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I Who Have Never Known Men: The heart-breaking post-apocalyptic TikTok sensation Kindle Edition
by Jacqueline Harpman (Author), & 2 more Format: Kindle Edition
4.0 4.0 out of 5 stars (14,258)
Discover the haunting, heart-breaking post-apocalyptic tale of female friendship and intimacy set in a deserted world.
Deep underground, thirty-nine women are kept in isolation in a cage. Above ground, a world awaits. Has it been abandoned? Devastated by a virus?
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. But, as the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl - the fortieth prisoner - sits alone an 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. The woman who will never know men.
Discover the reader obsession.
WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY SOPHIE MACKINTOSH, BOOKER PRIZE-LONGLISTED AUTHOR OF THE WATER CURE
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Genre
Psychological literary fiction
Print length
198 pages
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I was forced to acknowledge too late, much too late, that I too had loved, that I was capable of suffering and that I was human after all.
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Is there a satisfaction in the effort of remembering that provides its own nourishment, and is what one recollects less important than the act of remembering?
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Perhaps, somewhere, humanity is flourishing under the stars, unaware that a daughter of its blood is ending her days in silence.
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About the Author
Jacqueline Harpman was born in Etterbeek, Belgium in 1929. Being half Jewish, the family fled to Casablanca when the Nazis invaded, and only returned home after the war. After studying French literature she started training to be a doctor, but could not complete her training due to contracting tuberculosis. She turned to writing in 1954 and her first work was published in 1958. In 1980 she qualified as a psychoanalyst. Harpman wrote over 15 novels and won numerous literary prizes, including the Prix Medicis for Orlanda. I Who Have Never Known Men was her first novel to be translated into English, and was originally published with the title The Mistress of Silence
Product details
ASIN : B07L6XBVSQ
Publisher : Vintage Digital
Accessibility : Learn more
Publication date : 2 May 2019
Language : English
==
From Australia
Josaint
4.0 out of 5 stars Haunting Story
Reviewed in Australia on 16 May 2025
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
Liked this book, unusual and yet simple. Will keep me thinking for a while. Like to read more from this author.
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Zoe
5.0 out of 5 stars I am still crying 48 hours later
Reviewed in Australia on 20 September 2024
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
I am truely in love with this book. Despite its stark and often traumatic themes, I find myself experiencing a form of Stockholm syndrome in my attachment to it.
This book defies the conventions of a typical dystopian novel. It has left a lasting impression on me, offering a nuanced perspective on womanhood and humanity. The protagonist, a child whose fundamental experiences have been stripped away, grapples with the existential questions we all ponder: “Why are we here? What does this all mean?” Remarkably, even within a society so alien to our own, she discovers love, hope, desire, and the quest for knowledge.
Without revealing too much, I can say that the conclusion elevates this work to the status of a true masterpiece, and it has rapidly become one of my favorite reads.
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TeeTee
3.0 out of 5 stars Meh
Reviewed in Australia on 9 July 2025
Format: PaperbackVerified Purchase
I read this book cos everyone had such amazing reviews saying it was a must read. So profound. So shocking and amazing. I personally just found it kinda boring at times. Waiting for something to happen. But maybe I just missed the point of the book. Who knows. It was ok. I read it all.
Would I read it again? No. Would I recommend it to anyone? No. But that just means the book didn't jel with me. I'm one person and I didn't enjoy it many others did.
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Tamara
4.0 out of 5 stars Profound
Reviewed in Australia on 22 June 2025
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Maybe 3.5 stars - maybe 6?
I Who Have Never Known Men is one of the strangest reading experiences I’ve had in a long time, maybe ever. At times I felt completely captivated; at others, completely adrift. It’s either quietly profound or maddeningly pointless and somehow, maybe both at once.
The copy I read had no chapters, no paragraph breaks, no clear structure. I’m not sure if that was a quirk of the edition or a reflection of how it was originally published, but it only added to the sense of relentless monotony and emotional detachment that runs through the novel. We’re so accustomed in our reading (and our lives) to eventually get answers, but Harpman commits fully to the fact that the main character never receives them. And if she never understands what’s happening or why, how can we as the reader?
A word of warning: if you’re looking for a satisfying ending, I’m not sure this is the read for you. There are no real resolutions here. No great reveals. No sense of justice or closure. The story simply ends and perhaps that, in itself, is the point. The absence of answers becomes part of its strange power.
