I Who Have Never Known Men
- Downloads：3539
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2023-01-01 05:53:19
- Update Date：2025-09-13
- Status：finish
- Author：Jacqueline Harpman
- ISBN：152911179X
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY SOPHIE MACKINTOSH， MAN BOOKER PRIZE-LONGLISTED AUTHOR OF THE WATER CURE
'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。
'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。
Reviews
Ellie Foster
，
'I Who Have Never Known Men' was astoundingly beautiful。 The story gripped me from start to finish。 Throughout the novel， I had an odd feeling of melancholy。 I deeply felt the passage of time with the narrator， although I never felt bored。 It's a novel I don't think I'll ever stop thinking about。 'I Who Have Never Known Men' was astoundingly beautiful。 The story gripped me from start to finish。 Throughout the novel， I had an odd feeling of melancholy。 I deeply felt the passage of time with the narrator， although I never felt bored。 It's a novel I don't think I'll ever stop thinking about。 。。。more
Wal Lajoia
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This should be one of the most frustrating books ever。 It literally answers no questions。 Still， after finishing it I only feel satisfaction。 It is good。 Really good。 Objective and bleak。 Not everyone’s cup of tea。 But， damn， it’s good。
Lindsey
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This is the most frustrating， depressing book I've ever read。 I'm giving it two stars because I hated reading it， but it was well-written so if you like feeling like you might as well just drop dead right this second because life is meaningless， this may be the book for you！ This is the most frustrating， depressing book I've ever read。 I'm giving it two stars because I hated reading it， but it was well-written so if you like feeling like you might as well just drop dead right this second because life is meaningless， this may be the book for you！ 。。。more
Casey
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Easy five stars。 New all time favourite。
iris barnes
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I now understand what it means to be haunted。 A memorable book I truly wish I had never read
Simone
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Loved。 reminded me a bit of the maze runner， but all women and written in the 1950’s， dark and thoughtful
Mafalda Rosinhas
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The concept is very interesting and I find the whole reflection something that needs to be re-read in order to fully digest it。 I'll probably be getting a physical copy just because there's sooo much to underline。It wasn't what I was expecting and there's no explanation about the situation which the main character finds herself in。 That was disappointing to me and that's mainly the reason why I won't give this book 5 stars at the moment。 The concept is very interesting and I find the whole reflection something that needs to be re-read in order to fully digest it。 I'll probably be getting a physical copy just because there's sooo much to underline。It wasn't what I was expecting and there's no explanation about the situation which the main character finds herself in。 That was disappointing to me and that's mainly the reason why I won't give this book 5 stars at the moment。 。。。more
Lori Marie Ramirez
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It was absolutely amazing and terrifying at the same time。 A true philosophical masterpiece。
Samantha Lade
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Wow！ I don't really know where to start with reviewing this book。 A beautifully written， yet completely heartbreaking and haunting read。 This story answers questions about the human spirit， female friendship， our thirst for knowledge and our determination to survive， but also leaves so much to be answered in terms of the story itself。 Not usually one for anything dystopian， but this was really rich storytelling。 4。5* and I think I'll be thinking about this book for a long time to come Wow！ I don't really know where to start with reviewing this book。 A beautifully written， yet completely heartbreaking and haunting read。 This story answers questions about the human spirit， female friendship， our thirst for knowledge and our determination to survive， but also leaves so much to be answered in terms of the story itself。 Not usually one for anything dystopian， but this was really rich storytelling。 4。5* and I think I'll be thinking about this book for a long time to come 。。。more
gabrielle
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short and haunting。 will be thinking about this one for a while
Jocelyn Chin
