I Who Have Never Known Men - Jacqueline Harpman

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. (link)

Review: 4/5

“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.”

This book was a beautiful commentary on why women have the empathetic skills they do, and why we need community in each other to survive and love ourselves into living fully; even when the situation might be dire. You might think that’s dramatic, but I think this book was a beautiful tale of overcoming within your community of women; thriving and creating a home and safe space while it might feel impossible. The need to support your community might be stronger than the want to pick yourself up.

As always, I didn’t know what the premise of the book was; I knew there were 40 women (of different ages, backgrounds, ethnicities, etc) trapped in a bunker without privacy and sunlight, watched by male guards. The male guards enforced rules for the women such as no touching, no hiding, no privacy. By the premise, you think this might be a revolutionary tale of women overcoming the forces put on them by men, as I did; but it’s something wholly different. It’s feminist in a radical way of self-acceptance and seeking community; seeking “normalness” in other women and learning that we are the same and here for each other where society has always pit us against each other.

The second half of this book is the twist; a random ability to escape the bunker shows itself to the women in the bunker, and there is a sense of urgency for a return to normalcy. However, as the women travel and find other bunkers of the same intentions (yet different outcomes), they realize there is no more “normal” as they perceived before the bunker. The common question is a theme of purpose. My theories include: were the bunkers caused by an experiment? Where did “normalcy” run to as the women travel thousands of miles only to find other bunkers and non-traditional communities? Were the bunkers sanctioned/created by the government, and was this legal? Were there any traditional communities near the bunkers? Were the bunkers set on an “inhospitable” piece of land so there were no other communities? What was the significance of having so few bunkers that housed men compared to women?

The details that Harpman intentionally excludes like setting, community, clothing, etc. create a timeless theme of finding belonging and purpose; humans have always wondered what we’re doing, do we have it right, is there something we’re missing, do we push more. This is just one of those books where you’re constantly thinking “what if that was me?” How would I react? What would I be thinking? What would I do?

As heartbreaking as it is to read and imagine, our Narrator being left to herself after everyone else dies is a beautiful metaphor for the common question of “who are we when we’re alone?” As the woman who is designated to put everyone else out of their misery, she realizes she has fulfilled her purpose in her bizarre life story; she was unsympathetic because she was never taught feelings; she was striving to find other survivors when she had community all along; she realized she had loved and lost, she was a woman in her own way. WOW… wow.

This is a short novel, only 208 pages, and it packs a punch. It’s dystopian in the same way Hunger Games and Animal Farm are; they cause a sense of stirring and self-questioning that are integral to human development and growth.

This book is so independent and individual, that I’m having a hard time creating a playlist for it. And in that case, I want the playlist not to distract from the book and what lessons we should be learning as we read it. That means this playlist is all classical music so you can fully absorb the meaning and intention. Please like it as much as I did.

Spotify: LINK