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

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.

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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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kate6598's review

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adventurous hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Was waiting the whole time for book to amount to something just for nothing. Incredibly disappointing

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nialiversuch's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

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peggy_racham's review against another edition

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5.0

"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."

I rarely read bleak dystopias but this one got me. Something about a woman wondering about her own humanity just speaks to me. There are no answers but it doesnt really matter in the end.

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