Reviews

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

aurorareads_'s review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

First audiobook I’ve ever listened to. I feel like this is a book that would’ve been better enjoyed read but I’m not entirely sure. 

I must say that this book is good and I really liked the concept. I found myself thinking “why” very often but we never get any answers. I do appreciate the afterword of the audiobook I think that was beneficial. A good book though, really makes you think.

glyo's review

dark mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

sumsayyah's review against another edition

3.75

A despondent, hauntingly isolated and thoughtful story that is also frustratingly, tediously devoid of answers and is only saved by the excellent writing and the fact I listened to it as an audiboook (don’t think I could have gotten through it in physical format). An unnamed girl is the only child raised in an underground bunker with 39 woman, all of whom have no knowledge of why they are there, forbidden to touch, and monitored by guards who do not speak to them. The story is original, the central puzzle captivating, and the writing is excellent (especially considering it was translated from French) - the prose is cool, steady, and clear, both vividly descriptive but also alarmingly sparse as there is almost nothing to describe. It does seem the lack of answers and the very isolated, desolate, bleak tone is part of tbe book’s messaging - but as someone who craves answers and doesn’t care too much for philosophical stories, it was hard to stay interested after the first half. There are some very interesting questions posed on humanity - who are we when raised in isolation? Is what makes us human the fact that we have other humans to interact to, speak to, motivate and measure our behaviours? It could be worth a read for the more philosophically minded and there are some notable quotes - but it is pretty bleak and boring, and ultimately not even the beautiful writing could prevent the 2.5x speed at the end…

rosencat's review against another edition

adventurous reflective slow-paced

4.25

fairrydeb's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25

senorita_reid's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Absolutely fantastic work. Beautifully written. This book is both excruciatingly painful and subtly joyful. The attention to detail is incredible. It is both tense and subdued. 
It is difficult to write an intricate review because it feels as though this is a book that has a completely different meaning to every reader. It will leave you with more questions than answers but that truly is the beauty of it. If you need closure, avoid this book. However, I think EVERYONE should read this book I will be recommending it to everyone I know. 6 stars 

meganwoodrowstuart's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

claireruizashley's review

challenging emotional reflective relaxing fast-paced

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

5.0

albyatross's review against another edition

challenging mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

I read this for the hype, and tbh, I don't think I absorbed any of it before the last 10-15 pages or so. Maybe in the future it'll have a different translator and that'll be better for me, idk. 

The afterward gave it all some context, but for a book that's literally titled "I Who Have Never Known Men" it is WILDLY obsessed with men in parts.

Also probably needs a note that "knowing" = "sex", bc the Narrator DOES know what men are conceptually and interacts with them to a limited degree. So??? 

Like I only figured the "knowing" = "sex" bit out bc A DIFFERENT BOOK I was reading had a definition for "knowing" as a sex-related thing. And I spent that first 30% before that conclusion ANNOYED AS F, bc girl you DO KNOW WHAT A MAN IS, YOU'RE LOOKING AT ONE AND USING HIS SHIFTS AS A TIME MEASUREMENT??? Anyway, yeah.

I do like the cheeky little implied reference to (or at least, what sounds like prior to translation could have been a stand in for) Initiation à la Cosmonautique near the end. I think that says a lot about the work as well as far as explanations and philosophy go. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement

Moderate: Death and Suicide

_sophonie_'s review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

The first 40% of the book annoyed me. I understand this book wasn’t meant to be contemporary, but a lot of the mc abilities were unrealistic. The fact she could tell time from her heartbeat, had amazing memory, the fact that she had no education what’s so ever but being the smartest of the women she was around, as well as her unrealistic reaction to the outside world despite her being locked inside a dark place for over 12 years, having no fear. To me, all of that seemed unrealistic. 

But I would admit, once they escaped, the last 60% of the book I enjoyed. I didn’t mind that there were so many unanswered questions because we were suppose to follow the story throw the main character’s pov/thought process. She as well didn’t get any answers so why should we? Although this is fiction, it felt like I was reading a memoir of a fictional character. I really enjoyed that.