🪞 I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
Book Review
"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 grabbed my attention right from the start. The concept is gripping and unusual in the best way, and the narrator’s voice really stands out. The story doesn’t stick to a traditional plot or structure, but I expected that.
I loved the mystery, the simplicity, and the slow build-up at first. But then the pace started to feel empty and meaningless (I know that’s the point of the book, the existential feeling of intentionally unanswered questions). It made me feel a strange mix of hopelessness and boredom, but even with its deep ideas, I felt there could have been more room for the characters to grow.
In the end, I get and respect what the book was trying to do, and it affected me in some ways, but it also left me with mixed feelings and a weak sense that something was missing.
