Overdue Podcast – Episode 729

Book: I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman

Release Date: November 17, 2025

Hosts: Andrew and Craig

Episode Overview

This episode tackles I Who Have Never Known Men, the 1995 dystopian novel by Jacqueline Harpman. Andrew dives into this recently rediscovered work—once obscure, now a viral sensation on BookTok and beyond—and guides Craig through its haunting plot, ambiguous purpose, and sharp emotional landscape. The hosts explore the novel's history, the context of its resurgence, and its lasting resonance, especially amid recent global tumult.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Background on the Book and Author (07:08–16:32)

• Originally published as La Femme des Sables in French; first English version titled Mistress of Silence before reverting to a literal translation.
• Jacqueline Harpman: Belgian writer, psychoanalyst, Holocaust survivor; major themes include trauma, memory, and the construction of humanity.
• Publication history: Finalist for the Prix Femina (1995), UK/US English editions followed in 1997, surged in popularity post-2019 via BookTok (#BookTok) and indie bookstore interest.

Why the Book Became "Overdue" (15:10–21:02)

• Became a sleeper hit due to interest in dystopian fiction (post-Handmaid’s Tale TV series), plus resonance with feminist and trauma narratives.
• TikTok/booktok communities and Women in Translation Month (August) amplified visibility.
• Noted for its “funky syntax” and striking title, which piques reader curiosity.

Themes, Structure, and Style (21:19–29:37)

• The book defies tidy explanation or lore; intentionally leaves big questions unanswered.
  • "If you were here for the lore, this book is not... interested in giving that to you." – Andrew (22:01)
• Instead, the focus is on the psychological and social: identity, memory, survival, humanity under extreme deprivation.

The Story: Plot Breakdown

• Narrator: Nameless protagonist, the youngest among 40 women, none allowed contact with men.
  • "She has never, she's never talked to a man... she's seen men from a distance, in a very specific context..." – Andrew (26:16)
• Setting: Underground prison where women are monitored by silent, unseen male guards. Conditions are stagnant but not overtly violent; food and medicine are provided, but reasons are never explained.
• Narrative structure: Told as a retrospective memoir; the narrator is writing at the end of her solitary life.

Life in Captivity & Escape (27:33–39:46)

• The women struggle to maintain routine, privacy, and personal dignity in a strictly controlled environment.
• Time manipulation: protagonist invents an internal clock—counting heartbeats—to measure days.
  • "She's inventing her own internal clock... and it causes a lot of excitement because it feels like taking a little bit of power back." – Andrew (38:43)
• Their only knowledge of the outside: fuzzy memories, possibly drug-induced amnesia; details of the great collapse are never clarified.
• Sudden escape: A siren prompts a guard to unlock their door; outside, they find themselves on a vast, featureless plain, alone.

Aftermath: Survival, Exploration, and Meaning (44:30–62:56)

• Exploration yields only more identical bunkers—all dead within, women or men, in separate cages; they alone survived the exodus.
• Attempts to find society or answers are fruitless; no clues, no environmental storytelling, no “lore.”
  • "No environmental storytelling, like, on the walls or in the books... no one finds an audio log..." – Andrew (44:51)
• The group settles in, makes a life, but as years pass, members die—some by natural causes, others by euthanasia performed by the narrator for the suffering.
• The protagonist never discovers sexual attraction or menstruation; she forms only intellectual or emotional bonds (notably with Anthea, a mentor figure).
• As the last survivor, she explores further, buries others, and ultimately finds a solitary, human-constructed bunker—her final resting place.

Book’s Ending and Its Implications (62:56–66:15)

• In her last days, the narrator reflects on existence, humanity, and the meaninglessness-yet-significance of her survival.
  • "She does seem interested in what gets written on the tabula rasa..." – Craig (64:10)
  • The protagonist will die in solitude, having left her story on the hope that someone might one day read it.
• The story closes not with resolution but an open-ended, existential meditation.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Book’s Ambiguity:
  • “If you were here for the lore, this book is not... interested in giving that to you.” – Andrew (22:01)
  • “As a good friend of ours once said: the questions are more important than the answers.” – Craig (22:50)
• On Human Tenacity:
  • “I think it's a little bit about human tenacity and our ability to adapt to different, different situations... We've all had to do that.” – Andrew (62:41)
• On the Title’s Meaning:
  • “She has never... talked to a man. She's not known them personally, conversationally, sexually. She has not known men.” – Andrew (26:16)
• The protagonist’s sexuality and physiology:
  • “She’s never had a period... whatever eggs might have been inside her just were not viable...” – Andrew (59:43)
  • “...she has some kind of cervical cancer that is now eating her alive. And it's like this thing I did not even use... is what is killing me. And isn't that interesting?” – Andrew (59:43)
• Comparisons to Other Works:
  • “Ultimately more Waiting for Godot than The Handmaid’s Tale.” – Goodreads reviewer, as read by Craig (68:27)

Significant Timestamps

• 07:08–16:32 — Harpman’s biography, publishing history
• 16:32–21:02 — Book’s rediscovery and BookTok phenomenon
• 26:06–39:46 — Prison setting, protagonist’s childhood in captivity, invented time
• 44:23–46:06 — Escape and first experiences outside
• 46:22–62:56 — Post-escape: discovery, group’s decline, narrator’s final solitude
• 62:56–66:15 — Reflections as sole survivor, broader interpretation of theme
• 67:15–73:29 — Reviews, Sophie Macintosh’s afterword, discussion on bleakness and ambiguity

Discussion of Literary Reception

• Sophie Macintosh’s Afterword (70:35–72:47):
  • Praises the novel’s “Dali-esque surrealism,” ambiguity, and the “shining, searching humanity at its core,” despite unrelenting bleakness.
• Critical Reviews:
  • New York Times (1997): Describes it as “about as heavy-hearted as fiction can get,” yet irresistibly compelling.
  • Goodreads reviews highlight both its enigmatic, unresolved storytelling (“frustratingly open-ended”) and its subtle, emotional grip.

Host Impressions & Final Thoughts

• Andrew finds the book “weird, even-keeled... unsettling, but not traumatic or frightening,” with a lingering sense of “spookiness.”
• Both recognize the novel’s contemporary appeal: it explores adaptation, resilience, and the search for meaning in a world stripped of explanation—all especially resonant after the isolation, disruption, and collective anxiety of recent years.
• The hosts praise the ambiguity and the humanistic core at the heart of the story, as well as the benefit of Sophie Macintosh’s afterword in contextualizing their own reactions.

Conclusion

This episode provides an insightful tour of I Who Have Never Known Men: its obscure origins, viral revival, enigmatic narrative, and sharp, unsettling power. Its refusal to explain or resolve is, the hosts argue, precisely what makes it stick in the memory—the kind of book that lingers, haunts, and provokes.