We Were Forbidden

by Jacqueline Harpman, Unknown Author

From the author of I Who Have Never Known Men comes a startling new collection of three never-before-translated stories, each plumbing the depths of that most necessary human defiance.

Wandering the forest in the wake of some unfathomable war, a woman and her fellow survivors are forbidden from leaving its boundaries or pausing in their march through its strange depths.

As part of her rigid shcooling, a teenage girl is barred from questioning the dogma she is taught to believe – her punishment for doing so will be as disturbing as it is disproportiante.

Locked in a loveless marriage, a young woman satisfies her husband’s desires, twice-weekly, as directed. She has not yet thought to pursue her own.

In varying ways, and across varying worlds, each of these women are trapped. Do they have the will to escape?

BRIEF classic novellas and captivating stories, to be read in a single sitting or savoured over days

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Science Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Dystopia, Adult

Paperback

First published July 7, 2026

About the author

Jacqueline 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.

Reviews

[emma]

after I Who Have Never Known Men i'm ready for whatever existential crisis this has in store for me

[Marcus (Lit_Laugh_Luv) · Rating 3 out of 5]

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

[Maxwell]

Billed 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"

[mari · Rating 5 out of 5]

Three of the best short stories I’ve ever read.

[makayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

She’s done it, she did it, and she will continue to do it with every translation

[Hannah (hngisreading)]

Thinking about this one!!! Phenomenal writer ofc just gotta get my thoughts in order

[ari · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the first story, liked the second story, & was confused by the third story.

[Livvie Boylan]

I have been waiting for more Jacqueline Harpman to be translated I am SO EXCITED

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 🤓

[Dylan Ford · Rating 4 out of 5]

The second story is the only one I felt reached the levels of her other works I read. The broom closet is interesting as an examination of writing and how fiction comes from a person. The first story is just a prototype I Who Have Never Known Men and just kinda does everything the novel does but not as well as the novel does.

[syd · Rating 4 out of 5]

i love her brain

[emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Harpman’s style of prose is great (at least in translation), but these stories left me ultimately unsatisfied.
Thank you to the publisher for giving me the eARC via Edelweiss+.

[Erin Crane · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really just read the first story, and my rating is for that one. The other two are quite different in style and setting, and I didn’t really have interest. But I didn’t want to lower my rating over that.

The first story, The Ardennes Forest, has a similar vibe to I Who Have Never Known Men. Vague setting, time, context. A bit of a dystopian feel. I really enjoyed the tension for the characters between staying on mission for the theoretical people depending on them, and the acceptance of the (seeming) reality that the mission isn’t relevant anymore. But what if it is??

[Lola la cava · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast read — this book is made up of three short novellas, each around 30 pages long.

My favorite was The Ardennes Forest. In my mind, it almost felt like a companion story to “I Who Have Never Known Men”, told from the perspective of one of a woman soldiers.

As for the other two stories, I think one of Jacqueline Harpman's strengths is that there's always something relatable to take away from her writing.
While “We Were Forbidden” didn't leave a lasting impact on me or become one of those books I'll be thinking about for days, I also don't regret reading it. I continue to enjoy Harpman's writing style.

[bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5 rounded up

i really liked these, particularly the first and the third- the first has echoes of i who have never known men. i really love harpman’s writing and am kind of despairing the fact that there’s only one more work of hers that’s bee translated into english (as far as im aware)

[Oliver · Rating 4 out of 5]

1st short was quite captivating, reminiscent of 'I who have never known men'
2nd short was a change of pace, very well written reflection on a pivotal moment
3rd short was a nice retrospective look on desires, with some smart 4th wall breaking.

[Amanda]

Jacqueline has such an intriguing way of telling a story and I’m hooked every time. These short stories were no different.

[Billie Parsons · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this authors writing but this book was just hella weird and honestly felt like nothing happened.

[Molly Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely think I Who Have Never Known Men was better, but these were still good stories. I felt like as I read I was understanding more of Harpman’s voice as a writer.

[mar]

i would sell my soul to be able to write like her

[Sam Hughes · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, so I had to change my review on this one after thinking about it for a minute.

(screw you, Goodreads, for not letting me change my ranking)

I feel like an imposter admitting that this is my first Jacqueline Harpman title, but very eager to dive into more of her tomes, nonetheless.

