Open Book with QuarterJade
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˗ˏˋ OPEN BOOK CLUB ´ˎ˗ : I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
🕑 Added 2025-01-01 04:04:42 +0000 UTC
THE TIME HAS COME
DONT READ AHEAD UNLESS YOU'VE FINISHED THE BOOK!
also, we will be meeting in the Book Club Spoilers community chat January 3rd at 12pm PST to chat about this book live
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ok to get started, im pretty sure i finished this book in a day
like as soon as i really got into it, i couldnt put it down. its only 180 ish pages but i remember my eyes were blurry bc i genuinely only put it down to go bathroom LOL
this book is probably the most thought provoking piece that i've read in a long long time
i closed the booking feeling melancholic but also so oddly hopeful?
i actually didn't mind never finding out what truly happened because i think the whole point of the book is to have you questioning humanity and community and culture and AH ITS SO FACINATING
i loved when our main character discovered that she, too, could have a secret. her mischievous personality towards the other women was so relatable! so was her anger and spite from being lonely! she is experiencing such common human emotions even though she has never experienced what we, and the other 39 women, know as 'normal'.
i also found it really touching that through all of this, they still continued to uphold the tradition of music. like we really do just love music dont we ;-;
also, the desire to go back to normalcy was expressed so well! for example, the making of new homes and the reintroduction of privacy. when our main character stumbled upon her lush bunker, i FELT like it was me that had been traveling for so long and finally came upon something comfortable. but what's funny is that i think i felt that way because i know how nice a plush rug and a warm bed is. whereas our main character understands it's a great find, she doesn't have any emotional ties to this space. but, she also finds such comfort and pleasure in these things. maybe humans will always long for a comfortable place to call home :')
i didn't ever feel super bad for our main character because this world is all she's ever known. but, i felt so lonely when she finally ventured off into the world alone. i remember feeling relief when her bunker was full of books because at least she had the words of others to keep her company * cries *
i mostly felt heartache for all these women that have been held captive and have faint memories of their past. LIKE AHHHHHH the hopelessness, the desire to die by the hands of our main character rather than live out their days in sickness. aliksjdoaiwjhoiasjd :(
overall, i actually really liked this book. i randomly picked it up at barnes & noble and im so glad i did!! it was unlike anything i've ever read before and it has me thinking about it even though i finished quite a bit ago.
what did you all think of this book?
what do you think this book conveyed about isolation and humanity through the imprisonment of these women?
did you care that you never found out about why they were there? (if so, what are your best theories on what is happening outside this strange village?)
and a more philosophical question but what do you think this book says about what it means to be human? do you think it is tied to relationships, identity, or something else?
anything else you took away from the story?
LMK IN THE COMMENTS <3
and i'll see you all Jan 3rd at 12pm PST in the book club community chat!!!
Comments
Khellsie
I went into this book completely blind and was stunned speechless from it. I normally read a lot of high fantasy but after I Who Have Never Know man my reading taste has changed to include a lot of literary fiction because I enjoyed it so much! The author always managed to keep a faint hope despite the bleakness. It made me want to keep reading. I ended up finishing it in one sitting I felt the book was about finding meaning and purpose without the framework of a larger society to guide or influence you. I also think a part of it was about love. She was told stories from the other women about relationships where being in love typically meant a romantic or family type of love. But love is so much more, you can love friends, pets, items, etc. This is me is why it took the narrator so long to understand that she loved Anthea. I think what makes it so good is that we don't get any answers. It makes the book a allegory for life.
Jesscuh
I read this book over a year ago and I’m moving in a week so it’s definitely packed too far away to reference, lol! I remember feeling like I wasn’t allowed to feel comfortable. The main character was just relatable enough until she wasn’t - very uncanny valley. I found that in the moments that she didn’t feel comfortable/relatable to me were when I paid the most attention to what was happening in the book. I also didn’t need to know why or what happened. I think the point of the book is to reflect on what are the most meaningful things to you when all your basic needs (food/shelter/safety) are taken care of. I don’t think I’ve felt heartbreak as strongly in any other book as I have in this one. The two scenes that left me feeling lost were when her mother figure died and when she writes her final journal entry and reflects on the meaning of her life, even if there’s no one left to read about it. I was left feeling hopeless but also strangely thankful for the opportunity to read this story. I then immediately mailed the book to my mother and asked her to read it, lol! The whole book felt like a dream with how nonsensical the imagery was. My mom interprets dreams so I wanted to know her thoughts. I left the book reflecting on the importance of relationships - that the relationship I have with myself and how I find fulfillment is as important as the ones I invest in with others. As cheesy as it might sound, I really rely on my relationships with other women to draw wisdom and empowerment from and have since reflected on how I can also draw those same strengthening feelings from my own experiences - even if there may not always be someone to share them with. Thanks for making me revisit this book! I can’t wait to hear what other people thought!!
