The lightning in her hand
Aug. 11th, 2019 04:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dolorosa_12I attempted to do yoga today, but every time I bent my head forward my nose started bleeding. As a result I'm feeling jittery and a little bit stir-crazy.
For this reason, I spent this afternoon finishing off the book I was reading, The Power by Naomi Alderman, a dystopian/post-apocalyptic novel that explores the premise of all teenage girls suddenly developing the power to shoot electricity from their hands (and also the ability to awaken this power in older women). With women possessing this newfound ability to inflict violence, worldwide societal upheaval happens swiftly — women violently avenge injustices done to them by men, most countries and societies speedily become matriarchies, and conventional thinking about 'feminine' and 'masculine' roles, activities and so on almost immediately reverse. While I would have to say that I have quite a few quibbles with the book, there were some parts of it — Alderman's ability to convey that constant, simmering anger that I and so many women carry around with us at the violence, abuse, and shame done to us by men, what it feels like to be always slightly afraid, slightly on your guard, walking alone, watchful, willing that you will not be seen by those who would do violence to you — that were utterly spot on, that made me feel seen. It made me gasp when I read them.
*
And now, viafalena, a meme:
Name ten of life's simple pleasures that you like most,then pick ten people to do the same. (It always feels like such an imposition to tag people in these memes. If you like the idea of this, consider yourself tagged.)
1. That first sip of a really well-made coffee.
2. Sitting curled up in my wing chair, slowly drinking black Darjeerling tea, watching the steam float out of the mug, with a throw-rug on my knees and a book in my hand.
3. Diving under the waves, bobbing out beyond the breakers, staying in the water so long that when you lie down to sleep at night you still feel the motion of the sea.
4. Walking in to town to the market in the early hours of the morning on the weekend, through the misty fens, when the streets are still and empty.
5. The smell of garlic and onions frying.
6. Writing with a fountain pen or gel pen, with the time to make the letters neat and beautiful, even if it's for something as mundane as a shopping list or notes at a work meeting.
7. The sound of rain on the tin roof of an old Australian house, and the smell of the earth afterwards.
8. Sitting on a balcony, in a garden, or on the roof of an apartment building in the warmth of a summer sunset, drinking a gin and tonic, glass of sparkling wine, or cool white wine.
9. The feeling of holding a small baby in your arms.
10. Lying down in a bed freshly made with clean sheets that dried outside and still smell faintly of the sun.
For this reason, I spent this afternoon finishing off the book I was reading, The Power by Naomi Alderman, a dystopian/post-apocalyptic novel that explores the premise of all teenage girls suddenly developing the power to shoot electricity from their hands (and also the ability to awaken this power in older women). With women possessing this newfound ability to inflict violence, worldwide societal upheaval happens swiftly — women violently avenge injustices done to them by men, most countries and societies speedily become matriarchies, and conventional thinking about 'feminine' and 'masculine' roles, activities and so on almost immediately reverse. While I would have to say that I have quite a few quibbles with the book, there were some parts of it — Alderman's ability to convey that constant, simmering anger that I and so many women carry around with us at the violence, abuse, and shame done to us by men, what it feels like to be always slightly afraid, slightly on your guard, walking alone, watchful, willing that you will not be seen by those who would do violence to you — that were utterly spot on, that made me feel seen. It made me gasp when I read them.
And now, via
falena, a meme:Name ten of life's simple pleasures that you like most,
1. That first sip of a really well-made coffee.
2. Sitting curled up in my wing chair, slowly drinking black Darjeerling tea, watching the steam float out of the mug, with a throw-rug on my knees and a book in my hand.
3. Diving under the waves, bobbing out beyond the breakers, staying in the water so long that when you lie down to sleep at night you still feel the motion of the sea.
4. Walking in to town to the market in the early hours of the morning on the weekend, through the misty fens, when the streets are still and empty.
5. The smell of garlic and onions frying.
6. Writing with a fountain pen or gel pen, with the time to make the letters neat and beautiful, even if it's for something as mundane as a shopping list or notes at a work meeting.
7. The sound of rain on the tin roof of an old Australian house, and the smell of the earth afterwards.
8. Sitting on a balcony, in a garden, or on the roof of an apartment building in the warmth of a summer sunset, drinking a gin and tonic, glass of sparkling wine, or cool white wine.
9. The feeling of holding a small baby in your arms.
10. Lying down in a bed freshly made with clean sheets that dried outside and still smell faintly of the sun.
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Date: 2019-08-19 08:22 am (UTC)(Sorry for the slow reply — I've been at Worldcon and struggled to keep up with Dreamwidth comments.)