Reviews

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

Only show reviews with written explanations

tanikmmr's review

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mysterious reflective sad

3.75

kathleenabby's review

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DNF at 97%

DNF at 97%

Let me explain why I DNF'D this 5 pages before the end!!
Because I don't necessarily think this is a bad book it's just not a book for me.

📖 This story starts deep underground where 39 women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by male guards. They have no memory of how they got there and only vague recollections of their lives before.

We follow the 40th prisoner a young girl outcast to the women. When one day an alarm sounds she becomes the key to their escape. 39 women and 1 child become the only left in a deserted world.

✨ Review ✨
I'll start by saying that I do think this asks some interesting questions about what it means to be human, womanhood and who we are when raised in isolation having never known mankind. It was thought-provoking and I love that. However I feel this book explored these questions through the lens of the conservative straight white woman. For me that led to a disconnect where I was never fully able to invest.

Not only that I felt it explored these questions in such a boring and tedious way. There are just so many books that ask the same questions and do It so much better. The fifth season by N.K. Jemisin is a great example.

I also think this is well written, the prose is lovely and easy follow.

I went into this thinking it was gunna be one of the bleakest mind-blowing books ever and for me it wasn't. Was it bleak? Sure, but to me it felt shallow. I'm gunna use the The Fifth Season again as an example but one of the reasons why that book is so powerful in its bleakest is because N.K. Jemisin isn't afraid to open up the wounds and explore them from the inside out. Whereas this felt like it was asking the questions but not doing anything with them.

Now why did I DNF so close to the end? well that's a case of someone knocked on my door and when I came back to the book and thought 'Ive basically read it I don't need to hear more' LMFAO

pamcakes33's review

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emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

saraohall's review against another edition

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4.0

stunning. the last 10 pages or so really make the whole book worth it.

some stand out quotes:

"i was forced to acknowledge too late, much too late, that i too had loved, that i was capable of suffering, and that i was human after all”

"only i can say that time exists, but it has passed me by without my feeling it"

lugojayce's review

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adventurous emotional inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Very introspective but fairly lackluster, rehashes a lot of the ideas over again to the point it’s almost tedious. That might have been the point though.