontent builds. Dominated, belittled and abused women are suddenly able to take back control from their oppressors, and the male demographic is rightfully scared, leading to chaos and violence across the globe. The young women awaken the power in their mothers and grandmothers, and soon the entire female population is given the capacity to electrocute anyone who crosses them. When teenage girls start discovering that they have the ability to strike anyone down with the simple touch of their hand, an initially contained situation evolves into a global phenomenon. Whilst Alderman’s fourth novel doesn’t actually have anything to do with Clinton, Trump or the future-shaping elections, the subject of female empowerment and righting the wrongs perpetrated by powerful men is very much at the heart of this story. The themes explored in the book are particularly pertinent given that we still live in an age where educated people would rather elect a man with no political experience over a woman who has it in spades. It doesn’t feel like a coincidence that Naomi Alderman’s The Power was published so close to the US presidential elections.

The power alderman novel