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boba_nbooks 's review for:
I Who Have Never Known Men
by Jacqueline Harpman
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Though short, this novel has such a strong, lingering message about feminism and humanity.
My Summary: Thirty-nine women and one young girl are imprisoned in an underground cage. Though none of the forty people know how or why they are there, the women still remember the world above, while the girl has only known this world. They have all resigned themselves to living the rest of their lives underground until a specific set of circumstances come about, allowing the girl to help them all take a chance at freedom.
My Thoughts: I Who Have Never Known Men is quite discomforting, slightly disturbing, yet so introspective leaving readers thinking about hope, loneliness, and the things that give life meaning. It's difficult to put my feelings about this book into words because it's almost impossible to describe to someone who hasn't experienced it firsthand. The only novels I can only slightly compare it to are The Handmaid's Tale and The Parable of the Sower.
I'm not sure how this novel still lives in ambiguity, but I believe its message of finding meaningful work within an uncertain world full of hopelessness and loneliness to be extremely powerful and worth pondering.
My Summary: Thirty-nine women and one young girl are imprisoned in an underground cage. Though none of the forty people know how or why they are there, the women still remember the world above, while the girl has only known this world. They have all resigned themselves to living the rest of their lives underground until a specific set of circumstances come about, allowing the girl to help them all take a chance at freedom.
My Thoughts: I Who Have Never Known Men is quite discomforting, slightly disturbing, yet so introspective leaving readers thinking about hope, loneliness, and the things that give life meaning. It's difficult to put my feelings about this book into words because it's almost impossible to describe to someone who hasn't experienced it firsthand. The only novels I can only slightly compare it to are The Handmaid's Tale and The Parable of the Sower.
I'm not sure how this novel still lives in ambiguity, but I believe its message of finding meaningful work within an uncertain world full of hopelessness and loneliness to be extremely powerful and worth pondering.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Suicide
Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, Grief
Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual content, Blood