Through the eyes of the translator July 19, 2019 – Posted in: Books

For her Power by Naomi Alderman

The translator Christina Manias,

When they gave me to translate the book Power I had not read it nor knew it. I was told that it is a novel where - it has caused a stir abroad, it has become a best seller and it has won awards - the roles are reversed and women acquire a special power and take power.
 "Interesting" I thought, having of course also a reservation about how the author would have approached the subject. My fear was whether I would be dealing with a misconceived feminist manifesto that would portray a world "angelically" shaped as it would now be defined by women, who are more sensitive, fairer, smarter, more...more...

Indeed, the story begins with the women gaining a special power (I won't reveal what kind of power to keep the suspense at its zenith). Indeed, the first women to get it are groups of women in various corners of the world who are suffering. From trafficking victims in Moldova, to head-to-toe covered women in Saudi Arabia, and from oppressed Indian women to sexually abused teenagers across the length and breadth of the earth. So all these women, gaining this power, are rebelling, and I, as a woman, cannot help but feel deeply satisfied and eagerly await to see how this world will transform, almost certain that it will become more beautiful, more colorful. Indeed, the roles are reversed. But do they remain the same? And in the end is this world better, worse or different? The answer, if we can talk about an answer, is given in a unique, intelligent way by the author with the last sentence of the novel. A phrase that has been said and heard thousands of times over the centuries but never in this way.

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