I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

Sometimes you sit there at the end of a book and you cannot put into words what you think about it or how you feel. Except for the fact that it profoundly touched you. In 50 years, I could read this book and find it as fascinating as I did the first time.

The book in short
Deep underground, forty 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 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.
I got this information here.

My Thoughts
The book is a classic; it is also short, you can read it in a day. Even as a slow reader, I am sure you can read it over a weekend. I’ve recommended it to countless people and even gifted it to my brother this past Christmas.

The book is really good. It’s such an interesting thing to think about as well. What if you had never met a certain type of people, or if you. never lived above the ground, there would be so much that you would not know or understand. Jokes that make no sense or reference points you do not have.

This is one of those books you just think about when it’s done, and as I said, every time you read it, it brings you something else.

The most interesting part for me is how femininity and the essence of being a girl or woman is put upon us by the world and how some of it is inherently within ourselves (of course, therein lie a vast amount of individual differences).

It’s interesting to think about who we would be if none of what we did had to be in any way performative for the other gender. As I said, it’s a book that makes you question a lot, and I liked how we weren’t spoonfed the answers. If you are willing to read, willing to think about a book, then this one should be on your reading list.

Details
Page Count: 208 pages