We Were Forbidden is divided into three short stories that depict the horrors of war, discrimination, and loss. Each experience felt so purely raw and emotional without needing to apply gore or creature-like fear, casting out the main character(s) in each tale to be isolated and starved, as part of a larger societal failure.

I feel very somber upon finishing this collection.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A trio of novellas: one in which a group of individuals roam a forest under strict orders during a war; another an autobiographical tale in which a young girl challenges ideology at her school, a choice that will forever impacts her; and lastly, a tale of a young wife in a loveless marriage discovers new passions.

It’s hard to say much more about these stories without giving too much away (the first of which, I will say, was my personal favorite). Unsurprisingly, I found them to be expertly written and beautifully translated. These stories are rich and present much to unpack, dissect, and discuss. Fans of Harpman’s I Who Have Never Known Men will assuredly enjoy these stories, too!

[Xaanua · Rating 3 out of 5]

Primera incursión literaria en la literatura de Jacqueline Harpman, escritora belga fallecida en 2012. Este libro está compuesto de 3 historias cortas, traducidas del francés al inglés por Ros Schwartz, y publicada por Transit books.
La primera historia, The Ardennes Forest, transcurre en las Ardenas, lugar común de guerra, un grupo de soldados recibe como orden caminar sin detenerse, subsistir ahí, no abandonar el bosque, no tener contacto con nadie. Y los años pasan, y los soldados se olvidan de quién dio la orden, simplemente la obedecen, y ni siquiera saben si la guerra continúa o ya ha acabado. La narradora de la historia empieza a cuestionarse la razón de seguir esa orden, empieza a cuestionarse si deben seguirla o por el contrario deben desobedecerla. La historia está bellamente planteada, con una escritura bella, reflexiva, que incita a reflexionar sobre la resiliencia del ser humano y sobre la obediencia militar. Personalmente, de las 3 historias es la que tiene un estilo más bello, más profundo, más rítmico y casi poético. En definitiva, es una historia que critica la falta de crítica en el individuo, que obedece a veces de forma automática, como si de un robot se tratara.
La segunda historia, The Outcast, va precedida de una nota, o aclaración de Ross Schwartz, que explica que se trata de una historia basada en la propia vida de Jacqueline Harpman, que era una joven judía, que fue acogida en Francia, dónde se educó. La autora habla de la resistencia de ella misma frente a las autoridades del colegio. Ella tenía una amiga, Henrietta, que se aprovechaba de tener un hermano combatiendo en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, para que cuando le preguntasen en el colegio, ella fingía emoción o no haber podido concentrarse en el estudio debido a la preocupación por su hermano. En esa historia, ella cuenta, cómo su amiga y los profesores tergiversaron unas palabras de ella sobre el patriotismo, la guerra, la moral y muerte. Ese incidente, supuso para la autora verse sometida a una especie de “juicio en la escuela” y verse castigada, por no retractarse de sus palabras, al ostracismo. Nadie podía hablar con ella, ni profesores ni alumnos, mientras el castigo durase. Ella esperaba que algún profesor la apoyase en ese juicio, y se sintió sola, aislada, sin apoyos, ni tan siquiera, la que consideraba su amiga, intercedió por ella. Ella, muerta de miedo, fue incapaz de hablar, cuando todos esperaban que ella se retractase para no condenarla. Tras ese juicio, ella se acostumbró al aislamiento, a que nadie la hablase, a estar sola. Todos la dieron de lado, no sólo en el colegio, sino también en su vida personal. Y cuando los profesores, al ver cómo el ambiente, sin la voz y alegría de ella, se evaporó, la perdonaron, pero cuando el perdón llegó, ella estaba tan dolida, que retiró la palabra a sus compañeras. Esta historia habla también de la resistencia, de la joven, que se niega a retractarse de algo, que ella de verdad cree, para aceptar la verdad, que todos dan como válida. Me gustó de esta historia la reflexión final: la necesidad de ser fiel a nuestras ideas, a lo que pensemos, a pesar de que el resto piense lo contrario. Y a título personal, me parece terrible castigar a una persona por ser crítica, y peor aún, condenar a un niño a la soledad, a ser marginado de la sociedad.
La tercera historia, The Broom Closet, quizás la más creativa en cuanto a la forma de combinar: imaginación y realidad. La historia nos narra una historia creada por la propia Harpman, de una joven atrapada en un matrimonio sin amor, del que quiere escapar. Una joven, que odia a su marido, y éste es consciente de ello. A partir de esa historia, la autora hace un paralelismo con María Antonieta, y cómo se la juzgó a ella, y a su propia vida privada, algo que hubiera sido diferente, si en vez de una mujer, esas mismas acciones, las hubiera hecho un hombre. Y esta historia, es quizás la que más me ha hecho reflexionar sobre cómo la historia, y la propia sociedad, juzga a las mujeres, juzga su vida íntima, y lo hace de una forma dura con aquellas mujeres, que se salen del patrón considerado como moral. La sociedad siempre es dura con aquellas mujeres, que desean vivir según sus deseos, que desean ser libres de ataduras, y viven con total libertad su vida.
Un libro, que a pesar de ser corto, incita mucho a reflexionar sobre la mujer, su rol en la sociedad, y de cómo los ojos de la sociedad se fijan en ella, y la juzgan.

[Richard Derus · Rating 4 out of 5]

OUT TODAY, 7 July 2026

Rating: 4* of five

The Publisher Says: From the author of I Who Have Never Known Men comes a startling new collection of three never-before-translated stories, each plumbing the depths of that most necessary human defiance.

Wandering the forest in the wake of some unfathomable war, a woman and her fellow survivors are forbidden from leaving its boundaries or pausing in their march through its strange depths.

As part of her rigid schooling, a teenage girl is barred from questioning the dogma she is taught to believe—her punishment for doing so will be as disturbing as it is disproportionate.

Locked in a loveless marriage, a young woman satisfies her husband’s desires, twice-weekly, as directed. She has not yet thought to pursue her own.

In varying ways, and across varying worlds, each of these women are trapped. Do they have the will to escape?

I RECEIVED A DRC FROM THE PUBLISHER VIA EDELWEISS+. THANK YOU.

My Review: One of the most enduring stories in Western Anglophone culture is the princess in the tower, locked away and in the absolute control of A Man/A System/An Enemy, and how she must connive to survive with whatever degree of success the cruel, cruel storyteller allows her. Now firmly grounded in the reality of being female over the millennia, along comes Author Harpman with Translator Schwartz as amanuensis, extrapolating this cultural juggernaut to include all those trapped in subservience and obedience to high-control systems.

In "The Outcast" Author Harpman uses the most familiar iteration of the story. A teenaged girl is in the intertwining coils of adolescence and sexual maturation and cultural demands for conformity. It's harrowing to see Author Harpman's keen observations of fascism turned loose on one so hugely vulnerable and malleable...it is a shorter and refocused version of the juggernaut I Who Have Never Known Men and should appeal to those seeking more of that story only dressed in a shorter, more contemporaneous skirt.

Moving into times and ties more concrete, "The Broom Closet" is a woman's struggle to find her footing in 1920s Belgium. The demands of domesticity on women are different from those made on men even now; in the deeply conservative culture of postwar Belgium, where the battles that killed millions were barely over let alone their damage repaired, they were starkly different. As one adds the inexorable advance of marriage's compromises conflicting with the absolute tyranny of the need to create stories, the trap of cultural expectations springs shut. Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own's observations made specific and played out with the intensity of "The Yellow Wallpaper."

Expanding the story logic to those enmeshed in the military of an apocalyptic future, "The Ardennes Forest" is the most immediately reminiscent in its setting to I Who Have Never Known Men while expanding scope beyond one woman's life. A group of conscripts are mapping and scouting the terrain for what they imagine, not unreasonably, to be a future battlefield. That future never comes. They continue the work they've been assigned.

Endlessly.

As the story goes into nothing deeply, it became obvious to me this is Author Harpman meditating on the tedious tasks of daily life performed under nebulous, ominous duress. There's a weirdly onanistic edge to the submission of these soldiers to their assigned task even as they begin to question what it is they're doing as nothing ever changes as a result of its self-similar patterns.

Three stories of people in a system of depersonalizing cruelty, and how that strips an individual of any sense of agency; numbing the essential "You"ness of you into submissive obedience. I'm not a bit sure it will make new Harpman fans. For one thing, there are limits to the efficacy of compactness in the involving process of storytelling. I think these three stories are on the shortest end of that effort, possibly too short for anyone not already familiar with Author Harpman's thematic hobbyhorses to fully invest in them.

