I Who Have Never Known Men
I've been in a bit of a reading rut lately, and what usually helps me get out of it is listening to a good fiction audiobook. Through a book club I joined here in Abu Dhabi, I came across the book I'm sharing today - I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman.
This book had such an impact on me I haven't stopped thinking about it and needed to share!
📒 Spoiler-free summary
The premise of the book is that 40 women are being imprisoned in an underground bunker. They are kept alive and in good health, but are told nothing about why they are there. The only other people they ever see are guards who never speak to them (or each other), and only provide food, medicine, and the threat of a whip if they violate rules such as not touching each other.
They don't know exactly how long they've been there, but it has been at least a decade. They only know this because 1 of the 39 women was a child when they were all brought to the bunker, and they have seen her grow up into a teenager.
This "child", who she is called through the entire book because no one knows her name, is the protagonist of the story. As the only one of the women who has never known life outside the bunker, her perspective is unique, and we follow her journey.
As I don't want to spoil anything, I won't go into any more of the plot points. One thing I will say though is that, despite the setup, this isn't a "murder mystery" book. In fact it is more of a philosophical one, where the journey of this protagonist who has "never known men" raises questions about the fundamentals of life and humanity.
Why I give it ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
This is one of the rare books I've read which actually had an emotional impact on me. Each reading session lingered and it was almost impossible to completely detach from the story and not think about the questions it raised. Even now that I have finished it, I honestly haven't stopped thinking about it, which is why I felt the need to write this review!
The writing is also incredibly beautiful and poignant. It actually made me start to re-read the book in a hard copy form, just so I can really sit with the words again. Funnily, the story was originally written in French, but the translator, Ros Schwartz, did such an amazing job you would never be able to tell.
💭 A favourite quote
As I don't want to give away much regarding the plot of the story, I'll share just one quote which I think demonstrates the sort of philosophical questions the book raises.
All I know about time is that the days follow on from one another, I feel tired and I sleep, I feel hungry and I eat. Of course, I count. Every thirty days, I say to myself that a month has gone by, but those are mere words, they don't really give me time.
[…]
The alternation of day and night is merely a physical phenomenon, time is a question of being human and, frankly, how could I consider myself a human being, I who have only known thirty-nine people and all of them women? I think that time must have something to do with the duration of pregnancies, the growth of children, all those things I haven't experienced. If someone spoke to me, there would be time, the beginning and end of what they said to me, the moment when I answered, their response. The briefest conversation creates time.
The full section of this part of the book is one I've read and re-read several times as it really makes me think about how time in itself isn't valuable, but it is the experiences that happen over time that matter.
There is so much more in this book that I'm dying to talk to more people about, so if you have read it let me know your thoughts!