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emoverhere 's review for:
I Who Have Never Known Men
by Jacqueline Harpman
I don’t know if I can review this book in a way that fully encompasses my feelings about it, mostly because I haven’t even started sorting through the mess of them to begin with. This was heart-rending in its injustice, the unimaginable cruelty inflicted on these characters, and on our main character specifically, felt so barbaric in a way that, sadly, isn’t entirely unbelievable in the world we live in today. The complete helplessness of the women was contagious, I don’t know if claustrophobia is a feeling that people feel often as they read this book, but I found myself experiencing it over and over as our characters kept going and going with no relief in sight.
Normally, I’d say that a book that refuses to elaborate on its various mysteries and intricacies is at best frustrating, and at worst badly written, but I don’t feel this with I Who Have Never Known Men. I think the mystery, and the complete nonsensical reasoning (whatever it may be) behind these people’s imprisonment serves to make us feel just as lost and confused as the main character, and the author/translator did magnificently in carrying that feeling over.
One last note about the main character: she was a perfect vessel for this story. Her detachment from our world contrasted so perfectly with the sorrow of the women as they lamented their losses. Her entire life felt like one giant tragedy unfolding bit by bit, with the unique characteristic of her unawareness of the scope of that tragedy. It’s so utterly brilliant, and so deeply heartbreaking.
4.5/5 stars
Normally, I’d say that a book that refuses to elaborate on its various mysteries and intricacies is at best frustrating, and at worst badly written, but I don’t feel this with I Who Have Never Known Men. I think the mystery, and the complete nonsensical reasoning (whatever it may be) behind these people’s imprisonment serves to make us feel just as lost and confused as the main character, and the author/translator did magnificently in carrying that feeling over.
One last note about the main character: she was a perfect vessel for this story. Her detachment from our world contrasted so perfectly with the sorrow of the women as they lamented their losses. Her entire life felt like one giant tragedy unfolding bit by bit, with the unique characteristic of her unawareness of the scope of that tragedy. It’s so utterly brilliant, and so deeply heartbreaking.
4.5/5 stars