Our Wives Under The Sea: Julia Armfield
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‘A gothic fairy tale, sublime in its creepiness’ – Florence Welch
Our Wives Under The Sea is the haunting novel from Julia Armfiled, the critically acclaimed author of Salt Slow. It’s a story of falling in love, loss, grief, and what life there is in the deep, deep sea.
Miri thinks she has got her wife back, when Leah finally returns after a deep sea mission that ended in catastrophe. But It soon becomes clear that Leah may have come back wrong. Whatever happened in that vessel, whatever it was they were supposed to be studying before they were stranded on the ocean floor, Leah has carried part of it with her, onto dry land and into their home.
Memories of what they had before – the jokes they shared, the films they watched, all the small things that made Leah hers – only remind Miri of what she stands to lose. Living in the same space but suddenly separate, Miri comes to realize that the life that they had might be gone.
Shortlisted for the Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize
‘A wonderful novel, deeply romantic and fabulously strange’ – Sarah Waters, author of Ghost Wall
‘Part bruisingly tender love story, part nerve-clanging submarine thriller’ – The Times
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Additional information
| Publisher | Picador, Main Market edition (16 Mar. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Paperback | 240 pages |
| ISBN-10 | 1529017254 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1529017250 |
| Reading age | 18 years and up |
| Dimensions | 13 x 1.6 x 19.6 cm |
by Alexandros Kefalas
I am halfway through reading this book and I find it amazing. Books like this one are the reason I read: the clever descriptions and intelligent storytelling. I enjoy it and I hope it will get translated into Greek one day so that I can enjoy it in my language as well.
I intend to buy the author’s other books, I am very satisfied.
by Brooke Fieldhouse
MIRI and LEAH are a married couple. They live in an apartment which has neighbours who listen to loud television ‘soaps’. They have friends called Sam and Carmen, drink cherry Coke, eat pizza – it’s very studenty. Both of them frequently examine their tongues, their teeth, and their skins. They spend a lot of time in the bath, particularly Leah, and as the reader reads this novel OUR WIVES UNDER THE SEA by Julia Armfield, they become aware that Leah has taken part in a deep-sea diving research mission. Miri – though she says she did work in the past – it seems is a ‘stay home’ partner whilst Leah is the wife under the sea and is employed by THE CENTRE, a mysterious faceless organization who seem to be only contactable by telephone.
The entire 230pp novel is in the form of two alternating accounts, Miri’s monologue – though there is dialogue in both – written in the present tense, and Leah’s point of view delivered in the past tense. On p10 we gather that something is wrong, Leah’s submarine which she shares with two other crew, MATTEO and JELKA has ‘lost contact’ and we gradually realize what ‘deep sea’ means, its seven and a half miles deep – and probably somewhere at the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific, the mission takes months.
Miri has to start coming to terms with the possibility that Leah may not return. The Centre gives her no information so she seeks solace with on-line blogs, one for missing persons, another for the ‘wives of imaginary spacemen.’ Meanwhile, Leah describes conditions on the submarine in torchlight only, strange noises, smells and increasing hints of a life presence of mythological proportions. I say ‘meanwhile’ but part of the deftness of this novel is the structuring of past tense and present – the compartmenting as it were. The two points of view are not simultaneous, so the reader has no idea whether or not Leah gets back or survives until the later stages of the narrative.
About three quarters of the way through, Jelka’s sister Juna contacts Miri with ‘something to tell’. This throws the whole novel into a different gear and the pace accelerates toward a conclusion which explores the origins of all life itself.
by lydscl
This book will likely be divisive amongst readers. Some will love the slow burn unfolding of the story others will really dislike it. I sat in the middle for my first read but have found myself continuing to think about this book and going back to chapters detailing the disintegration of Leah. This is a science fiction horror slow burn that’s about love, loss and grief and deserves attention to be paid to it as this isn’t in your face horror but subtle and disturbing and it grows to consume you as you witness it consuming Leah and Miri. 4* read with a full second read coming to take in everything I feel I missed first time round.
by Lianne S-F
I really enjoyed this book. It was odd, dark and mysterious but also very human and grounded. I like the way it’s from the two sides of this couples bizzare tale and deals with the grief of losing / missing someone whilst they’re still around. Excellent to have such strong queer female characters and I wish the author had more books written already to read next! I got this after reading Salt Slow and it was great to have luxury of reading a longer story after really enjoying the shorts.
by Amazon Customer
I’ve been surprised at the positive reviews this book has gotten.
The concept is good: person goes to sea and comes back mysteriously changed. This mixed analogously with a break-up has the foundations for something good.
Unfortunately, the characters do not engage with this story at all. Instead, Miri (the protagonist) spends the whole novel going “isn’t my wife acting strange today, let me remember a time when she wasn’t.” Easily 4/5ths of this book are flashbacks to a more boring time.
Further, Miri is totally passive (along with 99% of the characters) she does nothing. She does nothing to understand her wife’s ‘condition.’ The most Miri does in the entire novel is call the doctor once or twice. The rest is just reminiscing. Lazy.
If this were not frustrating enough, a minor character, who appears much later, ‘Juna,’ reveals she actually has been looking into things. Briefly, she tells us what Miri should have been doing as a protagonist all along, and after Miri has been handed the work a protagonist should have done herself, we go straight into the ending.
Imagine reading a book where a character you met twice is the one who experiences the story I paid to read, whilst the protagonist mopes around for 200 pages doing absolutely nothing.
A totally wasted concept. This would have worked much better as a short story, as clearly, the author does not understand how to craft a longer work into which plot, meaning, pace, and tension could be so beautifully woven. The ingredients were there, the talent was not. Pity.
by cinnamon
I absolutely adored this book. Definitely on my favourite list of books. The story is intriguing and very unusual. The characters are believable and as the story unfolded I grew very attached to them. I looked forward to reading it so much and to find out what happens next. I was very sorry to finish it but I know I will reread it in future.
An author to watch out for…brilliant.