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Jacqueline Harpman, Sophie Mackintosh: I Who Have Never Known Men (2019, Penguin Random House) 4 stars

WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY SOPHIE MACKINTOSH, MAN BOOKER PRIZE-LONGLISTED AUTHOR OF THE WATER CURE …

Leaden Captivation

5 stars

Futures bleak and severe dappled with strange liberations. "I have loved you so much," she said - my far-away favourite character in the book, but that, of course, was by design - and I did cry a little (a lot). I read through it with blazing interest, and short and quickly digestible as it may have been, it is still a taste that will linger for a long while. It's a book that will peek into my thoughts even when I finish other, new ones. Maybe it will never go away? I understand that, in many ways, it is not for me, but I am here for it anyway. I'm here for the art, the endless grey voyage, and the stars up high which (I think) are for everyone. Well, I'm not here to disturb. Just to understand. I like to understand things. She will never tell you what to think. Like poetry, you will have to understand it in a way that will be unique to you. I loved it.