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I Who Have Never Known Men

***THE RUNAWAY BESTSELLER***

"Each revelation is a small miracle."--The New York Times

Deep underground, thirty-nine 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.

Jacqueline Harpman was born in Etterbeek, Belgium, in 1929, and fled to Casablanca with her family during WWII. Informed by her background as a psychoanalyst and her youth in exile, I Who Have Never Known Men is a haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic novel of female friendship and intimacy, and the lengths people will go to maintain their humanity in the face of devastation. Back in print for the first time since 1997, Harpman's modern classic is an essential addition to the growing canon of feminist speculative literature.

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Published May 10, 2022

208 pages

Average rating: 7.49

1,385 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *I Who Have Never Known Men* is a haunting, beautifully written novel with a stark, dreamlike atmosphere that deeply explores identity, hu...

sweetlemoneade
May 18, 2025
9/10 stars
Amazing. Everyone should read this book, it is so profound and incredible. You’ll feel every emotion reading this book. Wonderful. Wonderful. Wonderful.
Elle11
Oct 26, 2025
9/10 stars
Really stuck with me, great piece of feminist science fiction
DRamz
Oct 24, 2025
8/10 stars
I Who Have Never Known Men is a thought-provoking and quietly haunting novel that stayed with me lafter I finished it. Though short and quick to read, it leaves a deep impression through its stark, unique story and unsettling vision of isolation and survival. The book’s simplicity is part of its power. With an almost dreamlike atmosphere, it raises big questions about humanity, freedom, and what it means to live without a past or future. It’s unlike anything I’ve read before, both unsettling and strangely beautiful. This is a novel that lingers in the mind, encouraging reflection long after the final page. If you’re looking for something original and affecting, this is well worth your time.
Jessi
Oct 08, 2025
10/10 stars
Eerie and dystopian and bleak. 10/10
j81rose
Sep 17, 2025
9/10 stars
I went into this book fairly blind, and I am so glad that I did. I’ve heard a lot of great things about it, but never really paid attention to what the story was about. When I saw a hardback edition while at an event recently, I snagged it, it's beautiful! Reader be warned, there are no chapters, the story just goes on and on... as it should. This story played out like a movie. The MC, whose name will never be known, grows before your eyes from a young teen to her mid-40's experiencing so much, but also so little. Some scenes were explained so perfectly, many like a carefully planned images that will stick with me for a long time. I have so many unanswered questions, but so did every character in the book. This is an absolute must read... so different from anything I've ever read. So deep, so touching, so gut-wrenching, but beautiful. I definitely recommend!

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