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A review by emilyrowanstudio
Our Wives Under The Sea by Julia Armfield
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Ooooft this book! It's only March but I already know this is going to be a book of the year contender for me. OWUTS was magic, and near perfect in its mood of melancholy, of mystery, of wanting.
Written in alternating POVs between married couple Miri and Leah, as a reader we flit between Leah's retelling of a submarine expedition gone wrong, and Miri grasping at answers for what and why while reminiscing what their marriage once was.
I don't think i've ever read a book that's mood so aptly matches the subject matter. From the first page, OWUTS draws you into its dark depths, the tone throughout feeling otherworldly even when set above water. A large portion of this novel is set at the bottom of the ocean, but the entirety reads like two characters drowning.
At once as romantic as it is sinister, for me this book contains just the right amount of horror. It's spooky and creepy and your jaw drops at sentences you didn't see coming, but the horror truly lies between the lines of prose.
To describe OWUTS is to describe the depths of the ocean - dark, murky, unknowable, sparse, quiet, scenic, romantic. OWUTS is slow-paced, not a lot happens, and it raises more questions than it answers. This definitely won't be for everyone but for those who it is - boy will it be.
Written in alternating POVs between married couple Miri and Leah, as a reader we flit between Leah's retelling of a submarine expedition gone wrong, and Miri grasping at answers for what and why while reminiscing what their marriage once was.
I don't think i've ever read a book that's mood so aptly matches the subject matter. From the first page, OWUTS draws you into its dark depths, the tone throughout feeling otherworldly even when set above water. A large portion of this novel is set at the bottom of the ocean, but the entirety reads like two characters drowning.
At once as romantic as it is sinister, for me this book contains just the right amount of horror. It's spooky and creepy and your jaw drops at sentences you didn't see coming, but the horror truly lies between the lines of prose.
To describe OWUTS is to describe the depths of the ocean - dark, murky, unknowable, sparse, quiet, scenic, romantic. OWUTS is slow-paced, not a lot happens, and it raises more questions than it answers. This definitely won't be for everyone but for those who it is - boy will it be.