Review by lauradoesnothing - I Who Have Never Known Men

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lauradoesnothing 's review for:

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

4.0

emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I can see why the BookTok girlies liked this one so much - it's a philosophical heavyweight in a concise and easily digestible package. It walks the fine line between hope and despair, but thanks to the unnamed narrator's emotional detachment, avoids coming across as overwrought and mawkish.

1 star deducted because I am DONE with books starting with an "introduction" which is actually a spoiler-ridden essay spelling out all the key themes and highlighting all the important plot points so the reader can be sure of not missing anything. Forgive me for wanting to read every page of a book in order and discover it for myself as I go. If you MUST have a piece of English Lit GCSE coursework by someone I've never heard of in the book to justify copyrighting the reprint, at least put it at the back of the book.

Content Warnings