Talk:The Power (Alderman novel)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Adnaankins, Scvalde, Rodkeys. Peer reviewers: Kennedke.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 04:14, 18 January 2022 (UTC)

Utopian / Dystopian

The book was originally described in the article as a "dystopian science fiction novel", but this has just been changed to a "utopian" one by an anonymous IP editor. Either description is a little too simplistic; in The Guardian, Naomi Alderman herself noted,

"My latest novel, The Power, has been described as a dystopian thriller. In it, almost all the women in the world suddenly develop the power to electrocute people at will (they can electrocute women as well as men; also animals and inanimate objects – I based it on what electric eels do). And they use their power, slowly but surely, just as men do in our world today. Some of them are kind and some cruel. Some rape and some just have a jolly good time in bed with willing participants. Nothing happens to men in the novel – I explain carefully to interviewers – that is not happening to a woman in our world today. So is it dystopian? Well. Only if you’re a man. That answer’s too simple, of course. It’s pat, and gets a laugh from an audience, but the relationship between our world and utopias or dystopias of all stripes is a complicated one. Can we make a perfect state, where everyone is happy and agrees that things are being run in the best of all possible ways? Equally, could we create a place that everyone would agree is evil and morally bankrupt? We’re a diverse bunch, human beings. Which helps explain that thing you cannot do for all of the people all of the time."

JezGrove (talk) 22:41, 24 July 2017 (UTC)

References

Peer Review Suggestions and Questions

Looking at this page the first thing that I noticed was it was missing a few key elements which Wikipedia book pages usually have. I would first focus on writing a synopsis of The Power so that people can easily understand what the book is about and may themselves be able to draw conclusions for why the book is significant. Another way to aid in establishing the importance of the book is to write a section about the development, publication, and reception. Sometimes books are not only about the contents within, but the journey that took place while the book was being made and presented. Finally, a Styles and Themes section is often found for books on Wikipedia. Perhaps you can link some widely accepted significant chunks of The Power to other pieces of literature, if the evidence is heavy enough or the author makes it clear in some foreword or interview. One more thing that I would add is an image of the book. This makes Wikipedia articles look a bit more established and helps people quickly identify that the article is the one they are looking for, that way people do not have to read through large portions of text to confirm. Overall, focus on expanding the article altogether, mainly on what the book is about and why it is important.

-Mcorningmyers (talk) 13:17, 1 March 2018 (UTC)