Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

153 reviews

kajoreads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I’d almost decribe this book as slice of life but horror-adjacent. I found it oddly comforting.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Suicide, Terminal illness, Dementia, and Grief

Moderate: Death, Blood, Vomit, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal death, Sexism, Lesbophobia, and Sexual harassment

shaun_dh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2⭐️ I struggled with how to rate this literary body horror. I didn’t hate it, but I didn’t like it and I'm certainly left with more questions than answers. I know that the point was to be about loss and grief, but it’s hard for me to love a book with an unresolved plot:

what were the motives of the Centre?! What happened to it?

. Def Annihilation vibes

I shed a few tears, but idk if I’d say it’s particularly memorable. I do appreciate that it’s a love story with lesbians that’s not centered around them being lesbians. WLW—we’re just like you, lol

One thing I absolutely hated (that ultimately lead me to my 2⭐️ review) is that the book is clearly written by a Brit (they use British words like petrol station and flat) but the spellings of words are U.S. English (neighbors instead of neighbours). Maybe that’s just something that would bother a weirdo like me, but pick a style! I like reading British versions of books, but I feel like the editor should have changed the words for the U.S. printing or just use British spelling

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Confinement

Moderate: Death, Suicide, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent

gia0203's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I found this book to be absolutely fascinating.

I have always found space more terrifying than the ocean. I think of the sea more curiously than fearfully, and sometimes wonder what’s beneath the surface. I went through a phase too of being obsessed with octopi (J still love them). So I actually found the story more beautiful than horrifying. Leah’s feelings about the ocean, and how she reflected on how it had shaped not just her life but everyone else’s, was wonderful to read. The ocean was always a source of comfort for her, but she also depended on it. It was an obsession, and I liked how this was a source of tension in Leah and Miri’s relationship. 

I liked too how the book was a metaphor for grief. The death of the protagonist’s parents was intertwined with Leah’s narrative beautifully. The way Leah’s body changed was a reflection of slowly losing someone, and it was really well done. The ending definitely paid off because of this. 

The pace moved slowly and gently like the ebb and flow of the waves. The text was littered with small details about Leah and Miri’s life and it made the reading experience really emotional. It’s hard to pull off a pace this slow without being dull, but for me this book was never boring, and instead I anticipated what was going to happen next while also enjoying being in the characters’ heads and learning about their lives. Leah was definitely a more concrete and likeable character than Miri, but by the end I loved both of them and thought their relationship was beautifully written. 

I think the slow pace of the novel made me feel like I was losing my mind too. It’s easy to get lost in this book. It made me feel dreamy and not quite here. Sunken thoughts, as Miri would say. 

On a final note,

I wish we could’ve found out more about the creature at the end - I was looking forward to reading the pages Leah wrote! I guess it’s left up to our imagination.

Regardless, I thought this was a wonderful and devastating book and I ordered a physical copy immediately upon finishing the digital version. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, and Grief

Moderate: Death and Suicide

Minor: Death of parent

mangofraiche's review against another edition

challenging mysterious sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

aristarcodisamo's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Blood, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Sexual harassment

jcshells's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Moderate: Sexual content

Minor: Homophobia and Alcohol

aselin's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Medical content

exhaustrovert's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Haunting narrative, I don't often (ever) write in books but this one drive me to find a pencil and add my thoughts in the margins. I long for the sea, and grieve.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Medical content, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Terminal illness, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Dysphoria

babayaga_babayaga's review against another edition

dark emotional informative mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent

Moderate: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Suicide, Blood, and Vomit

Minor: Physical abuse

koyotekarlheinz's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

I still have a lot of unanswered question and I'll just have to accept that. But the book is great for what it is and I am glad that me and my friends picked it for a buddy read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, Vomit, Grief, and Abandonment

Moderate: Death, Dementia, and Death of parent