Name: I Who Have Never Known Men
ISBN: 9781529111798

Jacqueline Harpman

A haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic tale of female friendship and intimacy. 'A small miracle' The New York Times 'For a very long time, the days went by, each just like the day before, then I began to think, and everything changed' Deep underground, thirty-nine women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only vague recollection of their lives before. As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl - the fortieth prisoner - sits alone and outcast in the corner. Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground. WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY SOPHIE MACKINTOSH, MAN BOOKER PRIZE-LONGLISTED AUTHOR OF THE WATER CURE

I Who Have Never Known Men

Moi qui n'ai pas connu les hommes

Naïa

I was forced to acknowledge too late, much too late, that I too had loved, that I was capable of suffering and that I was human after all.

han ˚✧₊⁎❝᷀ົཽ

I thought it was unfair, and then I understood that, alone and terrified, anger was my only weapon against the horror.

nhu ⋆𐙚₊˚⊹

sina (she/her) 

If the only thing that differentiates us from animals is the fact that we hide to defecate, then being human rests on very little, I thought. 

Anastasia Illner

✧༺♥༻✧

Is there a satisfaction in the effort of remembering that provides its own nourishment, and is what one recollects less important than the act of remembering? 

Chenay Kamara

You’ve never seen a child, you don’t know what it means – their vulnerability, their trust, the love you feel for them, the anxiety, being ready to lay down your life to save them, and it’s unbearable to imagine a child’s pain.

Perhaps, somewhere, humanity is flourishing under the stars, unaware that a daughter of its blood is ending her days in silence. There is nothing we can do about it.

Sometimes, as I returned to the group around the fire, I’d feel a rush of emotion; I was moved by the flickering of the flames in the night, the silhouettes of the women resting, the interplay of words or Denise’s reedy voice carrying the laments of another era across the plain, and I understood what Anthea called beauty, which apparently had been so abundant in their world.”

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. 

They’d been custodians of the absurd, carrying out orders whose purpose they were unaware of, themselves having to submit to incomprehensible rules, and perhaps they had no more idea of our identity than we did of theirs. 

It all seemed incredibly strange, sinister and moving. I felt the burden of the inexplicable, of my life, of that world to which I was the sole witness.

It is strange that I am dying from a diseased womb, I who have never had periods and who have never known men.

amari

Gemma

"In that case, what were men for?" I asked.

Iris van der zanden

I thought about it because I was in the habit of considering every angle of a question, and I'd never had any form of entertainment other than thinking.

I was forced to acknowledge too late, much too late, that I too had loved, that I was capable of suffering, and that I was human after all.

annaaa

And now, racked with sobs, I was forced to acknowledge too late, much too late, that I too had loved, that I was capable of suffering and that I was human after all.

Really strange. Eerily apt that this book has been brought to the attention of Vintage Classics through someone finding it in a bargain bin (this is explained in the back of the book) when you think about the main character’s final decision to write a book that someone may or may not find. And the fact that the author died before it gained any traction. Spooky.

 The book itself is deep in the themes it explores towards the end. It’s unlike anything else I’ve ever read. Very depressing but in ways that I feel are needed.

I liked the unanswered questions. Would love to really discuss this with someone at length. Great one for a book club. 

Amy Gleave

Really strange. Eerily apt that this book has been brought to the attention of Vintage Classics through someone finding it in a bargain bin (this is explained in the back of the book) when you think about the main character’s final decision to write a book that someone may or may not find. And the fact that the author died before it gained any traction. Spooky.

 The book itself is deep in the themes it explores towards the end. It’s unlike anything else I’ve ever read. Very depressing but in ways that I feel are needed.

I liked the unanswered questions. Would love to really discuss this with someone at length. Great one for a book club. 

˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶

i’ve had this on my list for so long and i’m glad i finally read it. such a unique story, made me think about how what’s “normal” is taken for granted. i always wanted to know what happened next, even though it was usually nothing

julia

What an interesting, memorable, odd book. A sci-fi that  made me think twice about everything we consider “normal” in human society. Couldn’t put it down, never read anything like it. 

