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jes7037 's review for:
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:
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