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applejay99 's review for:
I Who Have Never Known Men
by Jacqueline Harpman
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I have mixed feelings about this book. On one hand, I think it’s very poignant, but on the other, I found it sort of frustrating, which I suppose is kind of the point.
This book definitely starts as a sci-fi/dystopian novel and then shifts into a philosophical sort of monologue. The description of the book didn’t indicate that shift, at least to me. I was more interested in reading a mystery story where I would eventually find out the answers. I think the premise was super interesting, but it’s sort of a bummer it didn’t get explored as the sci-fi novel it started as.
As far as the philosophy goes, I do think the author brings up some interesting ideas about what it means to be human, about the things humans do to each other, and what complete isolation would do to both a group and to an individual. I get that the point of not answering any of the questions being raised follows those themes—that the book is more speculative than it is plot-driven and that the reader can’t have answers to questions that don’t have them. I do think this is very frustrating though because of the way the book is described on the cover. It drew me in as a sci-fi/dystopian reader because I wanted answers to this curious predicament, and as the plot kept moving forward through the first half of the book, I kept waiting for them. But then the book suddenly changed genres.
I guess the point is to leave the reader frustrated and without answers so that we understand how the main character felt, how she never got answers either, and how she died without the answers she so desperately wondered about her entire life. And by not giving us answers, it forces us, too, to ruminate on these questions. Still, having expected/signed up for a dystopian plot, I found it to be a bit of a let down, hence the mixed feelings.
I’m still rating it at 4 stars because I think it was well-written and explored some very interesting questions in a very interesting environment, but I wish I could read another book with the same start and a more satisfying end that’s less repetitive, open-ended, and frustrating.
This book definitely starts as a sci-fi/dystopian novel and then shifts into a philosophical sort of monologue. The description of the book didn’t indicate that shift, at least to me. I was more interested in reading a mystery story where I would eventually find out the answers. I think the premise was super interesting, but it’s sort of a bummer it didn’t get explored as the sci-fi novel it started as.
As far as the philosophy goes, I do think the author brings up some interesting ideas about what it means to be human, about the things humans do to each other, and what complete isolation would do to both a group and to an individual. I get that the point of not answering any of the questions being raised follows those themes—that the book is more speculative than it is plot-driven and that the reader can’t have answers to questions that don’t have them. I do think this is very frustrating though because of the way the book is described on the cover. It drew me in as a sci-fi/dystopian reader because I wanted answers to this curious predicament, and as the plot kept moving forward through the first half of the book, I kept waiting for them. But then the book suddenly changed genres.
I guess the point is to leave the reader frustrated and without answers so that we understand how the main character felt, how she never got answers either, and how she died without the answers she so desperately wondered about her entire life. And by not giving us answers, it forces us, too, to ruminate on these questions. Still, having expected/signed up for a dystopian plot, I found it to be a bit of a let down, hence the mixed feelings.
I’m still rating it at 4 stars because I think it was well-written and explored some very interesting questions in a very interesting environment, but I wish I could read another book with the same start and a more satisfying end that’s less repetitive, open-ended, and frustrating.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence
Minor: Cancer, Miscarriage, Torture