I Who Have Never Known Men
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4.0 • 436 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Deep underground, 39 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 a vague recollection of their lives before.
As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl—the 40th 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.
Informed by her background as a psychoanalyst and her youth in exile, I Who Have Never Known Men is a haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic novel of female friendship and intimacy, and the lengths people will go to maintain their humanity in the face of devastation. Back in print for the first time since 1997, Jacqueline Harpman’s modern classic is an important addition to the growing canon of feminist speculative literature.
This audio edition of I Who Have Never Known Men is expertly read by Nikki Massoud, a listener favorite. Produced and published by Echo Point Books & Media, an independent bookseller in Brattleboro, Vermont. ©1997, 2019 Ros Schwartz.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
This spare and enigmatic feminist fable from a Belgian psychoanalyst drew comparisons to The Handmaid’s Tale when it was first published in 1995. The nameless protagonist grows up in a barred cell inhabited by 40 women who have committed no crime, constantly surveilled by male guards who never speak. Survivors of a societal breakdown whose causes are unclear, the women do not know why they’re being kept alive. The mystery only deepens when the guards suddenly depart one day, leaving the women to finally exit their prison for the strange new world outside. Nikki Massoud’s calm, intelligent narration suits the voice of a woman who is her own anthropologist, taking an almost scientific approach toward understanding herself and her relationship to others. Powerful outside forces can and will control our circumstances without bothering to explain why, but we can find comfort in knowing that even in deprivation, a society can develop and individuals can still possess rich interior lives.
Customer Reviews
10/10
Leaves you with unanswered questions but that’s the point.
Wouldn’t recommend
First the writing style after the first few chapters was not engaging. It was very “this happened and then that happened and then this other thing happened”. This book starts with a very interesting premise but there is virtually no character development despite this being the perfect setting for it. Also, it is not the typical book that gives you closure and explanations. Instead it is supposed to provoke thoughts about humanity by being very open ended. The author could have done both and this feels like lazy writing being disguised as profound.
Won’t return to this
The author avoided having to describe anything of interest by leaping from cabin description to cabin description. Nice to have unlimited power, food, and resources and also to magically become amazing at whatever skill, like “sawing” despite the lack of resources, instructions, or a universe to support it. Has the author ever experienced actual labor or survival skills? Guess not. But don’t worry, you won’t be burdened with plot, world-building, or anything besides suspension of disbelief. Enjoy the waste of a couple hours, perhaps just sit and stare at a wall instead.