I Who Have Never Known Men

Jacqueline Harpman’s I Who Have Never Known Men speaks to the reader in a quiet way. The book opens with a scene in which a group of women and an unnamed young girl are locked in an underground cell, guarded by silent male guards. The story is told from the girl’s perspective. She has no memory of ever having lived outside the cell. The women have been in the cell for a long time. I was completely absorbed in the book and read its 200+ pages in one sitting. I liked the story’s mystery and gloomy atmosphere. A very powerful story.