I Who Have Never Known Men [book]

Bleak. Engaging. Thought provoking. Sad.

This was recommended as something like if you enjoy Silo (the Wool trilogy - which I own, but hadn't read - but have watched the TV series). I'm going to say this up front: it's only like Silo in respect to being in a deep hole and not really knowing why.

The story is written first hand from our unnamed protagonist as her last mark in the world. A world, which she's the last person left. Initially I found the style off putting, because it's a non-stop run of sentences. No chapters. No breaks. Just stream of consciousness. However, as I got to know the character, it felt natural and sort of ended up working.

The title also did accidentally draw me into the assumption that not knowing men is core to the story, but really it's not. I certainly comes up, but it's not the core tenant.

It's one of the last quotes in the books that stood out to me the most:

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

There's a lot of what is it like to exist alone, whilst also giving the main character a reason to think this way - she's different from the other women she grew up with because unlike the others, she doesn't remember the world before they were caged.

Overall, it's pretty bleak. It's not so bleak that it could happen in our reality (whereas I could see how The Handmaid's Tale could), and the aloneness really does punch through.

I don't do half stars, but this does sit between three and four.

A solid dystopian read.

Originally published on Remy Sharp's b:log