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

188 pages

Average rating: 7.44

2,092 RATINGS

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What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *I Who Have Never Known Men* is a haunting, philosophical exploration of humanity and isolation through the eyes of a nameless protagonist...

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.
Shantallb
May 28, 2026
10/10 stars
Amazing piece of literature I am in love
foreveryum
May 20, 2026
8/10 stars
This book was about the philosophical examination of what it means to be a human - especially within the depths of despair & gradual loss of hope. Bleak, haunting, and thought-provoking.

The dystopian plot was certainly interesting and left me wanting answers to all the many mysteries. The characters also wanted answers and spent their lives learning to live with the infinite unknown.
KeasnowReady
May 13, 2026
7/10 stars
Different take on a dystopia novel, bleak ending.
Sammy 👽
Mar 22, 2026
1/10 star
The book starts too slow with nothing going on that made me stick around. It was so hyped up and I tried to get into it but I had to finally move on it was just too boring.

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