80,000+ Books in-stock in NZ πŸ“š

Winter Reads Sale! Enjoy up to 20% off 1,700 books! πŸš€

I Who Have Never Known Men

Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Deep underground, thirty-nine women are imprisoned without memory of how they arrived or a sense of time. Among them is a young girlβ€”the fortieth prisonerβ€”who, isolated and outcast, becomes the crucial figure for their escape. Emerging into a strange post-apocalyptic world, the women must navigate survival and the renewal of humanity.
Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$4800

International Supplier

This title is in-stock with overseas suppliers. While it is not available locally, we fly books in weekly from the US and UK to our Auckland warehouse for immediate dispatch.

AVAILABLE WITH SUPPLIER Ships from our Auckland warehouse within 2-3 weeks

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Readers interested in feminist speculative fiction, psychological depth, and haunting explorations of human resilience will find this novel compelling.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

THE RUNAWAY BESTSELLER

"Each revelation is a small miracle." -- The New York Times

Deep underground, thirty-nine women live imprisoned in a cage. Watched over by guards, the women have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only a vague recollection of their lives before.

As the burn of electric light merges day into night and numberless years pass, a young girl -- the fortieth 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 above ground.

Jacqueline Harpman was born in Etterbeek, Belgium, in 1929, and fled to Casablanca with her family during WWII. Informed by her background as a psychoanalyst and her youth in exile, I Who Have Never Known Men is a haunting, heartbreaking post-apocalyptic novel of female friendship and intimacy, and the lengths people will go to maintain their humanity in the face of devastation. Back in print for the first time since 1997, Harpman's modern classic is an essential addition to the growing canon of feminist speculative literature.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781945492600

Publisher: Transit Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 10 May 2022

Country: United States

Imprint: Transit Books

Contributors:

  • Translated by Ros Schwartz
  • Afterword by Sophie Mackintosh

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 5.0mm

Width: 124.0mm

Height: 196.0mm

Weight: 249g

Pages: 208

About the Author

JACQUELINE HARPMAN (1929-2012) was a Belgian author of over fifteen novels. Born in Etterbeek, Belgium, in 1929, she fled to Casablanca with her family during the Second World War. She studied French literature and trained to become a doctor but was unable to continue her medical studies after contracting tuberculosis. Harpman began writing in 1954, and wrote over fifteen novels, winning numerous prizes, including the Prix ​​MΓ©dicis (Orlanda), the Prix ​​Victor-Rossel (BrΓ¨ve Arcadie), among others. I Who Have Never Known Men, originally published in French in 1995, was the first of her books to be translated into English.

ROS SCHWARTZ has translated numerous works of fiction and non-fiction from French, including several Georges Simenon titles for Penguin Classics, a new translation of Antoine de Saint-ExupΓ©ry's The Little Prince and, most recently, Mireille Gansel's Translation as Transhumance. The recipient of a number of awards, she was made a Chevalier de l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2009 and received the Institute of Translation and Interpreting's John Sykes Memorial Prize for Excellence in 2017.

Also by Jacqueline Harpman

View all

More from General Fiction

View all

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 80,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.