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Des femmes imaginaires
« La vérité est que je ne peux imaginer d’autres vies que la mienne sauf en les prêtant à des femmes imaginaires. »
En quarantaine revient sur un souvenir fondateur de l’enfance de l’auteure à Casablanca, en pleine Seconde Guerre mondiale. Dans Le Placard à balais, une romancière se met à rêver les aventures extraconjugales d’une jeune bourgeoise prisonnière d’un mariage sans amour. La Forêt d’Ardenne, texte précurseur à Moi qui n’ai pas connu les hommes, dépeint un groupe de soldats qui fuit une étrange menace au coeur de la forêt.
Dans ce recueil inédit, Jacqueline Harpman met en scène des femmes singulières, prêtes à tout pour s’affranchir des conventions et asseoir leur liberté.
En quarantaine revient sur un souvenir fondateur de l’enfance de l’auteure à Casablanca, en pleine Seconde Guerre mondiale. Dans Le Placard à balais, une romancière se met à rêver les aventures extraconjugales d’une jeune bourgeoise prisonnière d’un mariage sans amour. La Forêt d’Ardenne, texte précurseur à Moi qui n’ai pas connu les hommes, dépeint un groupe de soldats qui fuit une étrange menace au coeur de la forêt.
Dans ce recueil inédit, Jacqueline Harpman met en scène des femmes singulières, prêtes à tout pour s’affranchir des conventions et asseoir leur liberté.
128 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 2026
About the author
Jacqueline Harpman
35 books2,462 followersJacqueline Harpman was born in Etterbeek, Belgium, in 1929. Being half Jewish, the family moved to Casablanca when the Nazis invaded, and returned home after the war. After studying French literature she started training to be a doctor, but could not complete her medical studies when she contracted tuberculosis. She turned to writing in 1954 and her first work was published in 1958. In 1980 she qualified as a psychoanalyst. She had given up writing after her fourth book was published, and resumed her career as a novelist only some twenty years later. She wrote twelve novels and won several literary prizes, most recently the Médicis for the present novel. She was married to an architect and had two children.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 590 reviews
Want to Read
May 20, 2026after I Who Have Never Known Men i'm ready for whatever existential crisis this has in store for me
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
A very quick read (I didn’t realize this was 100 pages) but not necessarily one that will stick with me.
The Ardennes Forest is a great first story with an ominous, ambiguous set-up that feels very reminiscent of I Who Have Never Known Men. It was by far my favourite of the three.
The Outcast was solid — there’s an excerpt that gives the necessary historical context, and the story itself has a few interesting things to say about perspective.
The Broom Closet was a bit of a flop for me, sadly. A woman conjures up a fictional woman and her adultery, but the layers of storytelling don’t quite work in such a short story. Again, this one is quite similar to Orlanda, another of her published works.
If you like Harpman’s work I don’t think you’ll be disappointed! I just think objectively it’s difficult for three ~30 page stories to offer much lasting impression. These are by no means a cohesive trio, and I’m curious if they’re early ideas for what later became her novels? The parallels are hard to ignore!
Thank you to Transit Books for the ARC!
—-
Jacqueline Harpman will always have a fan in me <3
The Ardennes Forest is a great first story with an ominous, ambiguous set-up that feels very reminiscent of I Who Have Never Known Men. It was by far my favourite of the three.
The Outcast was solid — there’s an excerpt that gives the necessary historical context, and the story itself has a few interesting things to say about perspective.
The Broom Closet was a bit of a flop for me, sadly. A woman conjures up a fictional woman and her adultery, but the layers of storytelling don’t quite work in such a short story. Again, this one is quite similar to Orlanda, another of her published works.
If you like Harpman’s work I don’t think you’ll be disappointed! I just think objectively it’s difficult for three ~30 page stories to offer much lasting impression. These are by no means a cohesive trio, and I’m curious if they’re early ideas for what later became her novels? The parallels are hard to ignore!
Thank you to Transit Books for the ARC!
—-
Jacqueline Harpman will always have a fan in me <3
Read
May 31, 2026Billed as three stories about defiance, this small collection showcases Harpman's unique and varied styles of writing with her signature ability to create atmosphere and use fiction to reveal the artifice of human existence.
"The Ardennes Forest" - calling to mind the speculative/post-apocalyptic setting of her beloved novel I Who Have Never Known Men, we follow a group of soldiers assigned the task of wandering and surveying a forest for years on end, leading them to question the meaning of their work and the pitfalls of blind obedience.
"The Outcast" - an intelligent young girl experiences the realities of conflict and the inability for logic to win over emotion amidst a politically shifting culture.
"The Broom Closet" - a meta-narrative in which Harpman contemplates storytelling by bringing the reader into the creative process to craft the life of a young, passionate woman in 1920s Belgium, exploring ideas of female agency, marriage, and the creative process.
If you aren't already a fan of Harpman, I'm not sure these 3 short stories will completely win you over. They're good, though the collection feels a bit randomly put together and obviously at only 90 pages total there's not a lot of material here. I enjoyed them all for what they were and would recommend, but wish it had been a fuller collection with a more clear throughline.
"The Broom Closet"
"The Ardennes Forest" - calling to mind the speculative/post-apocalyptic setting of her beloved novel I Who Have Never Known Men, we follow a group of soldiers assigned the task of wandering and surveying a forest for years on end, leading them to question the meaning of their work and the pitfalls of blind obedience.
"The Outcast" - an intelligent young girl experiences the realities of conflict and the inability for logic to win over emotion amidst a politically shifting culture.
"The Broom Closet" - a meta-narrative in which Harpman contemplates storytelling by bringing the reader into the creative process to craft the life of a young, passionate woman in 1920s Belgium, exploring ideas of female agency, marriage, and the creative process.
If you aren't already a fan of Harpman, I'm not sure these 3 short stories will completely win you over. They're good, though the collection feels a bit randomly put together and obviously at only 90 pages total there's not a lot of material here. I enjoyed them all for what they were and would recommend, but wish it had been a fuller collection with a more clear throughline.
"The Broom Closet"
July 5, 2026
Loved the first story, liked the second story, & was confused by the third story.
January 10, 2026
Three of the best short stories I’ve ever read.
March 19, 2026
She’s done it, she did it, and she will continue to do it with every translation
July 19, 2026
The first story is phenomenal, transported me right back to I Who Have Never Known Men and the deep exploration of morality I felt reading it.
The second story isn't as strong in my opinion, it felt unfinished....or maybe I just didn't quite grasp the reason the author needed to tell his story.
I wish we had a few more stories but overall it was a fabulous read.
The second story isn't as strong in my opinion, it felt unfinished....or maybe I just didn't quite grasp the reason the author needed to tell his story.
I wish we had a few more stories but overall it was a fabulous read.
July 20, 2026
2.5 stars
The first short story was easily my favorite because it had the strongest narrative. The second story was autobiographical, which didn’t engage me as much. The third story was metafictional and while I could appreciate what Harpman was trying to do by blurring the lines between author and story, it ultimately didn’t work for me. Overall, this collection was a bit of a mixed-bag, but it was well-written.
The first short story was easily my favorite because it had the strongest narrative. The second story was autobiographical, which didn’t engage me as much. The third story was metafictional and while I could appreciate what Harpman was trying to do by blurring the lines between author and story, it ultimately didn’t work for me. Overall, this collection was a bit of a mixed-bag, but it was well-written.
Read
January 23, 2026Thinking about this one!!! Phenomenal writer ofc just gotta get my thoughts in order
August 20, 2026
Three short stories by Harpman translated from the French. The first is very similar to her novel, I Who Have Never Known Men, a book that has caused a stir in online book communities (and is pretty good). It has the same quiet desperation: a group of people wander aimlessly through a forest, wondering if 'the war' is still waging or not. The second story is a strange, possibly autobiographical story, about two rival schoolgirls. I possibly enjoyed the last story the least, but it was, at least stylistically, the most compelling. A meta story, constructing itself as you read it. Overall a fine trio that can be read in an afternoon, but nothing special.
September 17, 2026
women who aren't allowed to leave the forest, question anything, or have desires
3.75
3.75
July 20, 2026
A quick read, just not a memorable one.
Want to Read
December 16, 2025I have been waiting for more Jacqueline Harpman to be translated I am SO EXCITED
September 5, 2026
I recently saw this on the staff picks shelf at one of my favorite indie bookstores, and, to the extent I'd be quite taken with the author's I Who Have Never Known Men, I figured I'd give it a try. I'm glad I did, although it didn't captivate me to the same extent.
Still, it's a surprisingly thought-provoking and - for such a slender volume - diverse collection of three seemingly unconnected novellas (or something like that).
The first was, to my mind, pretty classic (and rather compelling) post-war/conflict dystopia, nicely constructed and artfully concluded. The second was more of an autobiographical reminiscence or retrospective of a unique (and, to my mind, quite interesting) place (Casablanca, which I've only visited once), situation, and period in time. The third (again, to me) felt like a seasoned author's narration of a thought-experiment that never evolved into a fully-fledged novel.
But, no doubt, other more knowledgeable readers (or sophisticated literary reviewers) might describe the work quite differently.
Well worth reading, particularly given the return on investment (although that's intended more so in terms of time, given that the author passed away more than a decade ago, so she won't be benefitting from any royalties from my purchase, if any, ... and, given that the publisher is a not-for-profit, I'll tip my hat for their efforts to aid "the discovery and promotion of enduring works that carry readers across borders and communities." A worthy aspiration, in my book (no pun intended).)
Still, it's a surprisingly thought-provoking and - for such a slender volume - diverse collection of three seemingly unconnected novellas (or something like that).
The first was, to my mind, pretty classic (and rather compelling) post-war/conflict dystopia, nicely constructed and artfully concluded. The second was more of an autobiographical reminiscence or retrospective of a unique (and, to my mind, quite interesting) place (Casablanca, which I've only visited once), situation, and period in time. The third (again, to me) felt like a seasoned author's narration of a thought-experiment that never evolved into a fully-fledged novel.
But, no doubt, other more knowledgeable readers (or sophisticated literary reviewers) might describe the work quite differently.
Well worth reading, particularly given the return on investment (although that's intended more so in terms of time, given that the author passed away more than a decade ago, so she won't be benefitting from any royalties from my purchase, if any, ... and, given that the publisher is a not-for-profit, I'll tip my hat for their efforts to aid "the discovery and promotion of enduring works that carry readers across borders and communities." A worthy aspiration, in my book (no pun intended).)
July 2, 2026
I love Harpman’s writing. The first two stories were really strong, but the last one pulls down the rating to a 4⭐️. Also I think my Barnes put this out too early??? Because idk how I have this if it isn’t published yet 🤓
August 12, 2026
This may or may not be a hot take, but I think literary fiction as short stories are difficult to pull off - mostly because they risk feeling underdeveloped, especially when it comes to character work (which I feel is usually the defining part of a litfic).
These stories had some beautiful prose - the first one especially was more reminiscent of I Who Have Never Known Men. But as a whole I didn’t feel super connected to this collection. The blurbs for each also felt like they oversold the concept (i.e., execution didn’t live up for me).
Not terrible, but didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I acknowledge that the expectations/reality gap is in large part due to IWHNKM being such a resonant story.
3/5 stars
These stories had some beautiful prose - the first one especially was more reminiscent of I Who Have Never Known Men. But as a whole I didn’t feel super connected to this collection. The blurbs for each also felt like they oversold the concept (i.e., execution didn’t live up for me).
Not terrible, but didn’t quite hit the mark for me. I acknowledge that the expectations/reality gap is in large part due to IWHNKM being such a resonant story.
3/5 stars
Want to Read
September 30, 2026loved I Who Have Never Known Men so i have high hopes 😋
August 29, 2026
I really liked the first story, but the rest fell a bit flat for me :/
August 5, 2026
“What was the point of our strict compliance if the world where the decisions had been made no longer existed?”
This is a collection of three short stories; the first was absolutely phenomenal and reminiscent of I Who Have Never Known Men as it was set in an eerie dystopian post-apocalyptic world. I craved more from this. The second short story was autobiographical and frankly forgettable. The third story was metafictional which was cool but somewhat confusing. I love Harpman’s writing style and how every story is through a feminist lense but prefer reading her sci-fi stories.
This is a collection of three short stories; the first was absolutely phenomenal and reminiscent of I Who Have Never Known Men as it was set in an eerie dystopian post-apocalyptic world. I craved more from this. The second short story was autobiographical and frankly forgettable. The third story was metafictional which was cool but somewhat confusing. I love Harpman’s writing style and how every story is through a feminist lense but prefer reading her sci-fi stories.
August 11, 2026
First story was great, the other two just felt like add ons so they could publish a short story ‘collection’
July 28, 2026
We Were Forbidden by Jacqueline Harpman — out now!
» READ IF YOU «
🌲 love dystopian and literary fiction
📚 are still thinking about I Who Have Never Known Men
🚪 want women who harbor a quiet defiance
» SYNOPSIS «
Three never-before-translated stories from Jacqueline Harpman, loosely connected by a thread of defiance. In "The Ardennes Forest," survivors of war wander an endless woodland, forbidden from ever stopping. In "The Outcast," a Jewish girl in the 1940s is reprimanded for questioning her teachers. And in "The Broom Cupboard," a young wife fulfills her husband's desires, until she starts wondering about her own.
» REVIEW «
"The Ardennes Forest" was a clear standout for me, and if you loved I Who Have Never Known Men, this one will likely scratch that itch. It’s got the same eerie, unexplained dystopian setting, and the same slow-burn unraveling of "why are we doing this, again?" There's something so unsettling about characters who adhere to strange orders long after the reason for them has evaporated, and Harpman writes that dread beautifully.
"The Outcast" is a very different tone but still sharp, and then "The Broom Cupboard" closes things out on a genuinely feral note—hear me out, but it's got an unhinged Simone de Beauvoir energy, like a more feral cousin to The Woman Destroyed. Watching a woman's compliance curdle into something else entirely, in real time, was a delight.
Three very different flavors of stories, all in Harpman's singular, spiky voice. A great, short companion piece to I Who Have Never Known Men.
» RATING «
🌳 I'm Wandering 🌳
» READ-A-LIKES «
• Into the Forest (movie)
• The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir
• The Country Will Bring Us No Peace by Matthieu Simard
• The Vegetarian by Han Kang
» READ IF YOU «
🌲 love dystopian and literary fiction
📚 are still thinking about I Who Have Never Known Men
🚪 want women who harbor a quiet defiance
» SYNOPSIS «
Three never-before-translated stories from Jacqueline Harpman, loosely connected by a thread of defiance. In "The Ardennes Forest," survivors of war wander an endless woodland, forbidden from ever stopping. In "The Outcast," a Jewish girl in the 1940s is reprimanded for questioning her teachers. And in "The Broom Cupboard," a young wife fulfills her husband's desires, until she starts wondering about her own.
» REVIEW «
"The Ardennes Forest" was a clear standout for me, and if you loved I Who Have Never Known Men, this one will likely scratch that itch. It’s got the same eerie, unexplained dystopian setting, and the same slow-burn unraveling of "why are we doing this, again?" There's something so unsettling about characters who adhere to strange orders long after the reason for them has evaporated, and Harpman writes that dread beautifully.
"The Outcast" is a very different tone but still sharp, and then "The Broom Cupboard" closes things out on a genuinely feral note—hear me out, but it's got an unhinged Simone de Beauvoir energy, like a more feral cousin to The Woman Destroyed. Watching a woman's compliance curdle into something else entirely, in real time, was a delight.
Three very different flavors of stories, all in Harpman's singular, spiky voice. A great, short companion piece to I Who Have Never Known Men.
» RATING «
🌳 I'm Wandering 🌳
» READ-A-LIKES «
• Into the Forest (movie)
• The Woman Destroyed by Simone de Beauvoir
• The Country Will Bring Us No Peace by Matthieu Simard
• The Vegetarian by Han Kang
September 6, 2026
“The Ardennes Forest” is the novella that makes this trio of stories worth buying, and reading it felt like stepping right back into the world of I Who Have Never Known Men. In fact this almost could have been a B story woven into that novel, with the two characters meeting in the end.
Harpman drops us among a band of soldiers, men and women, who keep following orders to roam the forest long after all communication has stopped and all contact with the outside world has ceased (in this way it also reminds me of the Donald Barthelme story “Game” I just read). Between “Ardennes” and “Never Known Men”, Harpman’s post-apocalypse has this addicting pastoral quality mixed with dread and confusion that weirdly makes me want to live in her world.
The other two novellas didn’t really move the needle for me, honestly, even knowing they pull from Harpman’s own life. “The Outcast” comes out of her adolescence as a Jewish refugee in wartime Casablanca, and I could appreciate the nerve of the girl at its center without ever getting pulled into her story the way I wanted to be. “The Broom Closet” is a strange, self-aware piece where Harpman writes herself inventing a story on a train. I’d buy this collection for that first novella alone and treat the rest as interesting context to inform your knowledge of the author.
Harpman drops us among a band of soldiers, men and women, who keep following orders to roam the forest long after all communication has stopped and all contact with the outside world has ceased (in this way it also reminds me of the Donald Barthelme story “Game” I just read). Between “Ardennes” and “Never Known Men”, Harpman’s post-apocalypse has this addicting pastoral quality mixed with dread and confusion that weirdly makes me want to live in her world.
The other two novellas didn’t really move the needle for me, honestly, even knowing they pull from Harpman’s own life. “The Outcast” comes out of her adolescence as a Jewish refugee in wartime Casablanca, and I could appreciate the nerve of the girl at its center without ever getting pulled into her story the way I wanted to be. “The Broom Closet” is a strange, self-aware piece where Harpman writes herself inventing a story on a train. I’d buy this collection for that first novella alone and treat the rest as interesting context to inform your knowledge of the author.
September 12, 2026
Really enjoyed these three short stories. Though it feels unfair to compare this to I Who Have Never Known Men given this is completely different in form, the first short story felt like an echo of that novel. Immediately gripping and atmospheric.
The other two were much different style. Jacqueline Harpman’s nihilism & sense of humor really shines in these, found myself laughing at her witty skepticism in challenging her childhood friend’s belief in heaven. I don’t usually love the style of the third short story where the author’s voice is present and interjects commentary, but this became an exception for me. It’s a simple story but her intellectual and vain asides made it amusing.
“The only men who suited me were the heroes of novels who led their lives without getting involved in mine.”
What a good line.
“In that Heaven which, to my great regret, I do not believe in at all, the harvested ears seated at God’s right hand can happily enjoy eternity.”
“…I can’t help being drawn to her. She had been a well-behaved child, a docile wife, submissive before being aware of the battle, and then at the first invitation she rejects subservience and rises up furious in the face of adversity.”
A girl’s girl.
The other two were much different style. Jacqueline Harpman’s nihilism & sense of humor really shines in these, found myself laughing at her witty skepticism in challenging her childhood friend’s belief in heaven. I don’t usually love the style of the third short story where the author’s voice is present and interjects commentary, but this became an exception for me. It’s a simple story but her intellectual and vain asides made it amusing.
