A very interesting book. The basic premise is that women suddenly begin to manifest a type of electricity through their body that they can then discharge as they wish. This has profound impact on society as women become the ‘stronger’ sex. Roles are reversed, there are revolutions, men first demonstrations etc. It is also strangely framed as if it were a historical fiction document from the future.
We have four main POV’s: Allie, an orphan who goes on a religious journey; Roxy, the daughter of an organised criminal; Margot, an older woman involved in politics; and Tunde, an aspiring journalist. I’ll be honest I wasn’t very fond of most of the people except for Roxy but I did find all of them interesting and that’s more important than liking them really. My only real grievance with the book is the rapid change in society. I think it all happens over less than a decade and the change in women seems a bit too forced. Maybe I’m being naive.
It definitely has a message, and parts of the book are really disturbing, especially towards the end. It could have been a dry book, or preachy, it definitely wasn’t. It’s a real page turner with a great story and character development. I’d thought at first it was going to be gimmicky but though the in-world explanation for it is a little far fetched, the story and framing of it meant it wasn’t an issue.
4.5 stars out of 5
Barry's Bloody Books 