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aksmith92 's review for:
I Who Have Never Known Men
by Jacqueline Harpman
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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:
No
With so many creators and reviewers noting that this book was phenomenal, I went into it with apprehension. I was nervous it wouldn't live up to the hype or that I wouldn't enjoy it as much as others. Thankfully, I admired this book with all of my little heart. I am left unwell after reading it. This book was profound and gut-wrenching, yet somehow hopeful.
I suggest starting this book knowing little about it. But you SHOULD know that if you are going into this book for the plot, or to get answers about your burning questions that surface during the narrative, think again, or adjust your expectations. It's speculative fiction set in a dystopian world that captures the thought of someone growing up in a cage. That is all, and that is what you get.
The Setup: The narrative follows an unnamed young girl, the sole adolescent among 39 older women, all imprisoned in an underground cage. The guards are silent, the reasons for their captivity unknown, and the passage of time indeterminate. Having no memories of life outside, the narrator exists in a perpetual present. When an unforeseen event allows them to escape, they emerge into a desolate, arid world. The story unfolds as a meditation on survival, connection, humanness, and the search for meaning in an incomprehensible reality.
Why '6' Stars? First and foremost, Harpman's background as a psychoanalyst bolstered the story with explorations of identity, memory, the human condition, and womanhood. It's another book that scratched my philosophical itch. The narrative covers everything from isolation, connectedness to people, especially with female companionship, and suffering. The impact of the situation on these 40 women could be felt through the lines of the pages. While ambiguous, the novel's ability to invite readers to project their interpretations left me with a deep personal attachment to the characters and the text overall. I could see where others might not be able to feel that engagement, because the narrative style contains sparse, introspective prose mirroring the protagonist's isolation. Therefore, it was hard to relate to the main character (at least, I would hope it is), but somehow the child was still nuanced, layered, and poignant.
I don't want to give anything away because I want everyone immersed in this story. It's an exploration of existence, and because of that, it will slap you in the face with what it means to be human; what it means to be you. I've never felt my humanity more when I read this book, and that was one of the points. While I understand this book's starkness and ambiguity may not suit everyone, I truly believe everyone should challenge themselves to read this with an open mind, and to critically think about the thematic elements of this novel that I guarantee will help you think about your own life - those you love, what you cherish, and what it means to be 'free.' Like most heartbreaking books I read, this one landed in my '6-star reads' (laughing out loud to myself).
I have no notes or critiques because this book was so impactful. It is one that I will definitely think about for a long time and hope to reread every so often. What a beautiful and tragic story, as most amazing tales go.
**
I suggest starting this book knowing little about it. But you SHOULD know that if you are going into this book for the plot, or to get answers about your burning questions that surface during the narrative, think again, or adjust your expectations. It's speculative fiction set in a dystopian world that captures the thought of someone growing up in a cage. That is all, and that is what you get.
The Setup: The narrative follows an unnamed young girl, the sole adolescent among 39 older women, all imprisoned in an underground cage. The guards are silent, the reasons for their captivity unknown, and the passage of time indeterminate. Having no memories of life outside, the narrator exists in a perpetual present. When an unforeseen event allows them to escape, they emerge into a desolate, arid world. The story unfolds as a meditation on survival, connection, humanness, and the search for meaning in an incomprehensible reality.
Why '6' Stars? First and foremost, Harpman's background as a psychoanalyst bolstered the story with explorations of identity, memory, the human condition, and womanhood. It's another book that scratched my philosophical itch. The narrative covers everything from isolation, connectedness to people, especially with female companionship, and suffering. The impact of the situation on these 40 women could be felt through the lines of the pages. While ambiguous, the novel's ability to invite readers to project their interpretations left me with a deep personal attachment to the characters and the text overall. I could see where others might not be able to feel that engagement, because the narrative style contains sparse, introspective prose mirroring the protagonist's isolation. Therefore, it was hard to relate to the main character (at least, I would hope it is), but somehow the child was still nuanced, layered, and poignant.
I don't want to give anything away because I want everyone immersed in this story. It's an exploration of existence, and because of that, it will slap you in the face with what it means to be human; what it means to be you. I've never felt my humanity more when I read this book, and that was one of the points. While I understand this book's starkness and ambiguity may not suit everyone, I truly believe everyone should challenge themselves to read this with an open mind, and to critically think about the thematic elements of this novel that I guarantee will help you think about your own life - those you love, what you cherish, and what it means to be 'free.' Like most heartbreaking books I read, this one landed in my '6-star reads' (laughing out loud to myself).
I have no notes or critiques because this book was so impactful. It is one that I will definitely think about for a long time and hope to reread every so often. What a beautiful and tragic story, as most amazing tales go.
**
And now, racked with sobs, 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.
Why were they all so determined to keep silent? I tried to console myself with the thought that it was no secret anyway, because they all shared it. Was it to give it an additional sparkle that they refused to tell me, to give it lustre of a rare gem? By remaining silent, they were creating a girl who didn't know and who would regard them as the custodians of a treasure. Did they only keep me in ignorance so they could pretend they weren't entirely powerless?
None of them looked at me and I hated them. I thought it was unfair, and then I understood that, alone and terrified, anger was my only weapon against the horror.
But human beings need to speak, otherwise they lose their humanity, as I've realised these past few years.
'Because I want to know! Sometimes, you can use what you know, but that's not what counts most. I want to know everything there is to know. Not because it's any use, but purely for the pleasure of knowing, and now I demand that you teach me everything you know, even if I'll never be able to use it.'
There's no continuity and the world I have come from is utterly foreign to me. I haven't heard its music, I haven't seen its painting, I haven't read its books, except for the handful I found in the refuge and of which I understood little. I know only the stony plain, wandering, and the gradual loss of hope.
Sitting on the bench, gazing towards the setting sun, she lost her mind in the cerebral convolutions, the mysterious nooks and crannies of the memory, she had gone backwards, seeking a world that made sense, losing her way among the labyrinths, slowly deteriorating, dimming, noiselessly being obliterated and then fading away so gradually that it was impossible to pinpoint the transition between the flickering little flame and the shadows.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Dysphoria
Moderate: Child abuse, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Violence, Death of parent