Kaitlyn Wendler

Not at all what I was expecting to read. Not a whole lot going on in terms of story as it's sort of just a decimated apocalyptic place that you don't have much context on, but neither does the character. I enjoyed the concept and I found myself thinking what I would do in the same situation or even if I could put myself in the same shoes as the character since I didn't grow up in the same way, didn't have the same feelings, thoughts and lack of context. It was an interesting book if not a little bit underwhelming at some junctures.

BC Hark

beautiful book. so many unanswered questions, but i guess that’s the point. it took me a while to fully get invested in the story, and i will definitely need to reread it but i can see why i see recommendations for this book so often 

Esther Marie Mann 

Barely had a plot but enjoyed the writing!

Germaine Lee

Discover the haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic tale of female friendship and intimacy set in a deserted world.

Deep underground, thirty-nine women are kept in isolation in a cage. Above ground, a world awaits. Has it been abandoned? Devastated by a virus?

Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only vague recollection of their lives before. But, as the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl - the fortieth prisoner - sits alone and outcast in the corner.

Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them above ground. The woman who will never know men.

Brynn Sklar

ridiculously bleak but with occasional moments of tenderness and hope… so many people said this was a ‘sci-fi feminist novel’ so I approached this with that in mind but the novel just descends into nihilism by the second half (not necessarily in a bad way)

Taira Robles

Tender yet cold. Bleak yet inspiring. A thought experiment that Harpman handles with elegance. She leaves you both profoundly desperate for more and yet settled fully in the understanding that you need nothing else. I am excitedly anticipating a time when I shall get to reread this.

Acadia

Left me with more questions than when I began. Slow burn, curious, thoughtful. Enjoyed her pov on life and the world. 

Amalie

A young woman is kept in a cage underground with thirty-nine other females, guarded by armed men who never speak; her crimes unremembered...if indeed there were crimes. The youngest of forty--a child with no name and no past--she survives for some purpose long forgotten in a world ravaged and wasted. In this reality where intimacy is forbidden--in the unrelenting sameness of the artificial days and nights--she knows nothing of books and time, of needs and feelings. Then everything changes...and nothing changes. A young woman who has never known men--a child who knows of no history before the bars and restraints--must now reinvent herself, piece by piece, in a place she has never been...and in the face of the most challenging and terrifying of unknowns: freedom. A young woman is kept in a cage underground with thirty-nine other females, guarded by armed men who never speak; her crimes unremembered...if indeed there were crimes.The youngest of forty--a child with no name and no past--she survives for some purpose long forgotten in a world ravaged and wasted. In this reality where intimacy is forbidden--in the unrelenting sameness of the artificial days and nights--she knows nothing of books and time, of needs and feelings.Then everything changes...and nothing changes.A young woman who has never known men--a child who knows of no history before the bars and restraints--must now reinvent herself, piece by piece, in a place she has never been...and in the face of the most challenging and terrifying of unknowns: freedom.

I Who Never Known Men

i loved it, couldn’t put it down after picking up 

Love the ambiguity and the questions you have after.

Raadeem Pierre

If you are looking for a book that gives you an answer, nope, this book gives you existential crisis instead.

I finished this book and actually? this book just left me staring at nothing, contemplating everything. 

Maybe because reading this book give you a first point of view of the narrator and her dialogue and thought was so internal and personal, I felt like I was so immersed that I also feel like becoming one. I kept wondering whether the child question, which is also my question, will eventually get an answer. 

This book is also especially depressing at certain point. I also believe this book brings some sense/degree of metaphor and philosophy about humanity.

In my opinion it might about like the endless pursuit of answer, reason, and knowledge because the world is too absurd or the lifetime isn't even enough. Like when the child, and me myself, thinking that she found a big finding about something that could answer all of this but it just end up leaving you with even bigger question.

I think this book more circling about question and meaning rather than a plot, it's thought-provoking at best.