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164 pages of eerie， quiet suspense。 the observations of our main character were so calm that it felt jarring — especially given the bizarre circumstances of this whole story。 “story” is honestly a strong word for this; it’s a book made up not of plot but of wonder （a nicer way of saying constant bewilderment）。i love the repeating ideas of 1） counting/passage of time（what is time）， 2） intrinsic joy found in learning， discovery， and exploration （not a big theme but i’m a big proponent of expeditio 164 pages of eerie， quiet suspense。 the observations of our main character were so calm that it felt jarring — especially given the bizarre circumstances of this whole story。 “story” is honestly a strong word for this; it’s a book made up not of plot but of wonder （a nicer way of saying constant bewilderment）。i love the repeating ideas of 1） counting/passage of time（what is time）， 2） intrinsic joy found in learning， discovery， and exploration （not a big theme but i’m a big proponent of expeditions） and 3） human companionship。 and ofc the ever-prevalent question: what does it mean to be human？ — and what does human dignity consist of？ how can one live （or die） with dignity？i don’t want to give spoilers （again， it’s kinda hard to give spoilers， as there isn’t much action， nor does the reader receive any satisfactory explanations but SKIP THIS PARAGRAPH AT UR OWN DISCRETION）。 my favorite moment in the book （it’s my fave not bc of the literal situation， but rather the thoughts it created in my head） happens on page 122 when our narrator finds the upright corpse sitting in the cage corner。 To me this scene is reminiscent of early on in the book， when the narrator isolated herself to a cage corner to stare at the youngest guard in her attempt to affect （provoke a reaction from） him。 Now， this body， taking a stance in death， affects her （she is not easily affected）。 There’s some sort of reversal here， or irony。 Perhaps life — and freedom！ — isn’t dependent on how we affect others （what she originally tried to do to feel power）， but rather on how we let others affect us （what happens here when she sees this corpse， “who wanted to overcome fear and despair to enter eternity upright and furious”）。apologies for my profuse use of parentheses in this review。random bits: everything that happens in the story， while making absolutely no sense， felt weirdly valid thanks to the precise and unerring prose。 the author’s background as having been a youth in exile and a psychoanalyst definitely matches the mood。@Evan （who recommended this book） I’m not giving this book 5 stars bc I rate my books on how likely I am to recommend it， and this book isn’t for everyone。 again， I really liked it。 but I also prefer more action， conflict， dilemmas， and show-dont-tell writing styles。 there was a lot telling here， but i suppose that couldn’t be helped given the premises。 Ava， i’m now calling YOU out！！ I kept thinking you would love this weird little story。finally， i hate that the word “electroencephalogram” appears in this book。 totally wrong vibes。 。。。more
Maisie
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4。5 frustrating。 beautiful
Madawi Ismail
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3。75 I could not put this down until I’ve finished The concept and the philosophical depth are much appreciated。 I just couldn’t ignore the fact that we are reading such a beautifully written journal or memoir written by someone never read anything apart from a plants and agriculture manual and astronomy books collection。I’m not sure if I missed something but her literature references sounded so out of place and not realistic for a character who learned reading after finding a gardening manual w 3。75 I could not put this down until I’ve finished The concept and the philosophical depth are much appreciated。 I just couldn’t ignore the fact that we are reading such a beautifully written journal or memoir written by someone never read anything apart from a plants and agriculture manual and astronomy books collection。I’m not sure if I missed something but her literature references sounded so out of place and not realistic for a character who learned reading after finding a gardening manual when she was an adult and had no access to other sources of knowledge or kind of books apparat from astronomy books collection。 。。。more
Pauuuu
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Creo que se acaba de convertir en uno de mis favoritos， por no decir el que más。。 💔 me ha parecido tan bonito， tan duro， tan tierno， tan crudo。。 pero sobretodo tan especial。。 ✨ 100% recomendadisimo！！ Sin ningún tipo de duda
Tahira
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Ah。 Well。 I。 My brain is exploding。
Sara
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una mica vibes a ‘el hombre en busca del sentido’ de frankl
