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archaicrobin's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
First of all, if you’re someone that needs answers I’d caution you on reading this one. Everything is ambiguous and speculative and there are no clear cut answers or revelations, only theories. I love speculative fiction and while I do love answers, I can still appreciate a good book that gives you nothing but questions.
I Who Have Never Known men is a feminist dystopian tale from the 90s that starts with questions and ends with questions, all asked and attempted to be answered by the main character who has no name and is only referred to as “the child”. She is the youngest of 40 women trapped in a cage, in an unknown location, tormented by unknown men, for unknown reasons, until one day…. They’re not.
This one kept me reading in hopes of figuring out what was going on, and what felt at first felt like your normal dystopian quickly turns into a speculative story about what it means to be a human. I loved this one and am still thinking about it!
I Who Have Never Known men is a feminist dystopian tale from the 90s that starts with questions and ends with questions, all asked and attempted to be answered by the main character who has no name and is only referred to as “the child”. She is the youngest of 40 women trapped in a cage, in an unknown location, tormented by unknown men, for unknown reasons, until one day…. They’re not.
This one kept me reading in hopes of figuring out what was going on, and what felt at first felt like your normal dystopian quickly turns into a speculative story about what it means to be a human. I loved this one and am still thinking about it!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Abandonment, Confinement, and Death
wytnie's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I liked it but i feel some things may have gone over my head and i'd love to read it again or get other peoples opinions on what happened.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Grief, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Murder, and Suicide
morgan_gensler's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Stunned. This will be a book I think about for a long time.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Grief, Death, Torture, and Abandonment
aggielexi's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
I don't know what to say, or how I feel about this book. I don't even know how to rate it. It made me think that's for sure, but it triggered my death anxiety.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment and Death
avasreads_'s review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I WHO HAVE NEVER KNOWN MEN
JACQUELINE HARPMAN
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5/5
wow. wow wow wow. this book is incredible. go read it.
jacqueline harpman's 'i who have never known men' follows a young woman, one of 40 locked in a cage underground, with no recollection of how or why they got there. without warning, or explanation, they are released, and have to navigate a world from which they were cut off from for so long.
i picked this one up randomly at a WHSmiths in a london train station last autumn, and has been sitting in my tbr since then. i am now kicking myself that i didn't pick it up sooner.
this isn't your typical action-packed dystopian fiction with a stereotypical epic, strong, powerful female protagonist. it's quiet, and, at its core, a bleak study of what it is like to be human, and what happens when we strip everything back. it is a character study, and a genius one at that. answers are not necessary; it is open-ended and unassuming. the readers make up their own mind, and forge their own connections and opinions about the plot and characters with what little information we are given.
there is not an ounce of happiness present in this book, but you still feel an overwhelming sense of hope. the narrator is unnamed, free from human corruption and a blank slate. we lack context, a satisfactory beginning and a conclusion. this leaves so much to the imagination and it's perfect.
this is a bleak but powerful tale of a young woman's fight for survival. it is sad. it is melancholic. it is science fiction at its very best. 'genre-defying' is possibly the best description for this book.
andrew wyeth's 1948 painting 'christina's world' was at the back of my mind the entire time. one of my favourite paintings with one of my new favourite books.
i don't think i can say too much more. go read it!!
(instagram: @avareads)
JACQUELINE HARPMAN
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
5/5
wow. wow wow wow. this book is incredible. go read it.
jacqueline harpman's 'i who have never known men' follows a young woman, one of 40 locked in a cage underground, with no recollection of how or why they got there. without warning, or explanation, they are released, and have to navigate a world from which they were cut off from for so long.
i picked this one up randomly at a WHSmiths in a london train station last autumn, and has been sitting in my tbr since then. i am now kicking myself that i didn't pick it up sooner.
this isn't your typical action-packed dystopian fiction with a stereotypical epic, strong, powerful female protagonist. it's quiet, and, at its core, a bleak study of what it is like to be human, and what happens when we strip everything back. it is a character study, and a genius one at that. answers are not necessary; it is open-ended and unassuming. the readers make up their own mind, and forge their own connections and opinions about the plot and characters with what little information we are given.
there is not an ounce of happiness present in this book, but you still feel an overwhelming sense of hope. the narrator is unnamed, free from human corruption and a blank slate. we lack context, a satisfactory beginning and a conclusion. this leaves so much to the imagination and it's perfect.
this is a bleak but powerful tale of a young woman's fight for survival. it is sad. it is melancholic. it is science fiction at its very best. 'genre-defying' is possibly the best description for this book.
andrew wyeth's 1948 painting 'christina's world' was at the back of my mind the entire time. one of my favourite paintings with one of my new favourite books.
i don't think i can say too much more. go read it!!
(instagram: @avareads)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Abandonment, Grief, and Suicide
jesssicawho's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Existential, but not necessarily dread.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Kidnapping, Suicide, Confinement, and Death
paperkindle's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Suicide, Abandonment, Medical content, and Confinement
Moderate: Dementia, Kidnapping, and Cancer
Minor: Violence
reverie_and_books's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman, translated by Ros Schwartz.
This is a dystopian tale with science-fiction memorabilia - genre-bending, thrilling and disturbing. I can’t say that I enjoyed reading this, at the same time this is a 5 star read. Not a nice place to be, but unique and thrilling all the same.
“But human beings need to speak, otherwise they lose their humanity, as I’ve realised these past few years.”
There is the child, a young girl, held in a cellar with 39 women, guarded by a few men who never speak. They get food and air, but no privacy or variation, no outlook or information. The other women seem to remember a few things: husbands, children, jobs. … but they’re not eager to talk about their knowledge - what good would it do to this young girl asking so many questions?
“I no longer felt humiliated by my ignorance, because I’d touched on a knowledge that was too painful to bear.”
There comes a day with a chance to escape. This young girl is the key, the only person apt to deal with a place utterly unknown to them.
I’m very fine about many contextual questions staying unanswered, it’s not the point. It’s more about the bigger picture: What makes us human? Our desire for knowledge? Our rituals regarding our dead? Our need to thrive, endure and cope? Our need to connect?
This was a fascinating read!
This is a dystopian tale with science-fiction memorabilia - genre-bending, thrilling and disturbing. I can’t say that I enjoyed reading this, at the same time this is a 5 star read. Not a nice place to be, but unique and thrilling all the same.
“But human beings need to speak, otherwise they lose their humanity, as I’ve realised these past few years.”
There is the child, a young girl, held in a cellar with 39 women, guarded by a few men who never speak. They get food and air, but no privacy or variation, no outlook or information. The other women seem to remember a few things: husbands, children, jobs. … but they’re not eager to talk about their knowledge - what good would it do to this young girl asking so many questions?
“I no longer felt humiliated by my ignorance, because I’d touched on a knowledge that was too painful to bear.”
There comes a day with a chance to escape. This young girl is the key, the only person apt to deal with a place utterly unknown to them.
I’m very fine about many contextual questions staying unanswered, it’s not the point. It’s more about the bigger picture: What makes us human? Our desire for knowledge? Our rituals regarding our dead? Our need to thrive, endure and cope? Our need to connect?
This was a fascinating read!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Abandonment, Suicide, Confinement, and Terminal illness
chi_kem's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment
Give up hoperefrejarator's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I feel so hopeless after reading this. Madly depressing and terribly mysterious.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Excrement, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Self harm, War, Cancer, Grief, Police brutality, Suicide, Dementia, and Terminal illness