A review by a_picara
Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield

dark emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

This book is elegantly written and creepy. I went in without knowing the premise or even the genre, which worked as a reading experience because it allowed me to go along with the characters. The prose is lyric and feels like poetry. The characters are introspective. The sci-fi elements are described but not explained or justified, and that is a smart narrative decision. At its heart, this is a book about love and grief, and there is a beauty to that.
[Spoiler] the end was a bit more prolonged than necessary. When Miri packs Leah and drives to her mom's old house near the ocean, I assumed the purpose was to take Leah to the ocean, not simply go to a different bathtub. When we got to the ocean at the end, it was inevitable, but could have happened directly from leaving the city [/spoiler].