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asurasantosha 's review for:
Our Wives Under The Sea
by Julia Armfield
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I'm not usually a fan of horror, in particular of body horror, but this one really impressed me. It was creepy and suspenseful and super eerie. The characters felt like real people. The prose was so thought provoking and created some incredible imagery and really added to the eerie tone of the book.
I liked the way that the horror of this story unfolded. The circumstances felt real and grounded unlike many horror books where it's hard to beleive the characters motovations, how they ended up in the circumstances that are nessecary for the scary thing to take place, why they aren't making obviously smarter choices, etc.
There is one instance of this in this book that happens when the state of a character starts to degrade and for some reason they don't go to a hospital. And it doesn't make any sense why they don't. At first she says she doesn't want to go, but it progresses well past the point where any save person would ignore the "I don't want to go to the hospital" demands and at least call some paramedics out. They also don't talk to anyone else about what's happening which pages the boundary of rational human behavior. But instead of doing either of these things, the characters just stay in a little insular bubble of worry and resignation. Even though I found that kind of unbelievable, it at least seemed to fit the character's individual personalities pretty well.
But honestly the writing is so good, the pacing is so perfect, and the tension is just right that I can mostly forgive that.
I've seen this book recommended a few times as a good Sapphic read. Which I find odd because while the main couple in this book is lesbian, I wouldn't really describe this book as having any queer themes. I do think have a couple who is the same gender and possibly even female in particular really helps support the story, but more so for the sake of really equalizing and neutralizing the victim and the observer. There is no significant power dynamic between the couple outside of maybe sick person and caretaker. And them being female means no one has to examine their ego or reflect on their sense of masculinity and Miri being female helps add some good elements to her reflections of her mother. I think all that helps keep the focus on the horror aspects of the story and not the relationship or romance.
So, I highly recommend this book is you're looking for a good suspenseful book with a strong dash of body horror.
I liked the way that the horror of this story unfolded. The circumstances felt real and grounded unlike many horror books where it's hard to beleive the characters motovations, how they ended up in the circumstances that are nessecary for the scary thing to take place, why they aren't making obviously smarter choices, etc.
There is one instance of this in this book that happens when the state of a character starts to degrade and for some reason they don't go to a hospital. And it doesn't make any sense why they don't. At first she says she doesn't want to go, but it progresses well past the point where any save person would ignore the "I don't want to go to the hospital" demands and at least call some paramedics out. They also don't talk to anyone else about what's happening which pages the boundary of rational human behavior. But instead of doing either of these things, the characters just stay in a little insular bubble of worry and resignation. Even though I found that kind of unbelievable, it at least seemed to fit the character's individual personalities pretty well.
But honestly the writing is so good, the pacing is so perfect, and the tension is just right that I can mostly forgive that.
I've seen this book recommended a few times as a good Sapphic read. Which I find odd because while the main couple in this book is lesbian, I wouldn't really describe this book as having any queer themes. I do think have a couple who is the same gender and possibly even female in particular really helps support the story, but more so for the sake of really equalizing and neutralizing the victim and the observer. There is no significant power dynamic between the couple outside of maybe sick person and caretaker. And them being female means no one has to examine their ego or reflect on their sense of masculinity and Miri being female helps add some good elements to her reflections of her mother. I think all that helps keep the focus on the horror aspects of the story and not the relationship or romance.
So, I highly recommend this book is you're looking for a good suspenseful book with a strong dash of body horror.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol