An American Mom in Asia

I Who Have Never Known Men is a weird and wonderful book from Belgian author Jacqueline Harpman. This is a post-apocalyptic novel, told from the perspective of the last surviving woman. When the story opens, we meet 40 women trapped in a cell underground, being guarded by nameless men. For the first third of the story, we are in the bunker with the women. The youngest is our narrator. She was taken into the bunker as a child, and has no memory of life before. The other women are older, and they talk about marriages, children, jobs, music and life on the outside. It sounds like a literal foreign planet to our young narrator. Everyday is exactly the same for these 40 women in this bunker…year after year. Until one day, something completely unexpected happens that changes their fate forever.

This book was so different than anything else I had read for this challenge so far, and I really enjoyed it. It’s dark and bleak, but not unenjoyable. It really explores womanhood and female relationships. I am glad I read this!

⭐️ My rating: 4 stars of 5