Literature & Fiction
![Julia Armfield - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B07R15RP8Y.jpg)
Our Wives Under the Sea
By turns elegiac and furious, wry and heartbreaking, Julia Armfield's Our Wives Under the Sea is a genre-bending exploration of the depths of love and grief at the heart of a marriage.
"A wonderful novel, deeply romantic and fabulously strange. I loved this book." ―Sarah Waters
"Without a doubt, one of the best books I've ever read. It's not only art, it's a perfect miracle. We are lucky for it." ―Kristen Arnett
Leah is changed. Months earlier, she left for a routine expedition, only this time her submarine sank to the sea floor. When she finally surfaces and returns home, her wife Miri knows that something is wrong. Barely eating and lost in her thoughts, Leah rotates between rooms in their apartment, running the taps morning and night.
As Miri searches for answers, desperate to understand what happened below the water, she must face the possibility that the woman she loves is slipping from her grasp.
"A wonderful novel, deeply romantic and fabulously strange. I loved this book." ―Sarah Waters
"Without a doubt, one of the best books I've ever read. It's not only art, it's a perfect miracle. We are lucky for it." ―Kristen Arnett
Leah is changed. Months earlier, she left for a routine expedition, only this time her submarine sank to the sea floor. When she finally surfaces and returns home, her wife Miri knows that something is wrong. Barely eating and lost in her thoughts, Leah rotates between rooms in their apartment, running the taps morning and night.
As Miri searches for answers, desperate to understand what happened below the water, she must face the possibility that the woman she loves is slipping from her grasp.
Editorial Reviews
Praise for Our Wives Under the Sea
A Most Anticipated Book (The Guardian, Good Housekeeping, LitHub, Autostraddle, Stylist)
"Without a doubt, Our Wives Under the Sea is one of the best books I've ever read. It's not only art, it's a perfect miracle. We are lucky for it."
―Kristen Arnett, author of With Teeth and Mostly Dead Things
"A wonderful novel, deeply romantic and fabulously strange. I loved this book."
―Sarah Waters, author of Tipping the Velvet
"I was entirely captivated by this book. A gorgeous debut."
―Jami Attenberg, author of I Came All This Way to Meet You and The Middlesteins
"Beautiful, otherworldly, like floating through water with your eyes open."
―Daisy Johnson, author of Sisters and Everything Under
"Julia Armfield is one of my favorite writers. Our Wives Under the Sea is a contemporary gothic fairy tale, sublime in its creepiness."
―Florence Welch, lead singer of Florence + the Machine
"This phenomenal book is a marriage tale unlike any other. Thrilling, funny and exquisitely crafted, this book will make you question everything while it keeps you up all night turning its pages." ―Danielle Lazarin, author of Back Talk
"A strange, unnerving novel that wrongfoots you at every turn and invites you to think again about loss, absence, and transformation. A lyrically written elegy."
―Neel Mukherjee, author of The Lives of Others
"Tender, strange, lucid, and so assured. If you love sci-fi or love stories or books that defy labels or chew-your-arm-off good writing, this is for you."
―Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies
"Spooky and romantic: a gorgeous novel that gets under your skin. Armfield leads you softly through a story that feels epic and intimate at the same time."
―Sarvat Hasin, author of The Giant Dark
"Delicate and horrifying, Our Wives Under The Sea is a darkly brilliant novel that submerges the reader's imagination in the depths of the unknown."
―Megan Hunter, author of The Harpy
"Reading this book is like diving into the deepest depths of the ocean and finding beautiful and disturbing wonders."
―Kirsty Logan, author of Things We Say in the Dark
A Most Anticipated Book (The Guardian, Good Housekeeping, LitHub, Autostraddle, Stylist)
"Without a doubt, Our Wives Under the Sea is one of the best books I've ever read. It's not only art, it's a perfect miracle. We are lucky for it."
―Kristen Arnett, author of With Teeth and Mostly Dead Things
"A wonderful novel, deeply romantic and fabulously strange. I loved this book."
―Sarah Waters, author of Tipping the Velvet
"I was entirely captivated by this book. A gorgeous debut."
―Jami Attenberg, author of I Came All This Way to Meet You and The Middlesteins
"Beautiful, otherworldly, like floating through water with your eyes open."
―Daisy Johnson, author of Sisters and Everything Under
"Julia Armfield is one of my favorite writers. Our Wives Under the Sea is a contemporary gothic fairy tale, sublime in its creepiness."
―Florence Welch, lead singer of Florence + the Machine
"This phenomenal book is a marriage tale unlike any other. Thrilling, funny and exquisitely crafted, this book will make you question everything while it keeps you up all night turning its pages." ―Danielle Lazarin, author of Back Talk
"A strange, unnerving novel that wrongfoots you at every turn and invites you to think again about loss, absence, and transformation. A lyrically written elegy."
―Neel Mukherjee, author of The Lives of Others
"Tender, strange, lucid, and so assured. If you love sci-fi or love stories or books that defy labels or chew-your-arm-off good writing, this is for you."
―Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies
"Spooky and romantic: a gorgeous novel that gets under your skin. Armfield leads you softly through a story that feels epic and intimate at the same time."
―Sarvat Hasin, author of The Giant Dark
"Delicate and horrifying, Our Wives Under The Sea is a darkly brilliant novel that submerges the reader's imagination in the depths of the unknown."
―Megan Hunter, author of The Harpy
"Reading this book is like diving into the deepest depths of the ocean and finding beautiful and disturbing wonders."
―Kirsty Logan, author of Things We Say in the Dark