“The only men who suited me were the heroes of novels who led their lives without getting involved in mine.”
What a good line.
“In that Heaven which, to my great regret, I do not believe in at all, the harvested ears seated at God’s right hand can happily enjoy eternity.”
“…I can’t help being drawn to her. She had been a well-behaved child, a docile wife, submissive before being aware of the battle, and then at the first invitation she rejects subservience and rises up furious in the face of adversity.”
A girl’s girl.
Read
August 16, 2026Parce que j'ai eu accès aux deux versions en même temps; quelques notes de lecture.
La version française inclus une postface écrite par la fille de Jacqueline Harpman qui a malheureusement été omise dans la traduction anglaise. Elle offre des souvenirs de sa mère, des explications sur l'origine des histoires du recueil.
Pour l'autobiographie En quarantaine, la traductrice a ajouté une note pour mettre l'histoire en contexte. D'ailleurs, la traduction est impeccable. Je crois que je préfère son ordre des histoires à celle de la version française.
La version française inclus une postface écrite par la fille de Jacqueline Harpman qui a malheureusement été omise dans la traduction anglaise. Elle offre des souvenirs de sa mère, des explications sur l'origine des histoires du recueil.
Pour l'autobiographie En quarantaine, la traductrice a ajouté une note pour mettre l'histoire en contexte. D'ailleurs, la traduction est impeccable. Je crois que je préfère son ordre des histoires à celle de la version française.
August 2, 2026
Harpman has a way of writing, and Schwartz a gift of translating, that I just am drawn to. These short stories were compelling. The first and third being particularly good.
A nice and quick way to start Women in Translation Month 2026.
I rated this 4 stars on Story Graph which is a cool non-Amazon affiliated alternative to Good Reads. Check it out.
A nice and quick way to start Women in Translation Month 2026.
I rated this 4 stars on Story Graph which is a cool non-Amazon affiliated alternative to Good Reads. Check it out.
August 12, 2026
4/5
An interesting collection of independent stories tied together by the theme of resistance. The first felt more like Harpman’s “I Who Have Never Known Men” (which I thoroughly enjoyed), and the rest were a very drastic departure from those works stylistically. Not bad!
An interesting collection of independent stories tied together by the theme of resistance. The first felt more like Harpman’s “I Who Have Never Known Men” (which I thoroughly enjoyed), and the rest were a very drastic departure from those works stylistically. Not bad!
August 15, 2026
The first two short stories are meaningful and moving. I could not make sense of the last one.
September 29, 2026
The Ardennes Forest 3/5
The Outcast 5/5
The Broom Cupboard 2/5
The Outcast 5/5
The Broom Cupboard 2/5
August 31, 2026
A collection of three short stories:
1) The Ardenne Forest: this is the genius that made I Who Have Never Known Men.
2) The Outcast: this was autobiographical and took me a minute to get into, but when I did, god, she's so me (will stop at nothing to win an argument) and so not me (I think I deserve even more punishment when I do this). A fascinating self-assessment from Harpman, not me.
3) The Broom Cupboard: the metafiction concept of the creative writing process is really cool but the lines were maybe just a bit too blurred so I was a little confused ngl. Anyway, Ulrich sounds pretty hot lol
1) The Ardenne Forest: this is the genius that made I Who Have Never Known Men.
2) The Outcast: this was autobiographical and took me a minute to get into, but when I did, god, she's so me (will stop at nothing to win an argument) and so not me (I think I deserve even more punishment when I do this). A fascinating self-assessment from Harpman, not me.
3) The Broom Cupboard: the metafiction concept of the creative writing process is really cool but the lines were maybe just a bit too blurred so I was a little confused ngl. Anyway, Ulrich sounds pretty hot lol
July 28, 2026
I like when writers get a lil punchy with their sentences
Displaying 1 - 30 of 590 reviews