Reviews with content warning for Grief - I Who Have Never Known Men

Intriguing story that gave me darker “unbreakable kimmy Schmidt” vibes. There’s no real answers to why the women are held, where they are, etc which I didn’t love or hate. It made sense for the story to not give us answers but I don’t always enjoy books like that either.

I enjoyed it enough, and can understand why others love the book. It’s a character driven book and the pace of the story jumps around a lot through time, skipping years at a time. Overall not a bad book and one I may dwell on for some time!

Content Warnings

andrewhatesham's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.75

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rionstorm's review

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dark mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

A really interesting (and bleak) exploration of how we make sense and meaning of ourselves and our role as a Person, and how much of that is situational. The narrator's musings on how time only has meaning and we only really exist when it's in relation to other people really struck a chord with me.

If you are looking for fast paced or hopeful dystopian fiction you won't like this.

Ending spoilers

Spoiler

Have seen the story described as "a puzzle that refuses to be solved", and I feel that's accurate - but as frustrating as that is, I can respect the authors decision not to explain anything. It sort of places you alongside the narrator and gives you the option to either choose to continue going knowing that there probably won't be a resolution, or give up.

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paulinelluise's review

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challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Spoiler

I thought she would be able to tell us what was going on, I want to know :(

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kimberleydawn's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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madelinequinne's review

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challenging reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I’m not usually a fan of dystopian or sci fi books so this was a bit out of my comfort zone, but i thought the concept was really interesting!

when i picked this up i was more expecting it to be about a small group of women being held against their will by men for nefarious reasons, rather than it being a dystopia where so many people were in these bunkers for a reason nobody knew, so it was a surprise when i got into it and realised it was that, and i can’t say i hugely enjoyed it just cuz this genre isn’t really my kind of thing, but i did find a lot of the points the main character made very reflective and interesting, and found myself relating to her in some ways, despite her situation being so far from anyone on earth’s.

it was cool to challenge myself to explore a genre i’m not usually into, but i don’t know if i’d do it again

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miaaa_lenaaa's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Wonderful,

shes not known men as in shes never known humanity

‘what does it matter if I've become mute in a world where there is no one to talk to?’

‘Sitting on the bench, gazing towards the setting sun, she lost her mind in the cerebral convals-tions, the mysterious nooks and crannies of the memory she had gone backwards, seeking a world that made sense, losing her way among the labyrinths, slowly deteriorating dimming, noiselessly being obliterated and then fading away so gradually that it was impossible to pinpoint the transition between the flickering little flame and the shadows.’

‘I suppose I am an old woman, but I still love looking at my face. I don't know if it's beautiful or ugly, but it is the only human face I ever see. I smile at it and receive a friendly smile back.’

Content Warnings

noshinbean's review

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dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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