I Who Have Never Known Men

I Who Have Never Known Men
By Jacqueline Harpman
Review by Rosa

For a short wee novel, I Who Have Never Known Men is full of so, so much! It centres around a young unnamed narrator as she grows up alongside thirty-nine women in an isolated underground bunker, unsure of how and why they ended up there. We follow along as she explores what is learned and what is inherent, what being human means when humanity is taken away from you, and what freedom really looks like. Her story is written in a way which is rather frank yet has an unshakeable humanity and spurring determination which propels both character and reader towards searching for meaning and answers in a world which perhaps has neither. Jacqueline Harpman has managed to convey a beautifully brutal balance of life and death, love and loneliness, hope and despair, resulting in a story which is incredibly compelling and thought-provoking. It made me contemplate my existence long after reading and I wish I could pick it up and read it again for the first time.