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I Who Have Never Known Men cover art

I Who Have Never Known Men

By: Jacqueline Harpman, Ros Schwartz
Narrated by: Sarah Lambie
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Summary

Brought to you by Penguin.

Discover the haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic tale of female friendship and intimacy set in a deserted world.

Deep underground, 39 women are kept in isolation in a cage. Aboveground, a world awaits. Has it been abandoned? Devastated by a virus?

Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time and only vague recollection of their lives before. But, as the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl - the 40th prisoner - sits alone and outcast in the corner.

Soon she will show herself to be the key to the others' escape and survival in the strange world that awaits them aboveground. The woman who will never know men.

©2019 Jacqueline Harpman (P)2021 Penguin Audio

What listeners say about I Who Have Never Known Men

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Great for book club but brace for a hangover

Went through this very quickly! Couldn't start anything else for a while after as the mysterious side of this story, the unanswered questions had me going over and over the details for a week with what I've heard people call a 'book hangover'. It came highly recommended and I can see why.
Trying to imagine this life, how you would act and react in the same setting that no human has found themselves in before...it made for a great choice for our book club!

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Unsettling and haunting

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, it was very different from what I normally read but was very engaging, despite the mundane nature of the narrators life.

The narration was excellent and really added to the story

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Thoroughly enjoyable

Deeply sad, nostalgic, hopeful and hopeless. A wonderful story told by an admirable protagonist. Left feeling full and empty all at once.

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Strangely powerful

This book had an unsatisfactory ending (I was longing for an epilogue to answer all the questions) but despite this, it was very impactful. The sense of hopeless loneliness in the last quarter of the book was so palpable that I almost felt panicked by it. The narration was superb.

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2 people found this helpful

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Wow

I’m so glad I read this! It’s so thought provoking and moving. A must read.

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Enjoyed this fully

Was fully emerged in this story, beautifully written. Interesting POV from the protagonist and story took me in an unexpected direction.

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Beautifully written

An interesting book and a lovely listen. Left me with lots of thoughts and wanting to know a bit more.

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Profound

Great listen to a great book. The narrator was utterly perfect! I raced through it. Powerful and profound.

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wow

A story that will have you shed a tear and gasp. It is beautifully written. A must!

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Utterly gripping and extraordinary

A captivating wonderful story on what it means to be human. Beautifully written and read. Has me gripped from start to finish

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