V171 reviewed Our Wives under the Sea by Julia Armfield
None
4 stars
Our Wives Under the Sea was an introspective, slow descent into horror and loss. It came up short with both the relationship aspect and the horror aspect, but was still a fascinating, eerie read.
Miri's wife Leah has come back from being under the Sea, and something is wrong. She was supposed to be gone for two weeks on a research expedition to one of the deepest parts of the ocean. But the organization spearheading the expedition called Miri to tell her that there were unforeseen circumstances that has extended the trip.. for six months. But after coming to terms with the idea that Leah is likely dead, all at once she returns. But almost immediately Miri can tell that Leah is off. They can't communicate like they used to. Leah doesn't seem to hear her, and spends most of her time in the bathroom, running the shower or the …
Our Wives Under the Sea was an introspective, slow descent into horror and loss. It came up short with both the relationship aspect and the horror aspect, but was still a fascinating, eerie read.
Miri's wife Leah has come back from being under the Sea, and something is wrong. She was supposed to be gone for two weeks on a research expedition to one of the deepest parts of the ocean. But the organization spearheading the expedition called Miri to tell her that there were unforeseen circumstances that has extended the trip.. for six months. But after coming to terms with the idea that Leah is likely dead, all at once she returns. But almost immediately Miri can tell that Leah is off. They can't communicate like they used to. Leah doesn't seem to hear her, and spends most of her time in the bathroom, running the shower or the faucet. Miri is helpless as she watches Leah descend into something else entirely, never really knowing what happened down there. Leah, on the other hand, can't escape the horrors of what happened at the bottom of the ocean with her two other crew mates. And what followed her back up.
You know, I read Salt Slow before this book, and I can't help but compare them. In many ways, this read very similarly to Salt Slow, just an extended version of one of the stories featured. However, where I didn't like Salt Slow, this excelled, perhaps BECAUSE it was longer.
In some ways this transcends genre, part contemporary fiction, part horror, but not quite either, I ended up abandoning trying to put this in a box. It was creepy, it was claustrophobic, it was tragic and complicated. It didn't give me enough information, but it kept me gripped at the possibility of figuring out what was happening. I was hoping to be scared by this, or deeply disturbed. I wasn't, but I don't mind what this ended up being.