It’s unsettling. It’s unsatisfying. And yet, somehow, I feel both unfulfilled and more knowing for having read it. It sits in your mind afterwards, quietly asking you to think about existence, meaning, survival, and the pointlessness of searching for sense in a senseless world.
I still don’t know exactly how I feel about it. But I won’t forget it.
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kathryn p
5.0 out of 5 stars 40 women in a bunker
Reviewed in Australia on 5 March 2026
Format: HardcoverVerified Purchase
Female written, transcribed from french sci-fi.
Beautiful.
So many questions.
Quick read that I made last 3 days.
Book is a beautiful hardcover. Perfect to stay in your collection for life and to pick up and read over and over.
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Rebecca
4.0 out of 5 stars DON’T READ INTRO
Reviewed in Australia on 28 September 2024
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DON’T READ THE INTRO!!
I’m so glad I read a couple of Amazon reviews, advising not to read the intro. It’s full of spoilers!
Go on the journey WITH the character, discover as she discovers! The beauty is not being one a step of her. I’m grateful I experienced the element of surprise.
I don’t know why this intro (summary of entire book and all its spoilers) is even included.
6 people found this helpful
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michelethebookdragon
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!
Reviewed in Australia on 22 February 2026
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
I almost don't know what to say about this book. It is sad, but full of hope. It is tragic. It is amazing. Just read it
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Jessica Wood
3.0 out of 5 stars Misprint, but good book
Reviewed in Australia on 13 November 2024
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
This book was great, but I think this copy was a misprint? It was missing 33 pages in the middle (replaced with other pages)
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Deborah thorne
2.0 out of 5 stars Important to know when buying a book
Reviewed in Australia on 12 March 2026
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I wasn’t impressed with the condition of the book when it arrived. There were water marks on the back cover and some of the pages. It didn’t rain during delivery and the outer packaging was completely dry, which makes it seem like the book may have been wet and dried out before it was sent. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the condition I expected, since I paid full price.
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Claire
5.0 out of 5 stars Loved!
Reviewed in Australia on 13 April 2025
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Adored this book. I thought it was written beautifully. I enjoyed its deep introspection on such basic thoughts but in the world the author has created with this character it feels like so much more. I, who have never known anything, navigating an apparent absurdity with women plagued by memories of the past. 5 stars! 🌟
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Ariun Star
5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favourite books
Reviewed in Australia on 11 September 2025
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One of my favourite books
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Paige u
5.0 out of 5 stars Adore this book
Reviewed in Australia on 25 August 2025
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One of my favourite books
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Cai
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book
Reviewed in Australia on 12 June 2024
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Honestly, one of the best books I've read. It really encompasses what makes us human and what's left of humanity once what we've attached to it is stripped away all within the main characters narrative arc and how she interacts with her world. It was a really easy and quick read.
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Paul Watkins
5.0 out of 5 stars I've never read anything like it
Reviewed in Australia on 8 May 2024
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
An incredible imagination from the author, imagining how someone sees the world from a position of no knowledge and no reference points. Another reveiwer made the comment not to read the introduction before the main body of the book. I agree! The intro gives too much away, so read it last.
A great read with a unique plot.
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Kindle Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful and heartbreaking
Reviewed in Australia on 11 November 2024
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Beautifully written, heartbreaking story.
Highly recommended this book.
A quick read that was the perfect length and didn't feel dragged out or too short.
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Rita Hudson
5.0 out of 5 stars .
Reviewed in Australia on 30 March 2024
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I still think of this book often. It stays with you. I think because there are so many things left unsaid but that’s what makes it so wonderful.
3 people found this helpful
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lari
5.0 out of 5 stars great book
Reviewed in Australia on 5 January 2024
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Was an incredible read. Don’t read the introduction until after as it spoils the book
3 people found this helpful
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Suhaila
1.0 out of 5 stars Rating NOT based on the book, but misprinting
Reviewed in Australia on 27 October 2024
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The book i received was missing 33 pages. :( I believe it’s a 2019 printing.
I Who Never Knew Men is a great book. I am still clueless on what happened within those 33 pages though..
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Caz the bookworm /Caroline O'Sullivan
4.0 out of 5 stars Haunting read
Reviewed in Australia on 27 November 2025
Format: Kindle
Goodness, what a read!
