I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
I Who Have Never Known Men
by Jacqueline Harpman
Dystopian | Science Fiction
175 Pages
Released January 1995
Rating: ★★
Goodreads
Content Warnings
I went into this book not knowing a single thing about it. I did so intentionally, as that is how many people recommended to read it. Unfortunately, it did not resonate with me the same way it has with others. I’m not sure I can make the same recommendation to go into this book blind. I think if I had been better prepared, I would have been in a different frame of mind when I read it, and therefore maybe enjoyed it more. However, this was not the case.
This book follows an un-named main character. She lives in a cage with thirty-nine other women. While the other women vaguely can recall the “before time”, the main character cannot. All her life, she has only know the cage. None of the women can recall how they ended up there. There are no windows, and the cage is guarded. Despite this, they are provided for. Until one day, when everything changes.
I’ll start with what I liked. This book was quite short, which made it a quick read. The action is a bit slow to start but once it gets rolling, I found myself needing to know what happened next and I found myself finishing the story within a couple hours. Perhaps I should have slowed down a little more but the questions I had drove me forward.
I will do my best to be vague in my complaints, and emphasize the things I wish I had known going into this book. This story is strongly philosophical in nature. If you are the type of person that seeks answers, the “Why” to things, please know that you will not get any in this book. In that sense, it is largely disappointing. There are many questions that will go unanswered. Personally, I found this extremely frustrating.
I also found this story to be quite isolating and depressing. The main character is extraordinarily resilient in the face of all her adversity, sometimes unfathomably so. Truly, there are some horrifying and dire situations that are presented in this book that made it difficult to read at times. It’s strange because it’s definitely not the most horrific book I’ve ever read, but something about the circumstances laid out in this story felt devastating.
The book felt also strangely religious and conservative at times, which felt at at odds with the overall feel of the book. I can’t say that I particularly enjoyed the way any of the characters were portrayed, nor did I feel connected to any of the characters. I also found the main character to be quite unusual compared to her other female counterparts. She is starkly different from them, which also felt strange.
I can certainly see how this book can raise a lot of discussion. I think it would make for a fantastic book club book, given its vague nature. I also think anyone that isn’t bothered by unanswered questions in stories would also enjoy it. For me, however, it was a miss.