Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Our Wives Under the Sea

Very beautifully written and very immersive.
I loved to get to know these women and their relationship, especially through Miris eyes. All these little details she thinks of while trying to find her Leah in the Leah that returned. It was hurtful to read, but also endearing. (My favourite was when Miri said that Leah used to pedal Miris legs when she was upset and chant "tour de france, tour de france" until Miri had to laugh. Idk, it was just so cute.) Miris voice was very clear, every obersvation and comment she made fit her perfectly. Same for Leah, but we don't get to see that much of her compared to Miri.
I liked how the book was seperated into the different stages of the ocean and everything Leah told us about it and the ways to travel and research it. Her fascination for the ocean is everywhere and as someone who is a little fascinated by the deep as well, I liked that a lot.

Even though there's not that much happening, a lot of suspense builds up over the course of the novel. I couldn't put it down after a certain point. - And I get why we don't get all the answers, this book isn't about the plot, and I think it was the right choice, because solving every mystery would've taken away from the point ... but I can't help but want to know the answers. Someone please rewrite this in another genre? So we got both?

Content Warnings

courtneyfalling's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Julia Armfield is going to someday write a book that's an easy 5/5 stars for me, I can feel it. This book was so lyrical and haunting and has continued to live in my psyche. I wanted so badly to rate it 5/5, but the ending was a little too open-ended on what actually happened, and I felt like the writing on a technical level was always just slightly above the writing on an emotional level for me. This was still such a good study on time and memory and grief.

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_rowan_'s review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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corabookworm's review against another edition

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emotional sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Honestly so confused about how to feel about this book. It was beautiful and unsettling and very very depressing, less horror than I expected, more about grief and loss than anything else. And just plain weird. I loved it. But also I'm sad now. And a little disappointed that there wasn't a full plot with an end to the mystery. It was more just vibes. Which I respect. But also rahhh.

(Might write a more sensible review later we'll see.)

Content Warnings

beth_farrelly's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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sevenforasecret's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

4.0

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