Scan barcode
A review by _darbi_
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
dark
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? It's complicated
3.75
i who have never known men is a quiet dystopic novel set in a bleak land, amidst lonely relationships and questions that remain forever unanswered.
it's a book that captivated me despite its sparse language and plainness — the type of speculative fiction that seems almost ordinary. i shiver to think about growing up in a world without music, without culture, without family, without books, without a name... without nurturing. and yet, hope still peeks through these pages. love is uncovered — the simplest things can still cause delight. i turned page after page with hope.
(discovering free will releases all inhibitions! selfhood is powerful! curiosity above all! we create new worlds!)
the last line will live with me forever: "it is strange that i am dying from a diseased womb, i who have never had periods and who have never known men."
other special lines:
"i saw that she wasn't thinking about my question, she was shocked that i could have asked it. she'd inherited a tradition to which i did not belong..." (14)
"the old women cursed furiously, complaining about the indignity of being reduced to the status of animals. if the only thing that differentiates us from animals is the fact that we hide to defecate, then being human rests on very little, i thought" (17).
"'I don't know what all this may lead to,' I told her, 'but that's what's so exciting: in our absurd exsistence, i've invented something unexpected'" (36)/
it's a book that captivated me despite its sparse language and plainness — the type of speculative fiction that seems almost ordinary. i shiver to think about growing up in a world without music, without culture, without family, without books, without a name... without nurturing. and yet, hope still peeks through these pages. love is uncovered — the simplest things can still cause delight. i turned page after page with hope.
(discovering free will releases all inhibitions! selfhood is powerful! curiosity above all! we create new worlds!)
the last line will live with me forever:
other special lines:
"the old women cursed furiously, complaining about the indignity of being reduced to the status of animals. if the only thing that differentiates us from animals is the fact that we hide to defecate, then being human rests on very little, i thought" (17).
"'I don't know what all this may lead to,' I told her, 'but that's what's so exciting: in our absurd exsistence, i've invented something unexpected'" (36)/