Isolation can bring about many strangenesses.

When a person is isolated, they may experience a sense of disconnection from the outside world. Their daily routine may become disrupted, and they might find themselves engaging in behaviors that are out of the ordinary.

For example, they may spend excessive amounts of time alone, lost in their own thoughts or hobbies. This can lead to a distortion of their perception of time and reality.

Moreover, isolation can also have an impact on a person's mental health. Feelings of loneliness, boredom, and even depression may start to creep in.

They may struggle to communicate effectively with others, as they have become accustomed to their own company.

In conclusion, the strangenesses of isolation can have a profound effect on a person's life, both physically and mentally. It is important to be aware of these potential consequences and take steps to maintain a healthy and balanced lifestyle, even during periods of isolation.

No, because why is there no resolution? Nothing is clearly explained and nothing seems to make sense.

This book, for lack of a better term, is hefty. It claims to be around 190 pages, but let me tell you, dear, I felt as if I was reading a full-fledged novel. I vividly remember sitting down and reading for approximately three hours only to find myself on page 80! I felt like I was making absolutely no progress while reading this, and the story seemed to go on forever. I'm not sure if it was just my edition, but I had page after page without any breaks in between, like those chunky paragraphs? No way! And was it just my edition or were there hardly any chapters? I really hate that.

Anyway, the story itself isn't that bad, but I swear I disliked everyone. No one was even remotely interesting to me, and I couldn't have cared less about what would happen to them. I had cared a little at first, but after that ending... Absolutely not! How can there be no resolution? I'm so angry, I'm fuming. My time was wasted. I was so invested in trying to figure out what the heck was going on, and then it just went down the drain.

The writing, too, seemed so dry to me. Instead of actually explaining the story, it was more about how the main character was struggling with math, not understanding how to divide and multiply... Seriously? If I wanted to read about that, I would just go back to school. Overall, the author was overexplaining every unimportant detail.

You know what? When books make me this angry, I give them 1 star, and I'm not making an exception for this one. Oh, and I have to say, the cover is really cool - I love it.

I truly relished the style of this book.

For me, the uncomplicated sentences precisely mirror the capability of our narrator, who pen this story towards the end of her life.

I was especially fond of the beginning that tracks the evolving mind of our narrator, first as a child and later as an unnamed woman.

I have always responded favorably to intellectually-driven narratives.

There is nothing showy, unnecessary, or overly dramatic - despite the presence of disturbing and emotional events.

From the outset, our narrator is distinct as she is the only child imprisoned with 39 women.

They inhabit an iron-barred cage within a bunker, patrolled continuously by three guards on rotating shifts.

The child is enraged and rebels against the women with whom she feels she has nothing in common - they withhold the secret of men from her.

One woman, Annabel, approaches her, demanding to know why she is alone and sulking differently.

The child reasons that she has no obligation to explain anything - she states so and observes the astonishment on the woman's face.

There is no way to discipline the child into her usual obedience.

Her stunted yet gradually maturing body has led to her awareness and her brain questioning and seeking answers.

She starts to apply logic to their situation.

She confides in the only woman she likes, Anthea, and together they begin to figure out how to measure the passage of time.

The child counts her heartbeats, using Anthea's rough estimate that there should be around 72 or so in a minute - as Anthea was a nurse in her former life.

They have long been convinced that they are not following a daily cycle of 24 hours.

Even determining the time elapsed in the years they have been there is difficult to establish.

The women guess they have been locked in their dungeon/bunker for perhaps 12 or more years; they cannot recall why they were brought there and have no information about their current situation, remembering only a little of their former lives.

The guards never speak to them.

The story is captivating; the writer who came to my mind as I read was Ursula K. Le Guin - although I don't believe Harpman's book qualifies as science-fiction.

It surely deals with a catastrophe of some sort, and when the women are finally outside, they are never able to determine if they are on their home planet.

