Scan barcode
A review by savvylit
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I Who Have Never Known Men is a character-driven dystopian novel full of ambiguity. Readers are allowed just as much knowledge of the women's circumstances as they themselves have access to. The narrator is a teenager, the youngest of the entire group. Unable to remember her life before the bunker, the narrator is frustrated with the other women's desire for pre-imprisonment comforts.
I can't summarize much more about this novel without giving away portions of the plot. What I will say is that Harpman's unnamed narrator and her associates are all incredibly true to life. I was fully engrossed by their lives - despite the ambiguity and mystery surrounding their circumstances. I Who Have Never Known Men is a truly fantastic addition to the dystopian canon and I will be thinking about it for a very long time!
I can't summarize much more about this novel without giving away portions of the plot. What I will say is that Harpman's unnamed narrator and her associates are all incredibly true to life. I was fully engrossed by their lives - despite the ambiguity and mystery surrounding their circumstances. I Who Have Never Known Men is a truly fantastic addition to the dystopian canon and I will be thinking about it for a very long time!
Graphic: Cancer, Confinement, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail