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

challenging dark reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

2.25

2.25/5

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.

In a cage underground forty women are kept captive. They are guarded and refused basic human rights, such as privacy and touch. None of them know why they're there, who's keeping them captive or for what. The youngest of them, our narrator, has never known anything but this. She has never known society, affection or even the open sky. Then, something suddenly changes and the characters are confronted with the world outside their jail.

This book is bleak. While there is some sort of plot this is more philosophical than anything. It's more of an exploration of the effects that this prolongued captivity can have on human beings. The protagonist is severely affected by this life of deprivation, she has no one to truly connect with. No peers, no parents, nothing different. She's also eventually going to be the only one left, due to her age, and thus is condemned to a life of loneliness.

I was intrigued during the first third or so, but after the big plot event it all became a bit too repetitive. Same with the mentioning of men and a world without them. I understood the trauma of it all but to me it focused too much on that specific loss and nothing else. Too many mentions of the protagonist never getting to have a husband or bearing a child that just rubbed me the wrong way. I didn't feel a sense of community within the women, it felt very sidelined. There's also, for me, the fact that the plot never gets resolved. No explanation of any kind, not even speculation, which was a bummer since that was the most interesting bit.

I did, however, quite enjoy the translator's note at the end. You can tell that Ros Schwartz was very passionate about the project and that the book resonated with her. Her reflections on the plot and Jacqueline Harpman's life were very poignant. I felt like I understood the book a bit more having read that and learning about Harpman's life during the holocaust, you can feel that experience in the writing.
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