The Power

Thought-provoking, with some memorable characters, but the allegory was as subtle as a sledgehammer, and became a bit tiresome. I feel like Alderman had the chance to make this more ambiguous and elegant, but bowed to the urge to send A Message, as well as wanting to tie the plot up a bit too neatly.

Still, I think this is compelling, and perhaps the moments when I went, “That is just too preposterous” are the point - maybe the broad strokes about violence, corrupting power, and gender stereotypes are meant to provoke that reaction, then make you reflect “wait . . . I suppose the reverse really is/has been true - maybe this story is precisely accurate, and our society is preposterous.”