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4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
I love a dystopian fiction so this was right up my street. This book is a literary masterpiece and would compare it with other modern classics. However, I wasn’t a fan of the fact that the story was told in one long monologue without any chapters, although I can see why it had to be this way. I also would have liked a better conclusion to the story but, in a way, that’s what made this story different to my usual mystery thrillers.
Bizarre and penetrating. The surreal, ambiguous setting of the novel gives the reader space to be both frustrated and captivated. The narrator was fascinating to follow - a young woman who is coming of age in a cage with 39 other women under unknown circumstances. Need to learn more about this author.
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
slow-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:
No
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
10/10 — I’m obsessed. this book completely absorbed me; I read it almost without stopping. the atmosphere is haunting and quiet and unlike anything I’ve read before. I was especially fascinated by the main character’s thoughts — how she tries to understand life, emotion, and existence while growing up in conditions so far removed from anything we’d call “normal.”
some questions remain unanswered, but that’s part of the magic — most of them can be answered if you’re willing to reflect. honestly, I wish I could erase my memory just to experience this book again for the first time.
"talking is existing."
that quote stuck with me. this book makes you question what it truly means to be human — to think, to wonder, to talk even when there are no answers.
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
4.9 Stars
Vague spoilers ahead - if you want to go into this book blind then don’t read this review!
Trapped in an underground cage, the child (our protagonist) and 39 prisoners are all women held captive by male guards. The child, or the girl, is the only one who has no memory of Earth whilst the rest of the women are haunted by it. One day a mysterious alarm sounds and the guards run, leaving the women an opportunity to escape. In the world outside of their cage they don’t find Earth - but another planet altogether. With no clue what happened to the other world, no idea where the people are, what happened to the guards, they are forced to survive. I Who Have Never Known Men is an introspective, dystopian novel about relationships, loneliness, curiosity, and survival.
THIS BOOK! I have so much to say and I can’t find the words to say it - but that’s kind of the point of a book review, so I’ll try anyway. When I first started it I was strongly reminded of The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood (another great read, check it out!) but the further I got into the story it managed to stand out with its own unique twists. I wasn’t prepared for the emotional turmoil when reading this. I knew it was going to be dark, but the relationships and representations of womanhood made me so invested in this story. It got me thinking about life and the world in general - I always appreciate when books do this.
I definitely think that the messages and world that Jacqueline Harpman has crafted has been translated well into English from French. I know an issue that often occurs during translating texts is that certain elements of storytelling are lost in the differences between languages, but I think that the English version of this book is very well written for a translated work. If somebody has read both versions I’d love to know your thoughts!! (As somebody who is learning French on Duolingo, maybe one day I’ll be able to read it in its original format haha!)
READ. THIS. BOOK. I’d recommend I Who Have Never Known Men to people looking to expand on their reading tastes, people looking to read more unique works of science-fiction, people who can’t stop thinking about The Handmaids Tale, and those who need to read something emotionally devastating.
Favourite Character:
The Child. Having this story being from the perspective of somebody who never knew Earth is what makes this story so compelling. As readers we know and understand the things she doesn’t, and we watch her grow and develop without the influence of Earth’s society. It’s super interesting!
Favourite Line:
‘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.’
4.9 Stars
Vague spoilers ahead - if you want to go into this book blind then don’t read this review!
Trapped in an underground cage, the child (our protagonist) and 39 prisoners are all women held captive by male guards. The child, or the girl, is the only one who has no memory of Earth whilst the rest of the women are haunted by it. One day a mysterious alarm sounds and the guards run, leaving the women an opportunity to escape. In the world outside of their cage they don’t find Earth - but another planet altogether. With no clue what happened to the other world, no idea where the people are, what happened to the guards, they are forced to survive. I Who Have Never Known Men is an introspective, dystopian novel about relationships, loneliness, curiosity, and survival.
THIS BOOK! I have so much to say and I can’t find the words to say it - but that’s kind of the point of a book review, so I’ll try anyway. When I first started it I was strongly reminded of The Handmaids Tale by Margaret Atwood (another great read, check it out!) but the further I got into the story it managed to stand out with its own unique twists. I wasn’t prepared for the emotional turmoil when reading this. I knew it was going to be dark, but the relationships and representations of womanhood made me so invested in this story. It got me thinking about life and the world in general - I always appreciate when books do this.
I definitely think that the messages and world that Jacqueline Harpman has crafted has been translated well into English from French. I know an issue that often occurs during translating texts is that certain elements of storytelling are lost in the differences between languages, but I think that the English version of this book is very well written for a translated work. If somebody has read both versions I’d love to know your thoughts!! (As somebody who is learning French on Duolingo, maybe one day I’ll be able to read it in its original format haha!)
READ. THIS. BOOK. I’d recommend I Who Have Never Known Men to people looking to expand on their reading tastes, people looking to read more unique works of science-fiction, people who can’t stop thinking about The Handmaids Tale, and those who need to read something emotionally devastating.
Favourite Character:
The Child. Having this story being from the perspective of somebody who never knew Earth is what makes this story so compelling. As readers we know and understand the things she doesn’t, and we watch her grow and develop without the influence of Earth’s society. It’s super interesting!
Favourite Line:
‘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.’
“Survival is never more than putting off the moment of death.”
First published: 02/05/19
Genre: Dystopian, sci-fi
Page count: 208
Series: N/A
Format read: 📖
Others read by this author: N/A
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
In an underground bunker, forty women are caged & watched over by guards. They have the necessities of survival, but no privacy, are allowed no contact, & have no knowledge of what has happened or why they are there. Thirty-nine of them have memories of life before the cage, but one, younger than the rest, knows nothing else. When a siren sounds & the guards flee, leaving the cage unlocked, the women must learn to survive anew in the world above ground, by degrees reclaiming their humanity, & questioning the extent of their newfound freedom.
Wow, was this bleak, but it never pretended to be anything else. A haunting look at what makes us human & the way we define ourselves by our memories, our relationships with others, & our position in the outside world. I Who Have Never Known Men is an existential crisis in the shape of a book, & though not necessarily the most enjoyable read, it felt like a very important one.
First published: 02/05/19
Genre: Dystopian, sci-fi
Page count: 208
Series: N/A
Format read: 📖
Others read by this author: N/A
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
In an underground bunker, forty women are caged & watched over by guards. They have the necessities of survival, but no privacy, are allowed no contact, & have no knowledge of what has happened or why they are there. Thirty-nine of them have memories of life before the cage, but one, younger than the rest, knows nothing else. When a siren sounds & the guards flee, leaving the cage unlocked, the women must learn to survive anew in the world above ground, by degrees reclaiming their humanity, & questioning the extent of their newfound freedom.
Wow, was this bleak, but it never pretended to be anything else. A haunting look at what makes us human & the way we define ourselves by our memories, our relationships with others, & our position in the outside world. I Who Have Never Known Men is an existential crisis in the shape of a book, & though not necessarily the most enjoyable read, it felt like a very important one.