pzdrnk's reviews
22 reviews

I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

5.0

This is the most haunting and thought-provoking book I’ve read in a long time. Harpman’s prose is stark and stylistically flawless, imbued with a relentless sense of inevitability. The concept itself is powerful: a slim dystopian novel narrated by an anonymous woman who has known nothing but life locked in a cage in a bunker with thirty-nine other women. Despite her profound isolation and inexperience, her narrative is deeply introspective. She possesses an intense capacity for emotion, yet she remains convinced she is not entirely human.

Both exquisite and devastating, I’m baffled that this novel hasn’t reached a wider audience.

The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood

4.0

I've never had to pause while reading a book just to sit in stunned silence, but this one left me no choice. It made me deeply reflect on the complexities of our world—a world that exists in shades of gray, yet we often find ourselves gaslighting each other into seeing only black or white. The writing style is captivating; I was fully immersed in a way I haven't experienced in a long time. I highly recommend! :)