What would happen if women could overpower men - on a physical, violent level? The premise of this book is such an interesting one, I really wanted to love it. Instead, I find myself writing a mixed-feelings review, trying to shield Alderman from my own criticism.

My edition's cover declares it a mix between a The Hunger Games and Margaret Atwood - but I find that the book falls short in both of these comparisons. Even though it's written as an adventure book, aka a fast-paced plot in which a lot of stuff happens, it is not really a page-turner. It picks up a little towards the end, but generally speaking I did not loose sleep over what would happen. Arguably, that's because Alderman was trying to pack into the book a bit more social commentary than Suzanne Collins does. Yet, to my mind she did not manage to explore her initial hunch as fully and nuancedly as she could have done. Sexism is not just about physical strength, so what would the power to overpower men in a physical fight change? Would we really just have an upside-down world? Sexual violence is major theme of the book, perhaps because that's an example of things that could really just 'flip' (but would they? is it really that simple? isn't there a cultural dimension to rape, developed over millennia, that would be helpful to consider in more depth?). If trigger warnings are ever needed, this book definitely calls for one. Though I can guess what Alderman is trying to do by describing rape scenes rather graphically (i.e. bring home the point that that's already happening, in OUR world, to women), I'm not sure she needed to.