I have never read anything that will ever come close to this and i’m so glad that I read it.
This book was told from the point of view of a female, one we only ever heard her being called child. She woke up in a Bunker with 39 other females with zero clues as to where they were or how they got there. These ladies are locked up in a cage and held in complete captivity but are atleast fed and kept clean.
I honestly can’t tell you more about the storyline as it will ruin this book for you and honestly I think it’s one you need to read at least once on your lifetime.
Throughout the storyline we saw the ladies filled with hope but also hopelessness. They were resilient, they were caring, they were lonely, they were supportive, but mostly they were strong.
A workmate described this one as a silent horror and gosh was he right.
The book spanned 5 decades and what a lot this group of ladies achieved in those years. It truly taught me though to always be careful what you wish for.
A true dystopian work of art.
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Jaxvan
5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully written
Reviewed in Australia on 23 November 2025
Format: Kindle
WOW. What an absolutely stunning novel. I loved it.
I was drawn in immediately, I just couldn't put it down.
I Who Have Never Known Men was a beautifully written story. It was deeply emotional, raw and atmospheric. I found it a hopeful read, but also a sad and moving read.
I loved the narrating character, who is unnamed in the book. She was smart, strong, curious and charismatic.
The storyline was clever, unique, tense and compelling.
Jacqueline Harpman was an exceptionally talented author, and I'm really hoping I can get my hands on more of her books.
I very highly recommend. This is a novel I'm going to remember for a long time to come.
5 stars from me. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
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Em
5.0 out of 5 stars This will stay with me for a very long time!
Reviewed in Australia on 7 November 2025
Format: Kindle
A haunting, deeply impactful and cleverly crafted post-apocalyptic story.
'Deep underground, thirty-nine women are kept in isolation in a cage. Above ground, a world awaits. Has it been abandoned? Devastated by a virus? 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. But, 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.'
The narrator of this story offers a unique insight and an unusual neutrality into the incredibly unfortunate circumstance they face, including the captivity and cruelty. She has no memories and been raised outside of societal constructs.
‘For a very long time, the days went by, each just like the day before, then I began to think, and everything changed’
This story is very skillfully written and will stay with me for a long time. I will definitely be re-reading this short, introspective, disquieting story.
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BM
5.0 out of 5 stars Favourite of 2024.
Reviewed in Australia on 19 May 2025
Format: Kindle
My favourite book of 2024. I was mesmerised by the audiobook
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From other countries
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars A Dystopian Classic
Reviewed in South Africa on 30 March 2026
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A quick dystopian read. The book is shorter than I thought it would be, but no less impressive.
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katherine gillis
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in Canada on 23 February 2026
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Fabulous book.
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Charlene
5.0 out of 5 stars I Who have never known men
Reviewed in Belgium on 6 January 2025
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I read the book in 2 days, I needed to know how it ends...
The book makes you question your existence and how we are shaped by what we have lived
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Mark Celik-Alvis
4.0 out of 5 stars Haunting
Reviewed in Singapore on 17 February 2025
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The book arrived on time and perfect condition.
This book although short packs a punch. It’s a bleak dystopian story, that has stayed with me.
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Tshering Denkar
5.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in Japan on 16 January 2026
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In a very good condition
Can’t wait read it next
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Clara
5.0 out of 5 stars Una maravilla
Reviewed in Spain on 13 April 2025
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ME HA ENCANTADO.
I Who Have Never Known Men es una novela post-apocalíptica que deja una profunda impresión. La trama es sombría y reflexiva, abordando temas como la soledad, la supervivencia y la humanidad en un mundo devastado. La autora crea una atmósfera tensa y absorbente que mantiene al lector enganchado, pero también invita a una reflexión profunda sobre la condición humana.
La narración es emocionalmente intensa y, a pesar de que la trama puede sentirse algo desconcertante o inquietante en algunos momentos, logra transmitir la angustia y el vacío de la protagonista de manera muy eficaz. El final es abierto y ambiguo, lo que puede resultar satisfactorio o frustrante, dependiendo de las expectativas del lector.
Es una novela recomendable para quienes buscan una lectura profunda y reflexiva, aunque no es para todos debido a su tono sombrío y su enfoque en los aspectos más oscuros de la supervivencia.