Existing fans are in for a treat.

[Annie Holub · Rating 4 out of 5]

We Were Forbidden is a book comprised of three short stories: The Ardennes Forest, The Outcast, and The Broom Closet (my personal favorite).

Like everybody else, I read I Who Have Never Known Men and absolutely fell in love with it! I then went searching to find more by Harpman, as I wanted to know just how far her literature reaches, which was when I found this book. Although short, the three different stories offer great insight into the mind of Harpman, and perfectly display her writing style and what makes her writing so special.

The Ardennes Forest was my least favorite of the three, as it felt like sort of a repeat of I Who Have Never Known Men. That being said I still greatly admire her writing in it, and her ability to speak so concisely yet still have an immense emotional impact on the reader.

The Outcast was good, but not my favorite. It's about 20 pages long and tells the story of a young girl in school who is barred from speaking after an incident. The main thing that I took away from this story comes from page 40 when Harpman boldly states that "describing bores me". Now hearing an author say this should raise some red flags, but it doesn't with Harpman. The story is about how her tongue has always gotten her into trouble, and how if there is nothing to talk about, or no point to the talking, why should we speak? Harpman refusing to write a description because she doesn't want to adds to the novel in the same way that a description would.

Now we get to The Broom Closet, the best of the three in my opinion. This story reads like a half fiction half non-fiction tale, where we zoom into the story and then back out to Harpman creating it time and time again. This was phenomenal. To see inside Harpman's mind and the decisions she makes is an absolute dream. The story follows a young Madame who has an affair, that starts inside a broom closet. The story manages to be funny and bleak simultaneously, all while offering the reader some intense and thought provoking ideas sprinkled throughout it. My words fall short of accurately describing the story and the feeling it gives you, so instead I use my words to encourage you to read it.

[SJ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m seriously considering learning French and tracking down every scrap of paper Harpman ever wrote on, simply for the chance to spend more time in her mind.

These three stories are further proof of her remarkable ability to compress immense ideas into very few pages. They explore power, blind faith, obedience, rebellion, and the fragile construction of identity.

The first story follows thirty-seven post-hypnotic soldiers wandering through the Ardennes on an unknown mission. They have marched for so long that they have forgotten not only their objective and the reason they continue to walk.

The second, autobiographical piece recounts an argument Harpman had with a friend in Morocco after loyalties shifted from Vichy-aligned sympathies to support for de Gaulle and the Allies. What begins as a debate about heaven becomes an examination of hypocrisy: Henrietta longs for her brother’s safe return from the front, yet simultaneously believes that dying for one’s country would be his noblest and happiest fate. Harpman’s refusal to accept this contradiction leaves her isolated from both friends and teachers. As she writes, “Everyone sided with stupidity over Reason.” Elsewhere, “the monsters Hypocrisy and Received Ideas were always spelt with capital letters.”

“I have retained the permanent horror of opinionated youth.”

The final story returns to the 1920s in a dreamlike railway reverie. Harpman imagines herself as the adulterous wife of an incorruptible judge, stealing moments of mischief in broom cupboards while plotting her husband’s murder. The tale delights in its own artifice, slipping effortlessly between past and present, addressing the reader directly, and repeatedly breaking the fourth wall.

In the first story, you can glimpse the seeds of I Who Have Never Known Men; in the last, the playful wit and satire of Orlanda. Even in these brief pieces, Harpman’s voice is unmistakable.

[Amber Albert · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who adores Harpman’s “I Who Have Never Known Men,” I was incredibly excited to find this at my local bookstore. In its entirety, the book is less than 100 pages and each story is very brief. My favorite of the three is “The Ardennes Forest,” mainly because it echos similar themes and feelings from her novel. With that, it borderline crosses the line of redundancy, namely in the last 2 pages. That does not take away the beauty of the story, and I think it is a great, thought provoking piece about agency with/without supervision, and broadly the purpose of life.

Furthermore, “The Outcast” was a layered autopsy of an instance Harpman experienced in her youth. At first, I was not interested in this piece, but once she started to dive into her perception of intimacy, pride, and anger I felt very connected. I think many opinionated woman face similar reactions as Harpman did to goes against the grain (namely in times of political turmoil). Even as she is separated from her youth, she still holds so much of those emotions and is endless sparring with it. I find it beautiful.