The guards have vanished, and Anthea suggests that maybe a helicopter has lifted them to safety - and thus, in a sense, we can approximately work out the time-frame from where the women originated.

I deducted a star because the ending is extremely sad; the end could easily be construed as the end of mankind.

We don't know.

Our narrator, now an elderly woman in her 60s or older, is dying.

She writes her life story in the hope that someone will discover it and in this way, her life and her death will not have been in vain.

Short note - it was first published as 'Moi qui n'ai pas connu les hommes' - 'I who know nothing of men' - in France in 1995 and then translated and published in the UK in 1997.

The edition I have uses the title - The Mistress of Silence, which I prefer.

Do yourself a great favor and take the time to read this. You won't regret it.

The second half of this book truly blew my mind. It was an incredibly bleak and yet, it will haunt me forever. The author's writing is so powerful and evocative that it leaves a lasting impression.

I have no hesitation in saying that this is the best book of 2022. It's a must-read for anyone who loves great literature. You can find it at https://youtu.be/lQBAza0zdj8.

Update: I recently reread it in French (and I have no idea how to add another edition here), and I liked it even more. The language added a whole new layer of depth and beauty to the story. It's amazing how a different translation can offer a fresh perspective on a book.

I found Jacqueline Harpman's execution of her dystopian world truly believable and compelling.

Thirty-nine women are trapped in an underground cage, completely devoid of any sense of time or knowledge of how they arrived there. We then follow the 40th prisoner, a young girl who sits outcast in the corner until their group of 40 manages to escape into the strange world aboveground that awaits them.

Harpman's writing has the power to make the events in this book feel both scary and significant. Her prose is ominous, sparse yet vivid enough to create a satisfyingly creepy atmosphere. Here, Harpman poses interesting questions: What would a world without men look like? What gives life meaning when we reduce our daily existence to the absolute minimum? To what extent can relationships with others fulfill us even in the most despairing situations?

My only disappointment with the novel was that I felt it didn't make a strong enough point for me to be fully content with its ending. It is open-ended, perhaps deliberately so, but I interpreted that open-endedness and the lack of a more direct message as a bit of a copout. Nevertheless, I think this book would be enjoyable to discuss with others, as it is thought-provoking and has a sure-footed execution on the sentence level.

Actual rating: 4.5

The reason I didn't award it a full 5 stars is simply because my curiosity remained unsatisfied.

I had high expectations when I first encountered this item or service. It seemed to have a lot of potential and promised to deliver something truly remarkable. However, as I delved deeper, there were certain aspects that left me with unanswered questions.

Despite this, I must admit that it still had many positive qualities. It performed well in most areas and met or exceeded my basic requirements. The overall experience was quite good, but that lingering sense of curiosity prevented me from giving it the highest possible rating.

Maybe in the future, if those unanswered questions are addressed, I will be more inclined to rate it a perfect 5 stars. But for now, 4.5 stars is a fair assessment based on my current experience.

5 étoiles

I maintain a conflicted relationship with timeless feminist literature. On one hand, it deeply resonates with contemporary issues. On the other hand, its timelessness unfortunately highlights the persistence of certain injustices. I Who Have Never Known Men was a both challenging and hypnotic read, its heavy atmosphere contrasting with the monotone and almost soothing pen of the author.

We follow the story through a narrator devoid of any notion of social codes, as well as the basics and banalities of daily life. This nameless character, with no distinct physical traits, grew up in a cellar in the company of thirty-nine other women. The novel immerses us in their dull and claustrophobic existence until their escape and then their difficult adaptation to the wild life. As the pages turn, with a clinical coldness, the protagonist enumerates the progressive disappearance of her companions, one after another, until she finds herself alone in the world. The way she describes these losses, without outbursts of pain or effusions of sentiment, makes the novel all the more disturbing. It is not a book that plays on pathos, but rather a work that, through its emotional distance, raises profound existential questions.

