I Who Have Never Known Men

A friend recommended this book based on my love for Margaret Atwood's THE HANDMAID'S TALE....completely engrossing and somehow triumphant, despite the depressing subject matter...definitely worth a try - I recommend it to everyone, knowing that most people don't always hear about small translations like this.

This book affected me in a way no book has in a very long time. Ms. Harpman raises more questions than she answers, but that is the true achievement of this work -- that long after I had finished, it continued to mystify and provoke. The prose is confident, beautiful, compelling and captivating. The protagonist's situation is maddening, absurd, frustrating, and heartbreaking, and you will try right along with her to unravel its impenetrable mysteries. But in the end, the absurd situation is not what's important, but rather one woman's quest for identity and humanity in a world where identity is suppressed and humanity is a riddle. You will experience every moment of the narrative as if you were right there with this woman, unseen and unheard, leaving her in stark aloneness even as you hover beside her. If you are looking for an easy read with a happy ending, this is not for you, but if you are looking for an incredibly rendered narrative that raises questions of identity, freedom, knowledge, love, empathy, and dignity, give this book a chance -- you won't regret it. It's hard to believe one can =enjoy= a book so bleak and without hope, but once it grabs hold of you it doesn't let go until the very last word. A haunting tale, a gripping science fiction novel and an impressive achievement. I can't recommend it highly enough.

This book will stay with you long after you've finished. Desolate, heartbreaking, and very moving. One of the saddest yet most beautiful books I've ever read.

I read I Who Have Never Known Men over a year ago and it still swims around in my head. It is a succinct, quiet, feminist version of Stephen Kings lengthy soap-opera, The Stand. Although set on a dusty, barren planet, I was left with a feeling of lushness and complexity that the most intricate of settings lack. I enjoy books by women authors of Science Fiction and this my favorite find.

I bought this book on a whim, and sat down one night to read it. I found myself unable to put it down. Remarkably there were moments that I had to put the book down to collect myself, and was surprised to find myself where I was, and not locked in a bunker, or trying to make sense out of an unapoligetic and bleak life. To think of life that was marred so early and so deeply is shocking. The empathy I felt for the narrator, although almost foreign, as her experiences and thoughts were also foreign, was tangible. The haunted feeling I had while reading it, and the emotions it creates are intense and unforgettable. I loved this book. It is one that I know will stay with me, and I can only look forward to future english translations from this immensely talented writer. I cannot reccommend it enough!