The final story “The Broom Closet” was my least favorite. Harpman is diving into this sexual and adulterous multilayered fantasy a woman experiences. I think this story is great in theory, but in execution it did not quite hit for me. I found it to be less of a thought out narrative and instead more of stream of consciousness writing. That is to say, I didn’t dislike this story.

Overall, the stories are not connected and true to Harpman’s style many things are remained unanswered. Similar to what other reviews said, this may not be the best book to grab for your first Harpman experience. But, I do think everyone could benefit and take something from “The Ardennes Forest.”

[Cody · Rating 4 out of 5]

ARC

I'd like to thank Transit Books and Edelweiss+ for the chance to give "We Were Forbidden" an early read in return for an honest review.

Jacqueline Harpman has written one of the most harrowing novels of all time with "I Who Have Never Known Men". The bleak story is transfixing and timely. We get similarly timely and bleak stories within "We Were Forbidden", a collection of three novellas, each focusing on some form of striving for something forbidden.

The opening story, focusing on a band of soldiers who are forbidden from interacting with anyone, or leaving their duties, is the most compelling story. The plot is the most intriguing of the bunch, being the most easily consummable. The second story, which focuses on a young woman's punishment for arguing an opposing view, has the most meat for discussion. The final story, focusing on a woman finding pleasure outside of her marriage, is the weakest, though I didn't find it to be slow or boring by any means.

Together, these three tales show varying forms of rebellion and bring up discussions of crossing societal lines that may be taboo for the time. I found Harpman's writing to be sleek and easily digestible, while still allowing complex themes to shine. It's a short collection, coming in a little over 100 pages, but each story leaves a lasting impact.

This may not get the accolades that "I Who Have Never Known Men" has, but I think this newly translated collection really shows the power that Harpman has as a storyteller.

Be sure to give "We Were Forbidden" a read when it is published on July 7, 2026.

[Selena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the rather lovely new Vintage Classics edition. Short read (83 pages), consisting of 3 very different stories. Apparently, they are linked by the theme of defiance, although they seemed more random to me than that. All the stories have female narrators. The first one - The Ardennes Forest - easily my favourite, is a post-apocalyptic scenario about a dwindling group of men and women, under orders to endlessly patrol a forest. We don't know under whose orders or what they are on the lookout for, and it seems maybe they don't know either. Barely surviving, with no end in sight, they find something that gives them pause to remember the lives they once had. The second story - The Outcast - is from the point of view of a schoolgirl, whose logical arguments find her ostracised. (The translator's note gives some autobiographical and historical context.) The final story, The Broom Cupboard, features a writer developing a 1920s novel about a woman's love affair and the consequences.

I haven't read Harpman before, and this was a good taster. I wasn't so taken with the second and third stories; I appreciated the ideas but found The Broom Cupboard, in particular, rather confusing in execution. But based on The Ardennes Forest alone, I definitely would read I Who Have Never Known Men, which I understand takes this further. I loved the eerie atmosphere and reflections on being trapped by lack of knowledge, pleasure in small comforts, and being overtaken by the passage of time. Overall for the collection - 3.5 rounded up. Many thanks to the publisher for a reading copy.

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Only the reader gives meaning to a written message, without which is is like any random trace; a branch that the wind blows against a wall isn't Morse code and doesn't speak to anyone."

I went into this slightly blind, I had no idea that these were 3 separate stories by the author. After finishing this short read of only 85 pages, I have to conclude that I much prefer I Who Have Never Known Men. The first two stories were the most interesting to me, those being; 'The Ardennes Forest' which has the most similar feel to her previous book about a group of soldiers cut off from the world during a war and never coming across people or signs of life, growing old and pondering what could be happening in the world that they came from. The second being 'The Outcast' which is at least semi-autobiographical of Harpman growing up as a Jewish girl during WWII. The last story, however, fell slightly flat for me. Her writing definitely changed writing this as it is more the process of creating a character than any of her usual themes, and I found it somewhat confusing when we were switching between a character, reader, and then writer's POV. All things considered I still really enjoyed (especially the first story) and I would recommend it to any readers of 'I Who Have Never Known Men' who want another taste of her writing.