I Who Have Never Known Men (1995) By Jacqueline Harpman

"I was forced to acknowledge too late, much too late, that I too had loved, that I was capable of suffering, and that I was human after all."

Jacqueline Harpman's 1995 science fiction novel delves into the philosophical and the mysterious with remarkable poignancy. It has a very unique and deeply intriguing premise, which had hints of other dystopian books, such as The Maze Runner, but far more eloquently written, and further explored in a more erudite manner.

"My memory begins with my anger."

The sense of mystery and logic, as well as how these two aspects interacted, was magnificently tantalising. Harpman teases the reader by posing question after question, theory after theory. The twists, the hints, the red herrings; everything tied together in such an enthralling way.

"Perhaps you never have time when you are alone? You only acquire it by watching it go by in others."

I thought the way in which the protagonist was written was both interesting and well executed. They felt both believable, very endearing and strangely relatable, despite how wholly different they are from the average human being. I thoroughly enjoyed excavating the mind of such a truly absorbing and curious character.

"I felt as if this pain would never be appeased, that it had me in its grip for ever, that it would prevent me from devoting myself to anything else, and that I was allowing it to do so. I think that is what they call being consumed with remorse."

It was a very thought provoking read, in a myriad of ways. It asked a lot of very interesting and unusual philosophical questions, not many of which are answered - though, truthfully, it works better like that. The readers don't need to know all the answers.

"Is there a satisfaction in the effort of remembering that provides its own nourishment, and is what one recollects less important than the act of remembering? That is another question that will remain unanswered: I feel as though I am made of nothing else."

The book is intimately disquieting, sombre, reflective and incredibly intimate. It stabs at the reader's mind and heart and timelessly speaks of a yearning, of a craving, that perhaps we will never truly understand or appreciate. I raced through it, hoping and craving and exploring; feeling the deep and expansive emotions and revelling in all of it.

"I am the sterile offspring of a race about which I know nothing, not even whether it has become extinct."