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emotional
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I expected horror and what I got was a metaphorical novel that would have made a great short story but ended up being a (to me personally) mediocre book. Real bummer cause the concept could have been really scary too.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The story is told by two POV. Leah mainly talks about the catastrophic deep sea mission, the sea and her love of anything about it. Miri on the other hand, tells about the rest of the story; their relationship, her mother, and most importantly the aftermath of the event. It dawned on me that the story was not about the mission, but rather about love and grief. Most importantly about grieving someone that you love but now has slipped away into a stranger.
There are some part of the book that’s a little hard to read. Not because of the body horror or how unsettling it is, but more because of the wording. Sometimes I have to re-read the lines before I understand what it really means. The story also doesn’t seem to progress further until like the end of the book, which doesn’t help to make it less-frustrating. Also, there isn’t actually much story of the deep sea mission. It does however able to keep the story engaging enough, especially if you’re into commentary about the sea and its creatures. Overall it’s a great atmospheric book, but plot-wise not very exciting.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It's hard to lose your wife to the bottom of the ocean. Especially when she comes back home.
Armfield's story of tragedy and grief is a beautifully emotional tale that hones in on the themes of accepting loss and overcoming grief, alongside family and struggling to adapt to a new way of life. The story is a mix of horror, sci-fi, and LGBT+ literature that all work in tandem with each other to create something that keeps you hooked till the very end (especially with a big mystery to solve). When Miri's wife, Leah, comes back from a submarine mission to explore the bottom of the ocean, she is unexplainably different. And no one can help her. None of the other survivors or the company that sent them down there will respond to her asking, and she cannot simply search Google for the answers. It becomes a waiting game in their house, trying to see how long they can draw out the time they know they have left.
Armfield's story of tragedy and grief is a beautifully emotional tale that hones in on the themes of accepting loss and overcoming grief, alongside family and struggling to adapt to a new way of life. The story is a mix of horror, sci-fi, and LGBT+ literature that all work in tandem with each other to create something that keeps you hooked till the very end (especially with a big mystery to solve). When Miri's wife, Leah, comes back from a submarine mission to explore the bottom of the ocean, she is unexplainably different. And no one can help her. None of the other survivors or the company that sent them down there will respond to her asking, and she cannot simply search Google for the answers. It becomes a waiting game in their house, trying to see how long they can draw out the time they know they have left.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Blood
Minor: Gore, Death of parent, Alcohol
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
If I had time to binge this, I would have, but this way it took me about 4 days. It's compelling, draws you in, especially towards the ending, the metaphors are amazing and I loved the cosmic horror (I wish it was clearer that this was the type of horror I was in for though). Overall I wished for just a pinch more of an explanation, because right now, I have at least 10 huge questions and answering some of those would only make the unknown sweeter.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Grief, Death of parent
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Confinement
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Mental illness, Violence
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Two different versions of horror, presented as alternating POVs of a landbound woman and her seabound wife. This is a fast read; Julia Armfield has so much talent for illustrative and suspenseful storytelling, balancing a rarely seen world of deep sea exploration with an aching portrait of the person left behind, experiencing their twin versions of darkness.
Still, I felt an emotional distance from these characters, and their hastily written co-workers, friends and parents. They're entirely defined by their confusion and disorder, with little snippets about their cozy past life, and their voices become indistinguishable from each other. Maybe that's intentional, that they are two halves of the same whole, and everyone else is an afterthought of their malfunctioning brains? Maybe they are the same person.
You'll enjoy this book if you're in the mood for something mysterious and creepy, with deeper perspectives on grief and the unraveling of losing someone you love.
Still, I felt an emotional distance from these characters, and their hastily written co-workers, friends and parents. They're entirely defined by their confusion and disorder, with little snippets about their cozy past life, and their voices become indistinguishable from each other. Maybe that's intentional, that they are two halves of the same whole, and everyone else is an afterthought of their malfunctioning brains? Maybe they are the same person.
You'll enjoy this book if you're in the mood for something mysterious and creepy, with deeper perspectives on grief and the unraveling of losing someone you love.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Body horror, Mental illness, Grief
Minor: Suicide, Lesbophobia
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Grief, Death of parent
Minor: Lesbophobia
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved Our Wives Under the Sea. It's unique, very well written, has creepy vibes, hints of sci-fi monsters, and some body horror, but it's ultimately a tragic love story and an exploration of grief and loss.
Miri's timeline varies a lot, with some parts far back in the past, some just a few months before, when her wife Leah was missing, and some in present day, when Leah has returned but is different and strange. Leah's POV is usually in the past, never once she returned after those months gone. It does also go back to memories from various times, like Miri's.
The voice actors were great, and this way of storytelling really worked for this book. The story isn't really about the details of what happened to Leah during her months gone, but about Leah and Miri's relationship and struggling to deal with everything changing and the grief and loss of it all. Experiencing different memories of each character really let me feel the loss of their relationship in the present day.
Reminds me a bit of This Is How You Lose the Time War, not in the subject matter at all, but in the sense that you don't always get the whole picture, or a full understanding of the world, or all the answers. That and the writing is just beautiful in both books, even if not exactly the same way. In this book, you get an emotional close up view of someone desperately clinging to a relationship despite mysterious and tragic circumstances tearing them apart, and only bits and pieces of what actually happened that changed everything. Even though you don't fully understand everything that happened to the characters, you feel the weight of what they experienced, and you understand how difficult it is for them to try and hold onto how things used to be.
This story is going to stay with me for a while, and even if I will wonder about exactly what happened at the bottom of the ocean, I'm okay with the focus of the book being on the characters. Our Wives Under the Sea slowly squeezed my heart until it broke. I knew it was coming, and the journey toward the inevitable end made it hurt all the more. 5/5 stars, highly recommend for a unique read.
Miri's timeline varies a lot, with some parts far back in the past, some just a few months before, when her wife Leah was missing, and some in present day, when Leah has returned but is different and strange. Leah's POV is usually in the past, never once she returned after those months gone. It does also go back to memories from various times, like Miri's.
The voice actors were great, and this way of storytelling really worked for this book. The story isn't really about the details of what happened to Leah during her months gone, but about Leah and Miri's relationship and struggling to deal with everything changing and the grief and loss of it all. Experiencing different memories of each character really let me feel the loss of their relationship in the present day.
Reminds me a bit of This Is How You Lose the Time War, not in the subject matter at all, but in the sense that you don't always get the whole picture, or a full understanding of the world, or all the answers. That and the writing is just beautiful in both books, even if not exactly the same way. In this book, you get an emotional close up view of someone desperately clinging to a relationship despite mysterious and tragic circumstances tearing them apart, and only bits and pieces of what actually happened that changed everything. Even though you don't fully understand everything that happened to the characters, you feel the weight of what they experienced, and you understand how difficult it is for them to try and hold onto how things used to be.
This story is going to stay with me for a while, and even if I will wonder about exactly what happened at the bottom of the ocean, I'm okay with the focus of the book being on the characters. Our Wives Under the Sea slowly squeezed my heart until it broke. I knew it was coming, and the journey toward the inevitable end made it hurt all the more. 5/5 stars, highly recommend for a unique read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Grief
Moderate: Confinement, Suicide