The book wasn't so bad but I can see why it's not for everyone. One thing, when people said this is a feminist book, I think I'll dissent, sure it showed women in building a community but nevertheless I don't think I got any feminist sentiment from this book.

If you are looking for a book that gives you an answer, nope, this book gives you existential crisis instead.

I finished this book and actually? this book just left me staring at nothing, contemplating everything. 

Maybe because reading this book give you a first point of view of the narrator and her dialogue and thought was so internal and personal, I felt like I was so immersed that I also feel like becoming one. I kept wondering whether the child question, which is also my question, will eventually get an answer. 

This book is also especially depressing at certain point. I also believe this book brings some sense/degree of metaphor and philosophy about humanity.

In my opinion it might about like the endless pursuit of answer, reason, and knowledge because the world is too absurd or the lifetime isn't even enough. Like when the child, and me myself, thinking that she found a big finding about something that could answer all of this but it just end up leaving you with even bigger question.

I think this book more circling about question and meaning rather than a plot, it's thought-provoking at best.

The book wasn't so bad but I can see why it's not for everyone. One thing, when people said this is a feminist book, I think I'll dissent, sure it showed women in building a community but nevertheless I don't think I got any feminist sentiment from this book.

A perfectly unique and creative story. This book resonates with me. I like the way there is no resolution. It creates a simultaneous urgency and disinterest in all of the questions asked. What’s the point? What’s around the corner? Is it a coincidence or is it purpose? What if I went left instead of right? The curiosity of asking these questions, seeking an answer, and then never finding one is such a human experience to me. If our narrator never experienced love, what made her human? Curiosity, a pursuit for knowledge, and a respect for the dead and for beauty is my answer for now.

Liz Hunsaker

 a book that refuses to give away it’s secrets 

B.A. Bacigal

Unlike anything I've ever read, a true sci fi book made to make you question what it means to be human. An extremely well crafted novel!

Max Riley

i've found my niche in feminist last-person-on-earth-style contemporary literature

gripping, easy to follow plot which had me turning each page as quick as possible. maybe food for nihilism. more nihilist than feminist i think. 

soochie

‘You are the only one of us who belongs to this country.’

‘No, this country belongs to me. I will be its sole owner and everything here will be mine.’

When I first started this book it took me a long time to settle into it, I even thought about DNF'ing for a moment there. The way this is written makes it a very difficult read, and not just because of the dark, horrifying topic but also because of the style. There are no chapters, this is 175 pages of pure rambling memory as our nameless FMC recounts her life story. You can tell she is writing from a place of ignorance and lack of education, and in the beginning I found that hard to follow, but as the story unfolds you start to understand why, see that this is intentional and it is part of what makes this story so much more profound. I am so glad I continued. Even if I cannot say I enjoyed this story, because I did not, it was horrible, despairing, bleak and depressing, I can say that this was an experience and one that I am glad to have taken. This novel explores what it means to be human when stripped of society, culture, and of most relationships, it investigates isolation, identity, and finding yourself and sisterhood. It is truly a unique read.

"It is impossible to predict what might happen in a world where you don’t know the rules."

I read the Afterword at the end of this book by Sophie Mackintosh and found that it is perfect in summing up exactly what I was thinking. I have never read something that so masterfully balances horror, hopelessness and hopefullness all in such a short amount of pages. Somehow, despite the lack of what we would know as "life" and an actual plot, as such, this story manages to weave together world building, setting, character development, exploration of many deep themes, and delivers a story that makes you want to keep reading. The mentions throughout this story of a "refuge" and indications that our FMC is somewhere where she can write down her story gives you hope that everything will be alright, and isn't that just so human of us? That in the face of pure desolation we still grasp onto those tiny moments of wishful thinking, of compassion and connection, and that is what drives us forward even when we feel like giving up. We see our FMC come of age, explore sexuality, learn to be a person as the only child amoung adult women, battle those feelings of isolation even when surrounded by others because you're not quite the same as they are, but also knowing you are exactly the same as them at a base level, too. The exploration of love, death, curiosity, dignity, femininity and gender was truly amazing - this world is devoid of men, yet not idealised as a utopia but shows both the peace and limitations of this existence. This is really going to stick with me for a long time.

