Book Review; I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

Earlier this month I read the dystopian novella I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman as part of Women in Translation Month and today I'll post my review of the book.

Description from Goodreads

‘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.

My Thoughts on the Book

I Who Have Never Known Men is one of those books that can be a bit unsettling for some. Perhaps that's part of the point really. Also, the book may leave you with more questions than answers after finishing it, as one never really gets a proper answer to why they were imprisoned underground, even if it was vague hints here and there.

The book also have more of a rumination vibe to it than a narrative, but somehow it fits the vibe and the content of the book. I Who Have Never Known Men is an introspective tale about loneliness and what gives life meaning.

Sometimes it's good reading a book without a proper ending, or a happy one for that matter. We don't always need those sweet endings where everything is neatly wrapped up. Those vague open endings that makes us think is something what we need. Not everything needs to be spoonfed to us to be enjoyable. Sometimes we need to sit down and contemplate.