I Who Have Never Known Men

Thirty-nine women and a girl are being held prisoner in a cage underground. The guards are all male, and never speak to them. The girl is the only one of the prisoners who has no memory of the outside world; none of them know why they are being held prisoner, or why there is one child among thirty-nine adults. One day, an alarm sounds, and the guards flee; the prisoners are subsequently able to escape. They find themselves on an immense barren plain, with no other people anywhere, and no clue as to what has happened to the world.

Desolation is the word for this book. The implacable narrator tells us from the beginning that her story answers no questions. The writing is as sparse as the landscape described in this short haunting novel. It's a story that will stay with me for a long time.

This story had me wondering "wtf" most of the plot, and it wasn't until I finished it that I realized I immediately needed to go back and re-read it because it is so much more than a story about some women, a girl, and the prison and freedom they have and what they do with both. This story is not some feminist story, but it also is, and it's both about loneliness and love, about innocence and ignorance but intelligence in its purest form. I'll likely re-read this 2 more times just to absorb the emotions, the social commentary and the unique perspective of the authors intent. It speaks volumes as to why those who read it, even once, are hooked.

Like a glittering star, bright and sharp in the endless black sky. It has a sad, existential beauty that reminds me of The Wall by Marlen Haushofer

This is such a unrelenting and desolate book. The plotting is unexpected and sometimes frustrating. I thought about this books for weeks after reading it and need to read it again. I now think it stands as one of the best classic science fiction books ever written. It is brilliant.