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A review by avasreads_
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
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? Yes
5.0
I WHO HAVE NEVER KNOWN MEN
JACQUELINE HARPMAN
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5/5
wow. wow wow wow. this book is incredible. go read it.
jacqueline harpman's 'i who have never known men' follows a young woman, one of 40 locked in a cage underground, with no recollection of how or why they got there. without warning, or explanation, they are released, and have to navigate a world from which they were cut off from for so long.
i picked this one up randomly at a WHSmiths in a london train station last autumn, and has been sitting in my tbr since then. i am now kicking myself that i didn't pick it up sooner.
this isn't your typical action-packed dystopian fiction with a stereotypical epic, strong, powerful female protagonist. it's quiet, and, at its core, a bleak study of what it is like to be human, and what happens when we strip everything back. it is a character study, and a genius one at that. answers are not necessary; it is open-ended and unassuming. the readers make up their own mind, and forge their own connections and opinions about the plot and characters with what little information we are given.
there is not an ounce of happiness present in this book, but you still feel an overwhelming sense of hope. the narrator is unnamed, free from human corruption and a blank slate. we lack context, a satisfactory beginning and a conclusion. this leaves so much to the imagination and it's perfect.
this is a bleak but powerful tale of a young woman's fight for survival. it is sad. it is melancholic. it is science fiction at its very best. 'genre-defying' is possibly the best description for this book.
andrew wyeth's 1948 painting 'christina's world' was at the back of my mind the entire time. one of my favourite paintings with one of my new favourite books.
i don't think i can say too much more. go read it!!
(instagram: @avareads)
JACQUELINE HARPMAN
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5/5
wow. wow wow wow. this book is incredible. go read it.
jacqueline harpman's 'i who have never known men' follows a young woman, one of 40 locked in a cage underground, with no recollection of how or why they got there. without warning, or explanation, they are released, and have to navigate a world from which they were cut off from for so long.
i picked this one up randomly at a WHSmiths in a london train station last autumn, and has been sitting in my tbr since then. i am now kicking myself that i didn't pick it up sooner.
this isn't your typical action-packed dystopian fiction with a stereotypical epic, strong, powerful female protagonist. it's quiet, and, at its core, a bleak study of what it is like to be human, and what happens when we strip everything back. it is a character study, and a genius one at that. answers are not necessary; it is open-ended and unassuming. the readers make up their own mind, and forge their own connections and opinions about the plot and characters with what little information we are given.
there is not an ounce of happiness present in this book, but you still feel an overwhelming sense of hope. the narrator is unnamed, free from human corruption and a blank slate. we lack context, a satisfactory beginning and a conclusion. this leaves so much to the imagination and it's perfect.
this is a bleak but powerful tale of a young woman's fight for survival. it is sad. it is melancholic. it is science fiction at its very best. 'genre-defying' is possibly the best description for this book.
andrew wyeth's 1948 painting 'christina's world' was at the back of my mind the entire time. one of my favourite paintings with one of my new favourite books.
i don't think i can say too much more. go read it!!
(instagram: @avareads)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Abandonment, Grief, and Suicide