What struck me the most is the almost serene relationship that the protagonist maintains with death and solitude. Where one might expect a devouring anguish, there is a silent acceptance, a resignation devoid of revolt. This approach, both disturbing and fascinating, gives the novel a unique aura, a sense of inevitability that haunts long after the last page.

I don't know much, but I know for example that this is the type of book to which I will always be returning in my thoughts. It has a certain charm and allure that keeps pulling me back. The story within its pages seems to have engraved itself in my mind, and no matter how much time passes, it remains vivid and fresh. Every time I think of it, I am transported back to the world that the author has created. The characters become real to me, and their emotions and experiences touch my heart. This book is not just a collection of words on paper; it is a piece of art that has the power to move and inspire. It is a treasure that I will cherish forever, and I know that it will continue to have a profound impact on my life.

I, who have never read a book like this, was truly amazed when I first picked it up.

The moment I opened its pages, I was drawn into a world that was completely different from anything I had ever known.

The story was filled with such vivid descriptions and engaging characters that I found myself unable to put the book down.

Every turn of the page brought a new surprise and a deeper understanding of the plot.

I was completely immersed in the author's words, as if I was a part of the story myself.

This book has truly opened my eyes to a new genre and a new way of experiencing literature.

I will definitely be recommending it to all of my friends and family.

I can't wait to see what other amazing books are out there waiting for me to discover.

Uite o carte scrisa cu o simplitate aiuritoare, capabilă să te facă să-ți pui cele mai grele întrebări. Mi-a adus aminte de Drumul și Piranesi, dar parcă, la un anumit nivel, cartea lui Harpman ridică și mai multe dileme. Mi se pare extraordinar că perplexitatea stă în răspunsurile pe care le extragi, vrei nu vrei, nu la întrebările care dezleagă misterele din text, ci la răspunsurile despre noi înșine.

39 de femei și o fetiță închise într-un subsol ani îndelungati sub pază strictă, cu reguli care împiedică orice apropiere, dezvoltare, și care nu găsesc niciodată vreo explicație la turnura tragică pe care a cunoscut-o existenta lor, una foarte normală în trecut.

Cartea este o metaforă despre existență, despre ce este viața. Pentru că asta este viața, o formă de captivitate în care nimeni nu-ți spune de unde ai venit și de ce, ce trebuie sa înțelegi, să deprinzi, care este sensul a tot ceea ce ți se întâmplă. Certă este doar moartea, un exit spre alta necunoscută. Încarcerarea femeilor este permanenta, ea continuă chiar și în absența subsolurilor. Și încarcerarea omului este la fel, ea fiind strecurata în chiar condiția sa, el nu este liber niciodată. El doar își creează o libertate iluzorie între niște limite. Își proiectează un drum precis pe o hartă plina de granițe dincolo de care nu vede nimic, un statornicit în mijlocul unei mari necunoscute ce începe imediat după gardul propriu. Universul este un imens hotar peste care nu putem păși, un spațiu despre care speculam și presupunem, dar validăm cu mari dificultăți. Nu știm ce e dincolo de moarte și înainte de viață, nu cunoaștem sensul existenței, dacă exista determinare, întâmplare, voință ori alegere în parcursul nostru.

Există un scop în toate? Trebuie să găsești un răspuns, se așteaptă ca omul să urmeze un parcurs pentru a înțelege o rațiune superioară? Sunt semne pe care nu le vedem în bâjbâirea noastră, suntem incapabili să citim în lume cheia spre toate răspunsurile?

Femeile din carte caută răspunsuri, vor să înțeleagă ce trăiesc. Dar există răspunsuri? Este cineva în stare sa dea o explicație întâmplărilor?