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Dani Reis 📚✨
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most intense reading experiences I’ve ever had
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 25 September 2025
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
I Who Have Never Known Men – Jacqueline Harpman
⭐ 5/5
🌶️ None
This is the kind of book that you finish in one sitting and then spend days just feeling. Jacqueline Harpman’s I Who Have Never Known Men is not a story full of action or shocking plot twists, but rather a quiet, haunting exploration of existence, memory, and what it means to be human.
The novel follows an unnamed girl who has lived her entire life in a cell underground, imprisoned with 39 other women under the watch of silent guards. She knows nothing of the outside world, of emotions, of relationships, of love or grief. For her, existence has always been a bare, stripped-down survival: food rationed, privacy denied, knowledge withheld.
One day, circumstances change, and the women escape. What follows is not just a journey through a desolate and strange world, but also a journey of discovery. For the first time, the girl learns about life, emotions, relationships, and the vast emptiness of existence. Watching her process feelings she never had words for is both heartbreaking and deeply moving.
This book is not about answers — it is about questions. Questions of identity, memory, femininity, the body, the meaning of life when no one remembers you existed. If no one carries your memory, did you ever truly exist? It forces you to confront the fragility of human life and the ways in which emotional and mental strength (or the lack of it) shape us.
It’s a short book, yet it carries immense weight. It’s unsettling, emotional, and philosophical, a reflection on the female experience and human existence itself. I believe this novel resonates especially with women, but it’s a journey I would recommend to anyone.
A deeply intense, unforgettable read.
Highly recommended.
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Julia
5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic read
Reviewed in Italy on 11 January 2026
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
I finished I Who Have Never Known Men and just sat there for a while.
The story is strange and stripped down from the very beginning. A woman grows up imprisoned with other women, with no understanding of the world outside and no memory of how they got there. There is no dramatic backstory dump or neat answers, and I kept waiting for explanations that never came. Instead of feeling frustrated, that uncertainty became the point. The lack of answers mirrors the narrator’s life, and you start to feel that same sense of disorientation and loneliness alongside her.
The narrator is intelligent and thoughtful, but shaped by isolation in ways that feel deeply unsettling and believable. Her distance from relationships, from desire, and from the idea of men altogether is presented so matter-of-factly that it becomes haunting rather.
It made me think about freedom, connection, and what remains of a person when everything familiar is taken away.
Quiet, eerie, and unforgettable. A true five-star read.
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Am. Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Captivating!
Reviewed in Germany on 17 April 2026
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Couldn’t put it down and read it in one go! What a captivating story!
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Anette Mo
5.0 out of 5 stars De mis libros favoritos
Reviewed in Mexico on 29 April 2026
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
Uno de los mejores libros que he leido. Una distraía muy buena y feminista.
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Bex
5.0 out of 5 stars Great!!
Reviewed in the United States on 5 April 2026
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Fantastic book! Arrived in great condition not bent or anything! This is a must read if you’re looking for something you can read in a single sitting.
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Ms.Al Ktebi
5.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in the United Arab Emirates on 22 March 2026
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Good
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Prerna Munshi
5.0 out of 5 stars Not read something like this before!
Reviewed in India on 20 November 2024
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
One of the reviews reads "I am unwell" and that succinctly encases the feeling I got while reading the book and yet I cannot recommend it enough.
Set in a dystopian world, the narrator, a nameless person who, ever since the first memory of her existence, has been living in a jail with 39 more women. No one knows what brought these women to their fate. They have been caged for many years so much so that their sense of time and space has exhausted. The same is conveyed to the reader too. We don’t know what fate has befallen them. We see the world through the narrator who is herself struggling to make sense of the world around her. There’s a routine of the jail where they are fed to sustain, a bulb that never goes out and an open toilet in the middle of the space where the inmates are expected to do their business in front of everyone including the guards that are always on vigil. In this monotony, the narrator, with the help of the women around, learns to count her heart beats and develops a vague sense of time, her own little clock. She closely observes her surroundings, listens to the other women who talk about their lives which existed in some distant memory, a pre-jail life the memories of which are now vague and inconspicuous. Our narrator is different from these women for she is bereft of memory, of everything that constitutes a human experience and is a keen learner since all her conceivable memories are of the jail.
