I Who Have Never Known Men Review: An Ode to Curiosity and Hope
Book cover image from BookShop
I Who Have Never Known Men, by Jacqueline Harpman offers an ode to curiosity, hope, and unmet expectations. The novel follows a young, unnamed narrator who is being held captive with 39 other women. When their captors unexpectedly go missing, the women escape into a vast, barren outside world with no knowledge as to who, what, or why they were held.
I often look for short, fast paced books to fill my time and provide an easy finish for my annual reading goals, and I picked up this book after hearing the recommendation on a podcast I listen to frequently. I wouldn’t say I Who Have Never Known Men is a fast-paced book, but its steady momentum kept me entertained.
Both my own curiosity and the main character’s kept me turning the pages of this short novel. The main character, who the other women call “the child”, was raised in captivity. Her questions about her relationships with the others, the reason for the cage, and her own bodily functions made me nostalgic and sometimes sad.
However, the opened cage brought a new hope and the expectation of answers that made me cheer.
Building Relationships and Other Mundane Tasks
I Who Have Never Known Men is a true ode to what it feels like to be “othered”. The narrator constantly questions her place among the women around her which made me lonely alongside her. Yet at the same time, she judged the women, leading to an unreliable feel at first as I couldn’t get a sense of who her character was or where her arc was going.
While this might cause a disconnection for some readers, it made me curious and hopeful that our narrator would find her place eventually. And when the narrator became curious about one of the guards, I started to understand her. I identified with the innocence of a crush, even when the circumstances of captivity weren’t in her favor.
After that, I began to fall in love with her smarts, her wittiness, and most of all her rebellious spirit, and her feelings became mine. She empowered me as she formed thoughts and questions, and when she felt anger or empathy toward the other women, I found myself echoing her.
Harpam’s narration made me feel as one with the narrator. As “the child” explored the world around her, and made decisions for herself and the group, I found a new appreciation for the mundane. Each event and decision was a new experience, so that even everyday life brought a freshness of perspective.
Would You Enjoy I Who Have Never Known Men?
As soon as I’d finished this book, I began recommending it to the women closest to me: my mom, sister, aunt, and cousin. It’s a beautiful examination of life, curiosity, relationships, hope, and growth, as the narrator learns to deal with unmet expectations.
If you like psychological or philosophical reads that incorporate slow-but-sure plot movement within a character’s thought process, I Who Have Never Known Men will be perfect for you.
This was my first time reading a book of this more introverted style, and I’m surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I encourage you to mix up your “to be read” shelf a bit, and consider adding this book.
If this review has excited your imagination, why not delve further? Here’s a few more reviews and resources from the MockingOwl Roost!
- The Life Impossible – Environmentalist Fantasy Review
- Iphigenia Murphy – Coming-of-Age Novel Review
- Violeta – Gothic Literature Review
- Invisible Kitties – Magical Review
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Nathalia Harris
Nathalia Harris (she/her) is a writer from the northwest suburbs of Chicago. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from Stephens College in 2022. Nathalia’s published works include “Through Xibalba”, a short story in The Acentos Review, 2019, and 5 feature articles in Stephens Life Magazine between The Harlequin Issue, 2021, and The Dreamer Issue, 2022. Nathalia loves reading fantasy, romance, and science fiction. She’s excited to share what she has to say about her favorite works. When she isn’t reading, she’s playing video games like Baldur’s Gate 3, Minecraft, and Fortnite, and walking her dog, Perseus.
