---
product_id: 585398115
title: "I Who Have Never Known Men"
price: "R538"
currency: ZAR
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 11
url: https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/585398115-i-who-have-never-known-men
store_origin: ZA
region: South Africa
---

# I Who Have Never Known Men

**Price:** R538
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

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- **What is this?** I Who Have Never Known Men
- **How much does it cost?** R538 with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.co.za](https://www.desertcart.co.za/products/585398115-i-who-have-never-known-men)

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## Description

I Who Have Never Known Men [Harpman, Jacqueline, Schwartz, Ros, Mackintosh, Sophie] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. I Who Have Never Known Men

Review: Must read! - One of the best books I’ve ever read. A dystopian story with lots of interesting psychological, sociological, questions.
Review: Worth the read - Unlike many other books. Has to keep reading to figure out what would happen next and how everything would end up. Would recommend.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #526 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #10 in Dystopian Fiction (Books) #20 in Friendship Fiction (Books) #44 in Literary Fiction (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.1 4.1 out of 5 stars (16,896) |
| Dimensions  | 5.25 x 0.5 x 8 inches |
| ISBN-10  | 1945492600 |
| ISBN-13  | 978-1945492600 |
| Item Weight  | 2.31 pounds |
| Language  | English |
| Print length  | 208 pages |
| Publication date  | May 10, 2022 |
| Publisher  | Transit Books |

## Images

![I Who Have Never Known Men - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61FtrzptgJL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Must read!
*by M***A on March 1, 2026*

One of the best books I’ve ever read. A dystopian story with lots of interesting psychological, sociological, questions.

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Worth the read
*by P***E on March 6, 2026*

Unlike many other books. Has to keep reading to figure out what would happen next and how everything would end up. Would recommend.

### ⭐⭐⭐ Interesting but problems with writing style
*by J***O on April 23, 2025*

2.5 stars. I finished this little book in 2 days, it was interesting and somewhat enjoyable read, and thought provoking, but mostly for the wrong and unintentional reasons. I don't understand all the five star reviews, as I found it very problematic as a novel. The major problems are with the framing and writing style. The narrator reveals in the first few of pages that she is alone and dying and is writing the story of what happened to her. As a very young child, with no memories of a before, she is imprisoned in a cage with a group of 40 women. Guards who never speak to them patrol the outside. A little bit spoliery, but not much: They are not allowed to touch each other, and the women don't interact much or talk much to the child, so that she mostly understands through listening to them. They have nothing other than food and bedding. However, despite all this, the narrator is now writing reflectively, with a highly developed vocabulary, about her past. For me this broke the fourth wall and the immersion in the book. I was unable to suspend my disbelief. Later there is some logic to how she could have begun to understand more about the world in which we live, and learn rudimentary reading skills. But to think that she understood what she did, could reflect on abstract concepts in the way she did, and use the extensive vocabulary that she did, is unbelievable even given her later experiences. I have a PhD in Psycho-Linguistics, study children's language development, and all that I have studied and read would not lead to a person with the experiences the protagonist had, being able to write and reason as eloquently as this, or being able to read the few books it is later mentioned she has access to. Also, many people have seen this as a feminist novel, talking about the subjugation of women. And while I agree there are discussions of menstruation, wombs, the importance of children to women, I don't agree it is about the subjugation of women. Spoilers here: When they find other cages, they are just as likely to be men as women. So this is not something done just to women, but to both sexes equally. Neither are the women sexually abused or interfered with as women in any way. I also, take issue with the talk that they are not on Earth. They seem to quickly jump to this conclusion, with very little firm evidence. While later the years of walking through the wilderness, with a lack of seasons and winter, make this likely, there, are other possible explanations as to why they are somewhere that might not be Earth as they know it. They could be in a computer simulation for instance. It could all be a dream by the protagonist who is in a comma. These are as likely explanations as being on another planet. Perhaps even more so, as they can explain why the women who remember other things about their lives in imprisonment (despite a few years being possibly drugged, making the events that lead up to imprisonment and early years blurry), don't recall space exploration, or anything like that. It would also explain why the electricity and water remain on and everything continues working for more than 40 years without apparent maintenance. They and we cannot conclude anything about where they are from the evidence provided. It is a philosophical book, and an interesting book. It made me think, although mostly about what was wrong with the book, and how it could have been written and framed differently to tell the same story but in a more immersive and believable was. So glad I read it, but don't recommend it, and don't understand the many 4 and 5 star reviews.

## Frequently Bought Together

- I Who Have Never Known Men
- Tender Is the Flesh
- The Nightingale: A Novel

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*Product available on Desertcart South Africa*
*Store origin: ZA*
*Last updated: 2026-03-21*