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cassidy_rain's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
“We had survived the prison, the plain and the loss of all hope, but the women had discovered that survival is no more than putting off the moment of death.“
“We were doing nothing, we were going nowhere, we were nobody.”
What a though provoking novel. I Who Have Never Known Men is a very open ended and philosophical story about a group of women who are trapped in a guarded underground bunker, until, by sheer chance, they are able to escape. It reads almost like a diary (there’s no chapters); our narrator being the youngest of the women in the bunker. She has a unique experience, as she’s the only one who’s entire existence (or at least what she remembers) has been spent in this captivity, so she has no real memories or knowledge of the outside world.
When I read the synopsis for this I was super intrigued and I loved the concept! I thought the writing style was wonderful. I also loved the narrators voice, it’s very distinct and unique. We truly get her perception of the world- and how that perception changes with her theories and discoveries. It’s very complex and conflicting. The tone is overall quite bleak, but there’s somehow also a hopeful feeling that prevails. Despite spanning through decades in less than 200 pages, I found the pacing to be quite slow. That said, it will definitely leave you thinking and with lots of questions.
I understand that the novel is written this way on purpose, to provoke questions and feelings. For me, I disliked the open-endedness. I would have personally liked more explanation and closure. If this is one that has caught your eye I would definitely recommend you give it a try though!
“We were doing nothing, we were going nowhere, we were nobody.”
What a though provoking novel. I Who Have Never Known Men is a very open ended and philosophical story about a group of women who are trapped in a guarded underground bunker, until, by sheer chance, they are able to escape. It reads almost like a diary (there’s no chapters); our narrator being the youngest of the women in the bunker. She has a unique experience, as she’s the only one who’s entire existence (or at least what she remembers) has been spent in this captivity, so she has no real memories or knowledge of the outside world.
When I read the synopsis for this I was super intrigued and I loved the concept! I thought the writing style was wonderful. I also loved the narrators voice, it’s very distinct and unique. We truly get her perception of the world- and how that perception changes with her theories and discoveries. It’s very complex and conflicting. The tone is overall quite bleak, but there’s somehow also a hopeful feeling that prevails. Despite spanning through decades in less than 200 pages, I found the pacing to be quite slow. That said, it will definitely leave you thinking and with lots of questions.
I understand that the novel is written this way on purpose, to provoke questions and feelings. For me, I disliked the open-endedness. I would have personally liked more explanation and closure. If this is one that has caught your eye I would definitely recommend you give it a try though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Confinement
Moderate: Suicide
siraels's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I don't think a book has ever made me feel so isolated, gloomy and distressed but it also made me feel so many things that I could not rate it in any other way than five stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Confinement, Suicide, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Infertility
ewwa18's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Death
Moderate: Terminal illness, Confinement, and Blood
crybabybea's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was like an episode of The Twilight Zone. You're dropped into a dystopian, post-apocalyptic setting with no explanation. The narrator is unreliable due to her complete ignorance, having grown up pretty much entirely in an underground bunker with no human contact except for her 39 fellow prisoners, under guard 24/7. As the events progress, the reader gets more questions than answers, and just like The Twilight Zone, the ending leaves you with nothing but your own thoughts. Don't come into this book expecting crazy action or deep characterization.
It's a deceptively simple story with equally deceptively simple writing. This is the kind of book you can read over and over again and you will discover something new depending on where you are in your life at the time of reading. You can endlessly theorize about what might have happened or what could have gone differently.
For me, I really liked the exploration of loneliness and isolation. Our main character is different from her cellmates because she has absolutely no memory of the outside world or a life before the bunker. She often remarks that she doesn't even feel human because her brain works so differently from the others. I really connected with this story because of it and it made me reflect and think deeply. I think anyone who has experienced isolation or loneliness of any kind would feel similarly.
I also just really liked the tone of this book. It was eerie, disquieting, uncomfortable. The author feeds us threads of hope that turn into a disconcerting uneasiness by the end of the story. It felt lonely and empty in a really immersive way. As well, I liked how it differed from typical post-apocalyptic media. There are dark moments, but the author doesn't resort to brutality and shock factor to try and question humanity. She shows glimmers of hope and light, and shows how people come together and care for each other and give each other what they can when all other hope is gone. She makes you question what makes humanity, not what breaks it.
Just a really great example of what speculative fiction can be and how it can make a reader think and feel.
It's a deceptively simple story with equally deceptively simple writing. This is the kind of book you can read over and over again and you will discover something new depending on where you are in your life at the time of reading. You can endlessly theorize about what might have happened or what could have gone differently.
For me, I really liked the exploration of loneliness and isolation. Our main character is different from her cellmates because she has absolutely no memory of the outside world or a life before the bunker. She often remarks that she doesn't even feel human because her brain works so differently from the others. I really connected with this story because of it and it made me reflect and think deeply. I think anyone who has experienced isolation or loneliness of any kind would feel similarly.
I also just really liked the tone of this book. It was eerie, disquieting, uncomfortable. The author feeds us threads of hope that turn into a disconcerting uneasiness by the end of the story. It felt lonely and empty in a really immersive way. As well, I liked how it differed from typical post-apocalyptic media. There are dark moments, but the author doesn't resort to brutality and shock factor to try and question humanity. She shows glimmers of hope and light, and shows how people come together and care for each other and give each other what they can when all other hope is gone. She makes you question what makes humanity, not what breaks it.
Just a really great example of what speculative fiction can be and how it can make a reader think and feel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement and Death
Moderate: Cancer, Grief, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
mandareads222's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Confinement, and Cancer
Moderate: Grief, Suicide, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, and Infertility
Minor: Alcohol and Violence
phoevincent's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Deportation, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Genocide, Suicide, Confinement, Death, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, and Gore
chrleee's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Suicide
flightlessfinch's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I'm heartbroken by this book and I'm so glad
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer and Death
Moderate: Suicide
aschmitttyy's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I have mixed feelings on this one. As much as I enjoyed reading it, I don't know that I necessarily liked it. Possibly because it was so depressing. However, it was one of the most unique books I have ever read and I know I will think about it for years to come. I would have rated it higher, but I am disappointed by the lack of background and context for the situation of the women.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide and Death
Minor: Physical abuse
neliadiedenise's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Body horror, Death, Confinement, Gore, Suicide, Grief, Murder, Blood, Dementia, Infertility, and Terminal illness