Mehak Fatima
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A little lack of context， but overall a really haunting， mark leaving book definitely a must read
Danny
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Beautifully bleak， dystopian novel。 The uneasiness that you feel while and after reading will stay with me for a while。 Entirely alone， unsure of where she is and with no past， having only known her life in captivity- Harpman writes a fascinating unnamed protagonist。
Sena
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im so fascinated by this book。 i read it all in one day/night。 so many things happened while also nothing at all？ i loved reading this in the perspective of the „child“， how her thoughts and questions grew over time and that in the end she actually found a nice home with a nice bed and a kitchen and a bathroom made me so glad。P。S。 i had to google the meaning of a word like every minute， which i absolutely enjoyed。 i love acquiring a knowledge of new complex words。 here’s my list of words （partly im so fascinated by this book。 i read it all in one day/night。 so many things happened while also nothing at all？ i loved reading this in the perspective of the „child“， how her thoughts and questions grew over time and that in the end she actually found a nice home with a nice bed and a kitchen and a bathroom made me so glad。P。S。 i had to google the meaning of a word like every minute， which i absolutely enjoyed。 i love acquiring a knowledge of new complex words。 here’s my list of words （partly german translations） for anyone that cares， or just future me reading old reviews of my own:- avid: passioniert/begeistert- chastise: punishing / bestrafen- frigid: stiff / kühl und kalt idc attitude- appeased: besänftigen / stillen- acute: intensiv/ stechend（schmerzhaft）- agony: extreme physical or mental suffering- abated: nachlassen- perpetual: ewig fortwährend unaufhörlich- daunted: eingeschüchtert- excreting: absondern ausscheiden- inquisitive: neugierig- lustre: Ruhm und Glanz- decrepit: altersschwach - reverie: Träumerei- Embellish : verschönern- Vacant: Empty- Insolent: arrogant und respektlos- Impervious: undurchdringlich- meticulous: sorgfältig penibel- withered: verwelkt- despair: Verzweiflung- imperturbability: Gelassenheit- adept: （Experte-substantiv） geschickt / erfahren- monotony: Eintönigkeit / monoton- tizzy: Aufregung- cogitate: nachdenken / grübeln- aptitude: Begabung / Fähigkeit- abacus: rechenbrett- stultify: verblöden / blamieren- arbitrary: willkürlich- scant: knapp/ wenig- （To） exhume: ausgraben- retitence: Zurückhaltung- exuberance: Üppigkeit- solemn: Ernst- detested: verabscheut- foreboding: Vorahnung- perturbed: verstört- hearth: Feuerstelle- premonition: Vorwarnung / Ahnung- inertia: Ermüdung- agitated : aufgewühlt - self effacing: doesn’t claim attention， modest- perspiration: Schweiß- mortar: Kelle- sedentary: ortsgebundnen sesshaft- seldom: selten- to surmise : vermuten- orifice: Eingang Öffnung- idleness: Faulheit- arid: dürr trocken- futility: Sinnlosigkeit- to peter out: auslaufen / versickern- equanimity: Gleichmut/ Gelassenheit- jollity: Fröhlichkeit / Ausgelassenheit- futile: nutzlos- imminent: unmittelbar bevorstehend 。。。more
✧ *:˚ · 。 lisa 。 · ˚ :* ✧
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"I felt a surge of grief， I， who had never known men， as I stood in front of this man who had wanted to overcome fear and despair to enter eternity upright and furious。"this book follows the mere existence of a girl， who doesn't know anything about the outside world， imprisoned in a bunker along with 39 other women， who have but little memories of their past lives， in a world where civilization is no more。 one day， however， the women escape out of sheer luck only to find the world， as they once "I felt a surge of grief， I， who had never known men， as I stood in front of this man who had wanted to overcome fear and despair to enter eternity upright and furious。"this book follows the mere existence of a girl， who doesn't know anything about the outside world， imprisoned in a bunker along with 39 other women， who have but little memories of their past lives， in a world where civilization is no more。 one day， however， the women escape out of sheer luck only to find the world， as they once knew it， gone。 as they recognize the planet they're on to be completely devoid of human beings， they try to create a life worth living。 filled with the discovery of friendship and love amongst women and the inconvenience of living in a world without men， i who have never known men is a book that will truly take me a fucking lifetime to forget。"Perhaps you never have time when you are alone？ You only acquire it by watching it go by in others。"not only does this book make you feel like you're right there with these women， fighting to survive， but it also provides you with such depth to the characters that you can't help but feel a certain connection between you and them。 this book discusses heavy topics of loss and the inevitability of death and so i couldn't help but cry my eyes out during the last few pages and especially that very last line。there is something so extraordinarily beautiful about this book that you simply can't understand unless you've read it。"I cannot mourn for what I have not known。"probably crowning this my favorite piece of writing for 2022🥲 。。。more