Omul și-a găsit singur ținte, scopuri, motivații, și-a construit încet-încet un trecut care poarta numele de civilizație, a perpetuat cunoștințe, credințe, repetiții, formule în care să încapă cunoașterea despre lumea pe care a interpretat-o astfel încât să-i vină bine. Asta este umanitatea întreaga, un bagaj enorm de coduri, informație, convingeri, certitudini, roluri, ipostaze definite. Dar dacă pierde totul în decurs de o generație? Dacă ștafeta nu se mai predă iar tot ce-a fost familiar și comun, dispare? Dacă reprezentările rămân fără obiect, denumirile, acțiunile, decorul își pierd corespondentul real?

În timp ce femeile mature sunt în posesia unui trecut care are numitorul comun al unei realități în care au trăit cu toatele, fetița este pe un teritoriu amplasat în afara acestui spațiu dispărut. Ea nu are amintiri, pentru ea lumea e nouă. De aceea ea va dori sa cucerească, sa exploreze ceea ce consideră că este lumea ei, pe când femeile mature se delimitează de necunoscut, de realitatea lipsită de sens și de orice viitor. Ele își pierd cu timpul orice curiozitate și orice speranță. Nu pot perpetua nicio credință, nicio certitudine, nicio acțiune. Nu pot pune în mâinile fetei nicio valoare indestructibila, nici cunoaștere, nici măcar afecțiune și dragoste.

Ce este omul desfăcut de trecutul lui și de viitorul lui? Ce se poate face doar cu prezentul? Dar doar cu hrana trupului? Ce este omul în afara culturii sale, a înțelepciunii adunate de atâtea generații?

Femeile au, nu întâmplător, hrană în stocuri enorme. O au fără efort, este pur și simplu. Ar putea fi acesta un Eden, de vreme ce este un loc fără amenințări externe, cu condiții climatice acceptabile, fara obligații și îndatoriri, fara muncă? Ce este nevoia elementară și ce menține ea în viață? Ce consuma un om pentru a fi om?

Și nu in ultimul rand, ce sunt femeile fără bărbați? De ce este menționată în titlu aceasta lipsă, când fata n-a cunoscut multe alte lucruri? N-a cunoscut niciodată vreun animal, un alt copil, un oraș, o clădire, o familie, un părinte, o îmbrățișare, o jucărie.

Ce e viața fără continuitate, fără viitor, fără alta generație?

Ar părea ca sunt prea puține indicii în carte, prea puține răspunsuri. Dar, de fapt, cartea conține tot ce este important și esential. Cartea conține întrebările pe care trebuie sa ni le punem. Este imposibil sa nu găsim în noi ceva important. Asta face cartea extraordinară în felul ei.

I don't think I will ever be the same again after reading this.

This story is truly exquisite from beginning to end. Every page is filled with such vivid details and engaging characters that it's impossible to put down.

However, the last 15 - 20 pages are nothing short of true perfection. They tie up all the loose ends in the most satisfying way and leave you with a feeling of profound emotion.

This book has exceeded every single possible expectation that I had going into it. It has become a new all-time favorite of mine and one that will never leave me.

I can't stop thinking about it and already want to pick it back up and read it again. It's that kind of book that has a lasting impact on your heart and soul.

I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good story that will make them laugh, cry, and everything in between.

No words would be able to describe correctly how this made me feel and how much this destroyed me.

It gagged me paragraph after paragraph. The more you read, the more questions you get, and almost none of them are answered. Yet, it is probably the first (and very possibly only) time I’ll be completely fine with such an element. The story is built in a way where it somehow becomes almost irrelevant, as you are so lost in thought by everything else.

The text has some of the best insights I’ve ever seen in a book, along with such an engaging melancholic plot that makes you think for hours about society, human nature, life, death, purpose, tolerance, community, and so much more.

The fatal flaw for me in dystopian is how doomed the story is every time. But something about this one was again so extraordinary. Everything was done so well that the sad fate is not even felt as a flaw. It is such a unique piece of literature. It makes you question the very fabric of our existence and forces you to look at the world from a different perspective. The author has managed to create a world that is both terrifying and beautiful, a world that you can’t help but be drawn into. It is a book that will stay with you long after you’ve finished reading it.