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careinthelibrary 's review for:
I Who Have Never Known Men
by Jacqueline Harpman
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Harpman's writing reminds me a bit of Ursula Le Guin, especially The Dispossessed and The Left Hand of Darkness with their outsider protagonists viewing an alien culture and world with philosophical scrutiny. And she's close to Le Guin in mirroring back humanity's own failings and considerations through the eyes of characters both like and unlike us.
This shrewd eye is paired with a bleak beauty of things left unexplained, unanswered, but now long pondered by generations of readers. Ambiguity and loneliness together guide the story to an end that should be unsatisfying, but actually fits perfectly. We are sitting in the unknown with the mistress of silence and that has to be enough.
This shrewd eye is paired with a bleak beauty of things left unexplained, unanswered, but now long pondered by generations of readers. Ambiguity and loneliness together guide the story to an end that should be unsatisfying, but actually fits perfectly. We are sitting in the unknown with the mistress of silence and that has to be enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death
Moderate: Ableism, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, War