Then, on one strange day, they find the guards to have deserted the place and in one stroke of luck, the inmates even find the jail left unlocked. They immediately run out and discover themselves to have been kept in this underground bunker. The narrator is extremely energetic and does not wish to waste a moment to explore this unseen world. Then begins a long arduous journey for all of these women before which they gather enough provisions and the essentials from the abandoned bunker.
The world they have now set foot in does not share even the remotest resemblance of the world they last inhabited i.e. before their imprisonment. They often doubt if it was a different planet. They keep walking and the group loses its members one by one to death and to disease. The nameless narrator who is referred to as “Child” by the other women still has her inquisitiveness intact and as she matures, it gets more confirmed as to how she is different from the rest of the women. Often she questions herself if she is a human since the intrinsic experiences that make a human haven’t happened to her. Her existence began from a jail in the bunker. She knows nothing of the world but every moment surprises her. She learns from the inner world of these other women, their past experiences and their imaginations. Anthea, a woman she has formed a strong friendship with, teaches her the basics of reading and other skills. In their journey to no specific destination, these women come across several more bunkers where the inmates were not as fortunate and were lying dead in them. Mostly in batches of 40. Death runs like an intrinsic character. The world outside seems to be no more different than that inside the jail.
Years go by. Time is still a concept. The narrator still bides by her own heart clock and there comes a day, when she is the last to survive in the group. She keeps walking, collecting food items from the bunkers that are somehow still operational but eerily abandoned. Through her own sense of time, the narrator even deduces her current age. She is fortyish now. She discovers a bunker, a rather luxurious one, with amenities and books. The narrator also comes across a mirror for the first time in her life and this is when she distinctly takes a look at her. She reads the books, does not understand much but she continues to, learns to write and has developed a painful disease which she believes will kill her. As she awaits her death and someone to discover this bunker, she writes her story.
I have not read anything like this before. It wields an inexplicable power. The way the author has sketched this world is distressing and stupefying in the same measure.
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Tom A.
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!
Reviewed in Sweden on 19 September 2025
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It really felt like a gamble when I bought this one, but I'm happy that I did. A very engaging and mysterious story that awakens many existential thoughts and wonderings.
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Jamilah
5.0 out of 5 stars Woah
Reviewed in Saudi Arabia on 16 July 2024
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I don't have the right words to describe this book. All I can say is that it is an eye-opening book. It made me think more about the simplest random things that I go through on a daily basis. It also emphasized the importance of human connections indirectly. The narrator (the child) lacked an understanding of living as a human being with experiences, she felt excluded, and felt lonely despite being with other humans in the same situation and in same bunker, which made me think that our experiences are the thing that makes us feel connected, beside our ability to touch each other when needed (physical support) which I don't feel comfortable with exactly as "the child"
The strange thing about this book is that the narrator made me believe that something extraordinary would happen at the end, so I continued reading but nothing happened, regardless of the ending, every little detail in the story was perfect. Highly recommend giving it a read
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Only now, I tell myself that what I'd felt for her, the trust that slowly built up, the constant preference for her company and the joy each time I was reunited with her after an expedition were probably what the women called love. Now, I had nobody left to love.
I knew nothing about him, but I knew nothing about myself, except that, one day, I too would die and that, like him, I would prop myself up and remain upright, looking straight ahead until the last, and, when death triumphed over my gaze, I would be like a proud monument raised with hatred in the face of silence.
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. Perhaps you never have time when you are alone? You only acquire it by watching it go by in others.
I have spent my whole life doing I don't know what, but it hasn't made me happy. I have a few drops of blood left, that is the only libation I can offer destiny, which has chosen me.
I was in the habit of considering every angle of a question, and I'd never had any form of entertainment other than thinking.
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bahar altındağ
5.0 out of 5 stars Incredibly fast shipping
Reviewed in Turkey on 7 November 2025
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First of all Amazon thanks the shipments are coming very fast the book is also progressing very smoothly
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Charline soudant
5.0 out of 5 stars To be read!
Reviewed in France on 17 August 2025
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Great! I would recommend this book to anyone! On the other hand, a big failure for VO. Let me explain myself. It is very well written but I saw it everywhere on English literary channels and was convinced that the original version was English. What was my surprise when I started to leaf through it and read “translated from French by” 🤣 in short, great book of Belgian origin (wrongly described as feminist, in my opinion)
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Manesh Kumar
5.0 out of 5 stars Good Quality
Reviewed in the Netherlands on 9 December 2024
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Good one
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Ana Rubio
2.0 out of 5 stars Interesante premisa
Reviewed in Mexico on 8 May 2025
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
bien escrito, premisa interesante pero no podría llamarle una lectura disfrutable. No termina de caer en la reflexión ni en el ejercicio pleno de la premisa.
