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A review by cassidy_rain
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
“We had survived the prison, the plain and the loss of all hope, but the women had discovered that survival is no more than putting off the moment of death.“
“We were doing nothing, we were going nowhere, we were nobody.”
What a though provoking novel. I Who Have Never Known Men is a very open ended and philosophical story about a group of women who are trapped in a guarded underground bunker, until, by sheer chance, they are able to escape. It reads almost like a diary (there’s no chapters); our narrator being the youngest of the women in the bunker. She has a unique experience, as she’s the only one who’s entire existence (or at least what she remembers) has been spent in this captivity, so she has no real memories or knowledge of the outside world.
When I read the synopsis for this I was super intrigued and I loved the concept! I thought the writing style was wonderful. I also loved the narrators voice, it’s very distinct and unique. We truly get her perception of the world- and how that perception changes with her theories and discoveries. It’s very complex and conflicting. The tone is overall quite bleak, but there’s somehow also a hopeful feeling that prevails. Despite spanning through decades in less than 200 pages, I found the pacing to be quite slow. That said, it will definitely leave you thinking and with lots of questions.
I understand that the novel is written this way on purpose, to provoke questions and feelings. For me, I disliked the open-endedness. I would have personally liked more explanation and closure. If this is one that has caught your eye I would definitely recommend you give it a try though!
“We were doing nothing, we were going nowhere, we were nobody.”
What a though provoking novel. I Who Have Never Known Men is a very open ended and philosophical story about a group of women who are trapped in a guarded underground bunker, until, by sheer chance, they are able to escape. It reads almost like a diary (there’s no chapters); our narrator being the youngest of the women in the bunker. She has a unique experience, as she’s the only one who’s entire existence (or at least what she remembers) has been spent in this captivity, so she has no real memories or knowledge of the outside world.
When I read the synopsis for this I was super intrigued and I loved the concept! I thought the writing style was wonderful. I also loved the narrators voice, it’s very distinct and unique. We truly get her perception of the world- and how that perception changes with her theories and discoveries. It’s very complex and conflicting. The tone is overall quite bleak, but there’s somehow also a hopeful feeling that prevails. Despite spanning through decades in less than 200 pages, I found the pacing to be quite slow. That said, it will definitely leave you thinking and with lots of questions.
I understand that the novel is written this way on purpose, to provoke questions and feelings. For me, I disliked the open-endedness. I would have personally liked more explanation and closure. If this is one that has caught your eye I would definitely recommend you give it a try though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Confinement
Moderate: Suicide