Overall, this is an extremely tough read, at points you will feel bored, and the story will seem monotonous and so dreary, but for me this helped form a connection with these women, because they were feeling the same thing 100x more deeply. I felt such an array of emotions reading this, I laughed, I cried, I was angry, I was exhausted, I wanted to put the book down and never continue, and I also couldn't tear my eyes away from the page. This is a journey, and it's a hard road, and it will leave you wanting just as it tells you in the beginning, but for me, I felt it was worth it. It was one of those stories that makes you sit and stare at a wall for hours after finishing it. I had dreams about this book last night. Going into it I didn't expect it to impact me like it did, but it sure did. The imagery is lonely, surreal, and haunting, the prose is basic and yet also lyrical and heartwrenching. The ambiguity is so evocative - why were they caged in a bunker? What was the disaster? Where are they? Is she really all alone, or is the fact the story is being told as if it's a journal a hint that there was someone else who found it? What the heck is going on? This is a study in pure human existence that blends science fiction with philosophy, and while it certainly won't resonate or connect with everyone, I think you should at least try to give it a read.

‘Lord, if you’re up there somewhere, and you aren’t too busy, come and say a few words to me, because I’m very lonely and it would make me so happy.’

Genevieve 

‘You are the only one of us who belongs to this country.’
‘No, this country belongs to me. I will be its sole owner and everything here will be mine.’

4.5⭐

Oh my. Holy shit.

When I first started this book it took me a long time to settle into it, I even thought about DNF'ing for a moment there. The way this is written makes it a very difficult read, and not just because of the dark, horrifying topic but also because of the style. There are no chapters, this is 175 pages of pure rambling memory as our nameless FMC recounts her life story. You can tell she is writing from a place of ignorance and lack of education, and in the beginning I found that hard to follow, but as the story unfolds you start to understand why, see that this is intentional and it is part of what makes this story so much more profound. I am so glad I continued. Even if I cannot say I enjoyed this story, because I did not, it was horrible, despairing, bleak and depressing, I can say that this was an experience and one that I am glad to have taken. This novel explores what it means to be human when stripped of society, culture, and of most relationships, it investigates isolation, identity, and finding yourself and sisterhood. It is truly a unique read.

"It is impossible to predict what might happen in a world where you don’t know the rules."

I read the Afterword at the end of this book by Sophie Mackintosh and found that it is perfect in summing up exactly what I was thinking. I have never read something that so masterfully balances horror, hopelessness and hopefullness all in such a short amount of pages. Somehow, despite the lack of what we would know as "life" and an actual plot, as such, this story manages to weave together world building, setting, character development, exploration of many deep themes, and delivers a story that makes you want to keep reading. The mentions throughout this story of a "refuge" and indications that our FMC is somewhere where she can write down her story gives you hope that everything will be alright, and isn't that just so human of us? That in the face of pure desolation we still grasp onto those tiny moments of wishful thinking, of compassion and connection, and that is what drives us forward even when we feel like giving up. We see our FMC come of age, explore sexuality, learn to be a person as the only child amoung adult women, battle those feelings of isolation even when surrounded by others because you're not quite the same as they are, but also knowing you are exactly the same as them at a base level, too. The exploration of love, death, curiosity, dignity, femininity and gender was truly amazing - this world is devoid of men, yet not idealised as a utopia but shows both the peace and limitations of this existence. This is really going to stick with me for a long time.

