Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - Our Wives Under The Sea

A very interesting love story mixed up with a psychological thriller of sorts. Following two narrators, the protagonist and her wife (you decide which is which I guess). One narrator, Leah, is stranded at the bottom of the ocean with a small crew in a research submarine. She tries to describe the experience of their descent into darkness, total isolation and madness. The other narrator, Miri, faces the aftermath of the mission, having to care for and cope with her love who has been changed beyond recognition by her experience which appears both traumatic and somehow spiritual. Both narrators delve into their memories of each other, their families and lives creating a rich background for the story. The chapters are named for and take the perspective of each narrator in turn in what becomes a very interesting duologue that crosses temporal boundaries. The book is also divided into sections mirroring the vertical zones of the ocean from sunlight zone to the hadal zone. There seems to be a synergy between these zones and the events on the ship as told by Leah but also the deterioration of the protagonist couple's relationship and well-being in Miri's narration. There is a sort of unexpected magic realism to the story as well. Quite enjoyable overall, an easy read and though mostly character driven, I kept wanting to know the next chapter. If I have one criticism it's that the tertiary characters are interesting and I would have liked to see more of them, but the story isn't ultimately about them, so I take that as an intentional choice.

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lefay_'s review against another edition

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dark sad tense slow-paced

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

2.5

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sav_22's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.5

I fell in love with the writing style used in this book. I would classify this as an introspective; it unfolds into two storylines, with one following flashbacks and the other following the aftermath. I think if you are looking for a thriller, this isn’t for you; while this contains a lot of body horror, disturbing and complex trauma, it very much focuses on the trauma of grieving someone that’s fundamentally changed—someone that’s still there physically, but has disappeared everywhere else. It’s a book about trauma of loss as well as the trauma of loving.

as much as I would have loved to know the actual cause of Leah’s condition and what happened down there in the dark depths of the sea, I think this book is meant to live through the metaphor of what’s happening. I interpreted Leah’s condition as symbolism for a greater complex trauma that’s destroyed her spirit and in turn is destroying her physically. It reminds me of how people shut down after a traumatic event, with the ptsd of it further sinking them into oblivion. Viewing it this way made the story all the more gut wrenching, as Miri has to both process the grief of losing Leah twice: once to her incident, and the next to her trauma. Overall, I found the incompleteness of this conclusion to be purposeful and reflective on the reoccurring theme of “unstillness”; Life goes on, and so will you, even if you aren’t able to understand everything. <spoiler/>

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nikenacs's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

Strong portrayal of love, loss, and watching yourself grieve a love, even while it's still around. Listened to it on two rainy train rides over the North Sea, which was the perfect gloomy atmosphere. Good portrayal of depression, directly fed into my own depression tbh. All their relationship memories coming back made me think of all my loved ones and the little details I love about them, as well, I really enjoyed that. Especially when those memories start showing up in Leah's parts as well!

However, especially Miri's parts were a bit too slow-paced for my personal taste, and Miri as a protagonist increasingly irritated me with how much she was a dick to everyone around her. I know this is intentional, and I think I'd have more compassion with a real person, but as a protagonist, she was a lot at times.

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scytheria's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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znvisser's review

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

This was a beautiful, short story that was both very real and human, and very weird, and I loved it for both. Armfield did a great job of showing all the small pieces of a close relationship, from the gestures and memories to how togetherness evolves. I loved how you get to know Leah and Miri through their accumulation of experiences; how after meeting, they weave together into a new, shared entity (whether physically together or not) which is lost again when Leah returns, for which reason you really live through Miri’s loss. Meanwhile, Leah’s backstory strangely made me wonder whether her experience under the sea changed her that much or that it somehow helped her finally becoming what she was meant to be all along. (Also brilliant book cover)

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