Beauty & The Books

The Power - Naomi Alderman Genre: Dystopia Pages: 400 Format: Interchanging POVs Rating: 5/5 ----- This is one hell of a book! After seeing it in Waterstones for a while I picked it up and I am glad that I did! This novel is refreshing and has an unusual take on dystopia by envisioning a world with a matriarchy rather than a patriarchy. Synopsis: What if the power to hurt were in women's hands? Suddenly - tomorrow or the day after - teenage 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.  The story is set in a way that is a 7 Year countdown to the penultimate event that changes the power balance. Alderman also includes little facts and artefact to help elevate the narrative, as well as this they build the suspense and legitimise the concept a little more.  This is a totally a refreshing...

We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves - Karen Joy Fowler Genre: Fiction/Psychological Fiction Pages: 336 Rating: 4/5 Format: Non linear storyline, moves between memories and present _________________________________________________ *WARNING, SPOILERS FROM THE ONSET* This novel is a heartbreaking tale that challenges the orthodox ideals of family and relationships. Rosemary's father is a university professor who takes part in many studies and publishes many papers, one of these studies happens to be about her life. Her life growing up with Fern, who is also a Chimpanzee! That was a plot twist that I did not expect at all! The way that Fowler introduces Fern and her character is one that people would usually associate with a human sibling, this makes the reader just assume that she is human (what else would we think?) and this is what Fowler wanted. The effect of the reader initially thinking of Fern as human, gives us just a small indication of what Lowell and Rosemary...