Overall, this is an extremely tough read, at points you will feel bored, and the story will seem monotonous and so dreary, but for me this helped form a connection with these women, because they were feeling the same thing 100x more deeply. I felt such an array of emotions reading this, I laughed, I cried, I was angry, I was exhausted, I wanted to put the book down and never continue, and I also couldn't tear my eyes away from the page. This is a journey, and it's a hard road, and it will leave you wanting just as it tells you in the beginning, but for me, I felt it was worth it. It was one of those stories that makes you sit and stare at a wall for hours after finishing it. I had dreams about this book last night. Going into it I didn't expect it to impact me like it did, but it sure did. The imagery is lonely, surreal, and haunting, the prose is basic and yet also lyrical and heartwrenching. The ambiguity is so evocative - why were they caged in a bunker? What was the disaster? Where are they? Is she really all alone, or is the fact the story is being told as if it's a journal a hint that there was someone else who found it? What the heck is going on? This is a study in pure human existence that blends science fiction with philosophy, and while it certainly won't resonate or connect with everyone, I think you should at least try to give it a read.

‘Lord, if you’re up there somewhere, and you aren’t too busy, come and say a few words to me, because I’m very lonely and it would make me so happy.’

An intriguing opening, a profound ending, and a whole lot of plodding in between, after a provocative reveal. 

Her penchant for hinting at what's ahead works really well.

c0up

An intriguing opening, a profound ending, and a whole lot of plodding in between, after a provocative reveal. 

Wish the middle resonated more.

Her penchant for hinting at what's ahead works really well.

I loved this book. I have had this in my kindle library for so long and I wish I had read it sooner. Such a well written story and full of emotion, despite so much of the story including minimal dialogue. I have already recommended this to people and can't see myself stopping

Soph

Never been so hopeless and hopeful at the same time. This book scares me lol  

Marsh

thought provoking, monstrous, in a way. delved into the book expecting more of a suspense storytelling, bringing me to the depths of this dystopian world, but instead was left with a lingering thought of humanity and what it's like to be stripped away from it.

finished this book yesterday but needed some time to sit with it. honestly thought this was the kind of book that brings you into this immersive storytelling of the dystopian world, but instead the quite opposite happened, author not really giving any answers, but a solitude of feeling of what it's like to be stripped away from freedom, and even if you do earn it, you're back into another world of an endless string of humanity that sees no way out. the idea that the narrator was never content, and always wanted to know more somehow thought of her as more 'human' than the others. these weren't humans, they were more like animals.

its retention of femininity, the essential almost minimalist world-building, the characterisation of the youngest child, the almost eulogy-like style and tone, it was a wonderful read, i think if the author were to go into this direction in writing, i would've liked the writing to be more impactful and personal, it just seems the writing in the end was trying to make it look like there was a lot going on physically, instead of actually trying to put into words the mental feelings of what humanity being stripped away feels like before actually leaving it. i liked it, but i expected more of an impact, not like in terms of storytelling, but feelings. still beautiful, a wonderful world building story built on the world of womanhood and building yourself a personality wishing for a world where you would have known men, in the sense that you never will.

thought provoking, monstrous, in a way. delved into the book expecting more of a suspense storytelling, bringing me to the depths of this dystopian world, but instead was left with a lingering thought of humanity and what it's like to be stripped away from it.

finished this book yesterday but needed some time to sit with it. honestly thought this was the kind of book that brings you into this immersive storytelling of the dystopian world, but instead the quite opposite happened, author not really giving any answers, but a solitude of feeling of what it's like to be stripped away from freedom, and even if you do earn it, you're back into another world of an endless string of humanity that sees no way out. the idea that the narrator was never content, and always wanted to know more somehow thought of her as more 'human' than the others. these weren't humans, they were more like animals.

its retention of femininity, the essential almost minimalist world-building, the characterisation of the youngest child, the almost eulogy-like style and tone, it was a wonderful read, i think if the author were to go into this direction in writing, i would've liked the writing to be more impactful and personal, it just seems the writing in the end was trying to make it look like there was a lot going on physically, instead of actually trying to put into words the mental feelings of what humanity being stripped away feels like before actually leaving it. i liked it, but i expected more of an impact, not like in terms of storytelling, but feelings. still beautiful, a wonderful world building story built on the world of womanhood and building yourself a personality wishing for a world where you would have known men, in the sense that you never will.