A review by shelf_life_with_jay
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

challenging emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Devastating. Mesmerizing. Unshakable. 

I Who Have Never Known Men, completely wrecked me in the best and worst ways. From the start, I was gripped by the eerie isolation and the quiet dread that blankets every page. Our unnamed narrator, raised in captivity, separated from a world she never knew, felt less like a person and more like a spectral witness to a reality too haunting to explain. She becomes, in so many ways, an angel of death for the only family she has ever known, and that realization shattered me. 

What really stood out was how alien the story felt without relying on traditional sci-fi tropes. Unlike other books that portray dystopia or unfamiliar worlds, this one strips away explanation and worldbuilding to focus on raw human existence. That bold choice worked incredibly well. I didn't want to put the book down. I also didn't want the book to end. I wasn't ready for the narrator to meet her fate. 

This book was phenomenal in its quiet, devastating way. But if I'm honest, I don't know if I enjoyed it in the traditional sense. It left me gutted, thoughtful, and full of questions and longing.