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S Payne
4.0 out of 5 stars Strange little dystopian novel
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 October 2023
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
I’m not sure how or when I first came across this book but I rediscovered it again on my Kindle whilst on holiday so I started it.
This is a small dystopian novel narrated by a young anonymous woman, who can only ever remember being locked in a cage in a bunker with thirty-nine other women. Her narrative is deeply introspective, despite her complete and utter inexperience. And regardless of her intense capacity for emotion, she is convinced she is not entirely human. We follow her through different events and learn how she will cope with the path that her life is taking.
What a strange and gripping little read this was. We got no answers, we only got more questions. This would normally frustrate me but it didn’t here although I’m not sure why this was the case. The story is interesting and the writing is excellent. I never got bored of our main character and being in her head, she was fascinating. The story was intense, horrible, sad and heartwarming all at the same time. The strangest coming of age story I think I have ever read.
I read this in one sitting and was surprised when I finished to discover after blinking a few times that I was sitting on a lounger in the sunshine on holiday (desperate for a pee!). This book really took me somewhere else for a few hours and I was thinking about it for quite a while afterwards.
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Kristy Chown
4.0 out of 5 stars It stays with you
Reviewed in Canada on 16 April 2025
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This was such a transformative and unique book for me. It's a darker, grittier read, but a slowly suspensful one, and I read it at a time when I was reading a lot of feminist books. I always find it impressive when books can hold their own years later. It details a group of women trapped in the ground and supervised by men, how they count the time and try to make sense of their lives, most not remembering their pasts... Eventually let out, how do they make sense of the world they were sheltered from? A really important piece of work.
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Allyssa Beachy
4.0 out of 5 stars Takes a lil longer to arrive but GREAT quality!
Reviewed in the United States on 21 January 2026
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I’m in the process of reading it right now but I love the packaging of this book and the texture. I think it’s a good book so far and it’s pretty short too so I can finish in no time! But it does actually take a little longer to get here then a usual package.
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暇人
4.0 out of 5 stars 男たちを知らない女
Reviewed in Japan on 5 May 2026
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ベルギーの女性作家ジャクリーヌ・アルプマン(1929-2012)による1995年作で、1997年にフランス語から英訳されたが、2024年に突如TikTokで話題になった不思議な運命の作品。分野としては『侍女の物語』や『わたしを離さないで』に連なる、女性の語りによる近未来ディストピアSF。これらと似た閉鎖環境から始まるが中盤にストーリーが動き、そこからの感触としては同様に忘れ去られていたマルレーン・ハウスホーファー『壁』に近く、さらに辿ればジェイムズ・ティプトリーJrの諸作も連想させる。186ページと短い静かな物語だが、緊張感のあるじっくりとした一人称の語りは読者を飽きさせず、一気読み必至の佳作である。いやはや変わったものが変わった経緯で発掘されるものだ。そのうち早川epi文庫辺りに邦訳されて一部で話題になりそうな（でもそれほどは売れない）気がする。
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Sabia khan
4.0 out of 5 stars Must Read
Reviewed in India on 1 January 2025
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Have you ever experienced magic in literature???
'I Who Have Never Known Men' feels like pure magic captured in words. It's a sheer masterpiece, though written decades ago, carries a timeless message that reflects the deepest aspects of human life. Every sentence feels like a mirror, making you stop and think about your own existence. The story pulls you into its world through the eyes of a young girl, and you journey alongside her until the very end. When it’s over, it leaves you standing in a vast, open space , "both literally and metaphorically" urging you to make sense of it with your imagination.
This is a tale about existentialism, despair, resilience, dignity, and the thin line between life and death. It’s about what it means to be human when all the structures we rely on society, relationships, even hope are stripped away. The girl’s isolation and quiet strength resonate deeply, revealing truths about endurance and the human spirit. It’s the kind of book that shakes your thoughts, leaving you with a fresh way of looking at life. This isn’t just an incredible story it’s an experience that lingers long after you’ve turned the last page.
