Reviews with content warning for Abandonment - Yo que nunca supe de los hombres

Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

Yo que nunca supe de los hombres by Jacqueline Harpman

20 reviews

beatingaroundthebooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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zarlynsnook's review against another edition

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challenging hopeful informative relaxing sad tense fast-paced

5.0

another read added to my all-time faves list ✨
i was moved and humbled by this book. reading this was like a free-flowing river that never stops. i just want to know how the story would end,if there's a future that lies ahead until i realized i'm nearing the end.
the ending gave me a feeling of epiphany.despite having an unclear resolution, it made me realize a lot of things,about our society,about being a woman,about being human.

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gabbynasty's review against another edition

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challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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flashandoutbreak's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.75

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rionstorm's review against another edition

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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

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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madelinequinne's review against another edition

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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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loxeletters's review against another edition

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challenging reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.0

First: This reminded me, in many ways, of The Wall by Marlen Haushofer, even though the books are quite different. I kept thinking about the parallels and differences while reading, which was super interesting.

On to the actual book:
It's hard for me to articulate my feelings on it. I can appreciate its subtlety, some of the symbolism only becoming apparent to me upon reading the preface. I also enjoyed the writing style, which kept me reading for long stretches at a time. I enjoyed the concept, too, the setting and most of the execution, though I would have wished for some things to be fleshed out a bit more. Logically, it makes sense that the protagonist will brush over some years in her account, but as a reader, it left me lacking connection to most of the characters, and feeling removed from the story. Again, this can be intentional, seeing as there is a great distance to everything the MC reports, but I found that in this regard, it was not enriching to the book.
Finally, however, I really appreciated the way the book poses questions and refuses to answer them - a bold move, which left me feeling empty and perfectly conveyed the hopelessness the character was experiencing.

Overall, it's a strange little book that I enjoyed especially on the artistic and philosophical level (which I imagine this book set out to achieve), moreso than on the entertainment level.

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