Literature & Fiction
![Julia Armfield - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B07R15RP8Y.jpg)
Our Wives Under the Sea
A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR (NPR, The Washington Post, Lit Hub, The Telegraph, Goodreads, Tor.com, them, and more)
"A deeply strange and haunting novel in the best possible way…An impressive and exciting debut novel that may leave you thinking about your own relationships in a new light." ―NPR
"Shocking…Achingly poetic…Sharp and beautiful as coral polyps…Armfield exercises an exquisite―even sadistic―sense of suspense." ―Ron Charles, The Washington Post
Leah is changed. A marine biologist, she left for a routine expedition months earlier, 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. Whatever happened in that vessel, whatever it was they were supposed to be studying before they were stranded, Leah has carried part of it with her, onto dry land and into their home. 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.
By turns elegiac and furious, wry and heartbreaking, Our Wives Under the Sea is an exploration of the unknowable depths within each of us, and the love that compels us nevertheless toward one another.
"A deeply strange and haunting novel in the best possible way…An impressive and exciting debut novel that may leave you thinking about your own relationships in a new light." ―NPR
"Shocking…Achingly poetic…Sharp and beautiful as coral polyps…Armfield exercises an exquisite―even sadistic―sense of suspense." ―Ron Charles, The Washington Post
Leah is changed. A marine biologist, she left for a routine expedition months earlier, 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. Whatever happened in that vessel, whatever it was they were supposed to be studying before they were stranded, Leah has carried part of it with her, onto dry land and into their home. 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.
By turns elegiac and furious, wry and heartbreaking, Our Wives Under the Sea is an exploration of the unknowable depths within each of us, and the love that compels us nevertheless toward one another.
Editorial Reviews
A Best Book of the Year (NPR, The Washington Post, Lit Hub, The Telegraph, Goodreads, Tor.com, them, and more)
Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction
A Goodreads Choice Award Finalist
A Most Anticipated Book (TIME, The Guardian, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, The Boston Globe, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Parade, Electric Literature, BookRiot, Bustle, The Millions, LitHub, Goodreads, Autostraddle, PopSugar, Lambda Literary, Refinery29, Shondaland, SheReads, Stylist, GeeklyInc, Boston.com, Five Books)
"Shocking…Achingly poetic…Sharp and beautiful as coral polyps…Armfield exercises an exquisite―even sadistic―sense of suspense. She's cleverly designed this story so that we only gradually become aware of how little we know. ‘Panic is a misuse of oxygen,' Leah warns, but by the climax of this eerie novel, I was misusing it with abandon."
―Ron Charles, The Washington Post
"A deeply strange and haunting novel in the best possible way…An impressive and exciting debut novel that may leave you thinking about your own relationships in a new light."
―NPR
"A haunting, evocative novel that juxtaposes the horrors beneath the waves with the life and love that exist on land."
―TIME
"Armfield uses this mysterious setup to explore anticipatory grief and the limits of human understanding, and I was a little changed after reading Our Wives Under the Sea, too."
―The New York Times
"Sublimely gorgeous…Readers are treated to a stunning love story about a couple trying to make sense of their new unfamiliar situation, while also learning about what happened to Leah on the ocean floor. It's pretty much perfect."
―Liberty Hardy, BookRiot
"Hypnotic...Gripped me from the first chapter...Armfield is unafraid to deal with uncomfortable issues, asking readers how much it's possible to ever really know someone, no matter how long you've been with them. I savored eac...
Longlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction
A Goodreads Choice Award Finalist
A Most Anticipated Book (TIME, The Guardian, Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, The Boston Globe, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Parade, Electric Literature, BookRiot, Bustle, The Millions, LitHub, Goodreads, Autostraddle, PopSugar, Lambda Literary, Refinery29, Shondaland, SheReads, Stylist, GeeklyInc, Boston.com, Five Books)
"Shocking…Achingly poetic…Sharp and beautiful as coral polyps…Armfield exercises an exquisite―even sadistic―sense of suspense. She's cleverly designed this story so that we only gradually become aware of how little we know. ‘Panic is a misuse of oxygen,' Leah warns, but by the climax of this eerie novel, I was misusing it with abandon."
―Ron Charles, The Washington Post
"A deeply strange and haunting novel in the best possible way…An impressive and exciting debut novel that may leave you thinking about your own relationships in a new light."
―NPR
"A haunting, evocative novel that juxtaposes the horrors beneath the waves with the life and love that exist on land."
―TIME
"Armfield uses this mysterious setup to explore anticipatory grief and the limits of human understanding, and I was a little changed after reading Our Wives Under the Sea, too."
―The New York Times
"Sublimely gorgeous…Readers are treated to a stunning love story about a couple trying to make sense of their new unfamiliar situation, while also learning about what happened to Leah on the ocean floor. It's pretty much perfect."
―Liberty Hardy, BookRiot
"Hypnotic...Gripped me from the first chapter...Armfield is unafraid to deal with uncomfortable issues, asking readers how much it's possible to ever really know someone, no matter how long you've been with them. I savored eac...
Readers Top Reviews
AnalynCCaydenAmru
Disguised as a haunting drama/mystery, Our Wives Under The Sea is a poetic, haunting tale that unravels the more that you read. It's a fantastic study of grief and the idea that loss is not the cause of mourning, more so the absence afterwards. There is not a whole lot of plot in this book, it is mostly thoughts and beautiful revelations. It explores death, loss, relationships, and love.
Cozy GingerNisanr
Truly a niche read. It’s slow and wandering between two POVs of a married couple, slithering between timelines. It’s visceral and existential with just enough to hold you into the here and now. The ocean in of itself is terrifying to me, so the one woman’s love and connection to it was uncomfortable to me which was exciting. Her wife is barely hanging on, trying to hold onto who her wife was before she was lost under sea. It poses a lot of interesting theories, bodily transformations and trying to remember the person you love through memories of who they once were. Not what I was searching for at the time or the type of genre I specifically seek out but was still very well written.
J. CoxCozy Ginger
I had to think about this one for a while and I am sure I will continue to wrap my head around it over time. Be aware that it is about grief and loss, PTSD, the supernatural with science fiction elements.
German ChocolateJ
An interesting turn of events that leaves you spellbound. To be honest, I am still trying to figure out the WHY and HOW of the story. I've even gone back to the title of the book, looking for clues to shed light on its meaning. In addition to studying cephalopods and copepods. I found the phenomenon, just as intriguing, if not more, than vampirism and werewolves. See for yourself. Happy Reading
Kasey's Book Hoar
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield (British) Genre: Horror, LGBTQ+ This is the story of Miri and Leah. Leah, a marine biologist has just returned from a deep sea dive gone wrong. Miri, something of a social recluse, finds it hard to reach out for help when she needs in, especially when her her returned wife turns out to be changed by her long, mysterious absence. At times grotesque, others times melancholic or angry, this novel of creeping horror seems really to have something to say about the Liminality of life. Of love. Of grief. Of letting go. Is it horror or is it a lullaby to lost loves? A tale that's a little bit Orpheus and a little bit Little Mermaid (think Andersen, not Disney), and a little bit Lovecraft. Go read it! But not at night. And not near the ocean. "The deep sea is a haunted house: a place in which things that ought not to exist move about in the darkness." "...the thing about losing someone isn’t the loss but the absence of afterward... The endlessness of that.”