The story is narrated by a young girl who remains unnamed. She lives alongside 39 other women, all of whom are middle-aged or elderly, confined and patrolled by guards, ensuring none of the women escape their grim captivity.
Unlike the others, who once led normal lives above ground, the young girl has never experienced the outside world. For her, the bunker is the entirety of existence, her only reality. The older women sometimes talk about their past lives, sharing memories of freedom, sunlight, and the world outside the cold walls of the bunker. But to the young girl, these stories feel like distant, unreal tales more like fairy tales than reality. Her whole understanding of life comes from the bunker, a place of darkness, quiet murmurs, and constant watchfulness.
One day, a deafening siren blares through the bunker, piercing the air just as the cage door is left ajar to allow the delivery of raw food supplies. The sound sends shockwaves across the faces of the guards, who panic and bolt toward the exit, disappearing as though they’ve vanished into thin air.
The young girl and the 39 other women stand frozen, unable to process what’s happening. Slowly, they step out of the cage, only to realize that what seemed like freedom is merely another form of imprisonment. The world outside the cage is harsh and unforgiving, a barren wasteland .
Encounters with countless dead bodies on the way as they move forward desperate and uncertain, they find themselves caught in a relentless struggle for survival, playing a grim game of hide and seek with life and death. One by one, their hope dwindles, and their journey ends in the same despair that began it, until they cease to exist entirely.
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Arianna
5.0 out of 5 stars Must read!
Reviewed in Sweden on 26 April 2025
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A deep story beautifully written, recommended!
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Old is new. Worth the time
Reviewed in Spain on 7 February 2026
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This book is timeless. Written long ago, but as current as can be. Dont expect a tidy ending or answers to questions. It's more a philosophical introspection and consideration of what is life, what is its meaning, what gives it value. And the same questions about womanhood.
It's a quick read, too.
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veebee
4.0 out of 5 stars Wonder and Despair in a World Without Answers
Reviewed in Germany on 29 December 2025
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This is one of those books I had to sit with for a while after finishing it. I had heard so much about it, yet I never could have imagined the direction the story would take. Not only the novel itself, but especially the foreword and the afterword are deeply worth reading—they linger in your mind and invite reflection long after the last page.
I never thought that such a thin, quiet book could carry a sadness that even the most popular tearjerkers could never hope to capture. *I Who Have Never Known Men* exists in a space of its own, untethered from genre, time, or familiar reality. From the beginning, it immerses the reader in a world as alien to us as it is to the unnamed narrator, creating an atmosphere thick with loneliness and awe.
The story opens in an underground bunker, where thirty-nine women and one girl are held captive in a cage. The women remember lives before their imprisonment; the girl remembers nothing else. Guarded and sustained by silent men who offer no answers, their existence feels endless and inescapable — until a fragile opportunity for freedom emerges.
What follows is not a traditional dystopian adventure, but a quiet, meditative exploration of isolation, hope, and the human need for meaning. The novel moves steadily between brief sparks of optimism and long stretches of despair. I often found myself wondering whether it was meant to be read as a metaphor: the search for purpose in a world that refuses to explain itself.
The ambiguity is deliberate, and at times devastating. I was consumed by curiosity about the women’s circumstances, only to realize that this hunger for answers mirrors the very themes of the book. The mystery is never resolved, leaving both narrator and reader suspended in unanswered questions.
The afterword adds important context: first published in 1997 and largely overlooked, the novel resurfaced decades later as readers turned back to dystopian fiction in search of understanding. While it offers no explicit political message, its relevance is unmistakable. It asks uncomfortable questions about survival, solitude, and what remains when everything familiar is gone.
Quiet, bleak, and deeply affecting, *I Who Have Never Known Men* is a novel that embraces its ambiguity rather than fearing it. It is as beautiful as it is devastating — and it deserves far more attention than it has received. So, do yourself a favour and read it.
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GigiG
5.0 out of 5 stars Must-read!
Reviewed in France on 16 February 2025
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Absolutely incredible and impossible to put down. Read it in a day.
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Ashley Raynor
4.0 out of 5 stars Dystopian must read
Reviewed in the Netherlands on 14 January 2025
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4.5 stars
Nothing good happens in this book, but somehow the writer managed to tell the story without it ever feeling depressing. It was beautiful to see how the narrator was trying to survive. The writing is beautiful and even though it's a short book, it did take me a bit longer to finish it. I really wanted to relish every page.
