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A review by saucy_bookdragon
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
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? It's complicated
5.0
“I want to explain her in a way that would make you love her, but the problem with this is that loving is something we all do alone and through different sets of eyes.”
The ocean is, of course, implicitly sad. Ever vast, ever deep, it's a central part of life, but unbelievably lonely and terrifying. Julia Armfield gets this. Our Wives Under the Sea is an exploration of what it means to grieve the living, it's poetic writing and emotions lingering. It's a literary novel that flirts with horror and the fantastical, uneasy in its ambiguity. I was completely absorbed in it and had to restrain myself from tabbing quotes on every page.
The ocean is, of course, implicitly sad. Ever vast, ever deep, it's a central part of life, but unbelievably lonely and terrifying. Julia Armfield gets this. Our Wives Under the Sea is an exploration of what it means to grieve the living, it's poetic writing and emotions lingering. It's a literary novel that flirts with horror and the fantastical, uneasy in its ambiguity. I was completely absorbed in it and had to restrain myself from tabbing quotes on every page.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Grief
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Homophobia, Lesbophobia