Milene Martins
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4。5 ⭐️
Jess Wetherden
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What a fantastic， thought provoking book that i have no doubt will stay with me forever！ I know a book is good and has longevity when i want to sit and write an essay on it once its over and im sad its ended！ So many questions so much to mull over！ I loved it so much。 Brilliant book that has apocolypse， dystopia， the meaning of life， gender based questions， survival， i could go on， i mean the book has everything and is under 200 pages！ Im astounded。 Loved it。 Just read it ok！
Naridhi lalotra
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I don't know how to gather my thoughts about this book。。 They are all over the place。。 But one thing is for certain。。 I was hooked till the very end。 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。I felt as if this pain would never be appeased， that it had me in its grip for ever， that it would prevent me from devoting myself to anything else， and that I was allowing it to do I don't know how to gather my thoughts about this book。。 They are all over the place。。 But one thing is for certain。。 I was hooked till the very end。 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。I felt as if this pain would never be appeased， that it had me in its grip for ever， that it would prevent me from devoting myself to anything else， and that I was allowing it to do so。 I think that that is what they call being consumed with remorse。How much of our humanity is intrinsic？ How much remains， when all else is stripped away？She is an example of a person raised without culture， without societal constructs， without knowledge。 She is a pure experiment asking: what does a person become when stripped to the core， raised in isolation？ What might a woman be like under these conditions？Death is sometimes so discreet that it steals in noiselessly， stays for only a moment and carries off its prey， and I didn’t notice the change。kisses， jilted lovers， men they were in love with but who didn’t love them。 In that wilderness where there were no men to marry， they debated whether it was better to be unfaithful or to leave， and then they burst out laughing。‘Men always have matches。’‘Then they’d be acknowledging my existence。 If you do something that is forbidden， it is the action that is the target。 If you do something that isn’t forbidden， and they intervene， then it’s not the activity that’s attracting attention， it’s you yourself。’‘Being beautiful， was that for the men？’I was almost sure it was， but I sometimes heard the women say otherwise。‘Yes。 Some women say that it is for ourselves。 What on earth can we do with it？ I could have loved myself whether I was hunchbacked or lame， but to be loved by others， you had to be beautiful。’ 。。。more
Hope Kirby
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im finding it hard to articulate all my thoughts about this book。 i will be thinking about it for a long time - the writing was so fluid and mesmerizing， i didn’t want to put it down
Laura
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（2。5） - interesting read， although kinda annoying。 The book is intriguing but hard to get into。 The writing style is completely different than anything I’ve ever read。 I feel like there was a lot of filler but that was just the type of narrative that the book have。
Francesca Coppola
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I will be reeling from this book for days
Red-Elisabeth Craze
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Anthea ❤
Things I have read
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Bleak and absurd。 This is a very philosophical novel and I'm not sure I am in the right frame of industry to appreciate it fully。 Bleak and absurd。 This is a very philosophical novel and I'm not sure I am in the right frame of industry to appreciate it fully。 。。。more
Fjolla
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4/5Didn’t expect to enjoy it as much as I did。 The first half was a little rough to get through but it payed of by the end。
P
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