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SAAD
5.0 out of 5 stars منيز
Reviewed in Saudi Arabia on 14 July 2025
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ممتاز
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Luisa Vairo
4.0 out of 5 stars What will become of humanity?
Reviewed in Italy on 5 June 2024
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Wonderfully melancholic book. Recommended reading.
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Kim
5.0 out of 5 stars Powerful, Quick Read
Reviewed in the United Arab Emirates on 26 October 2025
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Such a sharp and haunting read. I found myself highlighting passages over and over. It’s like Lord of the Flies - but with women at the center, exploring what it means to build and sustain life together in a fragile, imperfect kind of harmony.
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DANIELLE BADEBYE
5.0 out of 5 stars Can be read in one sitting.
Reviewed in Germany on 13 February 2026
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Jacqueline Harper fully immerses you into the story and takes you on a journey that stays with you long after you’ve finished the book. 10/10
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Deb
5.0 out of 5 stars What an incredible book
Reviewed in Italy on 2 April 2024
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This has been one of the most beautiful books I have ever read in my entire life. If you're not sure whether u should buy it or not, please do. You won't regret it. Still thinking about all the feelings it gave me during its reading. Oh man... What a marvellous experience.
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Cynthia Baxter
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic for reading group discussions
Reviewed in the United States on 21 May 2012
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I'm not sure how I found out about this book - I think I was reading some article that ran off a list of dystopian tales and compared Harpman's book with Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale (Everyman's Library). And since I loved The Handmaid's Tale and how much it scared me - I thought, HeckYeah! Count me in - [sigh] - I'm not sure how they came about tying these two books together because other than the subject matter of women losing freedoms and identity in a totalitarian-type of society - uh - that's it, really.
So, let's start fresh. I Who Have Never Known Men is the story about a nameless woman referred to as The Child, who was raised from toddler-hood with a group of women (40 in total) who are kept in a cage in an underground bunker. Their environment is totally artificial and completely controlled. The guards (always in threes and are male) never speak but use their whips with startling accuracy. The lights dim for "night" and brighten for "day". The women have no privacy and are not even allowed to touch each other.
We meet the group through the Child's narrative about 12-15 years into their incarceration. The group is made up of women from all walks of life - housewives, nurses, waitresses, grandmothers and at the time they were taken, a toddler who doesn't even know her name. The memories of the women are hazy, they remember their former lives - although it is painful to think of them - but the actual catastrophe (as they call it) seems to involve a lot of fire, drugs and pain. Now they are here with no future, no answers to their questions, nothing. Everything that is essential to us and defines us as human is taken away - or is it? We feel the need to belong, to love and to have hope and meaning. But Harpman plays with this by inserting a character into the middle of them who has no memory of the past life.
She only knows this life so her context is completely different - she's not depressed, not even lost. In fact, she's in control of herself. She takes an interest in the guards and begins to notice patterns, then using her own heartbeat as a measuring tool, begins to note the passage of time - when the lights dim, when the lights brighten, when the food is brought, when the guards change shift. She shares this information with the others and soon the women have something new - a tiny amount of power. A secret.
But then an alarm sounds just as a guard was unlocking the pass-thru hatch and suddenly, the guards are gone - leaving the keys still in the door. Soon the girl has the door to the cage open and the women tentatively take steps to freedom.
But have they? What kind of world do they emerge into - is it in fact, just another type of prison? What kind of future do they have? Are there answers for them outside or just more questions and - does it really matter in the end?
This book is WILD! I cannot think of a more discussable book - Holy cow - if you are in a book group? Watch out, it'll be the longest discussion ever. Can you imagine what the Stoics would say about this? Every incident in this relatively short novel is open for a significant discussion on what makes us...us
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Puloma
5.0 out of 5 stars What a ride
Reviewed in India on 24 December 2025
Format: KindleVerified Purchase
I finished this book in two days. I found it hard to put down - it's so well written. I am not big on science fiction but this one caught me by surprise. It didn't answer much or anything at all really but I couldn't wait to finish
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Val
1.0 out of 5 stars The book was in really bad shape
Reviewed in Mexico on 19 November 2024
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I love the actual book but it got here all battered and it even has pen marks on the back
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Yaxi
4.0 out of 5 stars Gg
Reviewed in Saudi Arabia on 9 September 2025
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Good
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