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proeliator 's review for:
I Who Have Never Known Men
by Jacqueline Harpman
A masterpiece. I can't believe I've never heard of this book, but it is from Belgium after all and published in French originally, so I guess that might explain it. If you don't care to read about feelings of loneliness, meaninglessness and isolation, as well as imprisonment, then you may want to pass on this one -- but you really shouldn't. The main character (who narrates the story and apparently was never given a name) is one of the loneliest characters in any book I've read, even when there are other people around. Think of Raskolnikov from [b:Crime and Punishment|7144|Crime and Punishment|Fyodor Dostoevsky|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1382846449l/7144._SY75_.jpg|3393917] or Roquentin from [b:Nausea|298275|Nausea|Jean-Paul Sartre|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1377674928l/298275._SY75_.jpg|1319935], but a little more rational of a character. Some people have compared this to [b:The Handmaid’s Tale|38447|The Handmaid’s Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)|Margaret Atwood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578028274l/38447._SY75_.jpg|1119185] (a book I love), but that's nonsense -- it's nothing like it at all, except for the dystopian setting. For one thing, there are no politics or religion involved, and it's also more philosophical, though not academic or overbearingly so. I guess you just have to read the book -- and you should.