Our Wives Under the Sea

De: Julia Armfield

Narrado por: Annabel Baldwin, Robyn Holdaway

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.

©2022 Julia Armfield (P)2022 Dreamscape Media, LLC

Impeccable

This novel and its narration far exceeded any and all expectations I may have when cracking open any book / popping in my earbuds, and I am nearly impossible to please in ways which even I do not recognize. Complex, melodious, surreal, beautiful, hideous, heartbreaking, intense, and just so incredibly odd beyond measure. The joining of Annabel Baldwin and Robyn Holdaway’s voices with Julia Armfield’s novel is an elusively perfect marriage of written and spoken language. When I love an audiobook, I enjoy getting my hands on the book and toggling between listening and reading… it didn’t take me long to run out and purchase this book and I found myself in the most strange place of depriving myself from reading or listening for any long periods of time because I didn’t want to reach the end! I wanted it to last as long as possible! Alas, this is one book I will re-listen to and re-read numerous times.

Eerily entertaining

This was a haunting and eerie story of loss and love between two women. I can’t really explain what I just read, but enjoyed it at times. The intense notes and running water that I felt I could hear while reading this is what kept me going. The creepiness while trying to understand what is happening is what pulled me to the end. There are scenes that I cannot grasp what importance they bring, and then select scenes that are cut so short and left with an odd, horror-like emotion. Lots of metaphors and themes to explore in this novel. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys dark love stories or short stories.

Achingly beautiful

I’m at a loss of words trying to describe this book. Equal parts horror and the kind of love story that slowly evolves, it left me wanting more and yet, complete. The characters were alive for me and the storytelling so well done it was hard to put down. The performances by both readers were so well done they felt intimate. I hope to read more by this author.

Cryptic, vague, depressing

While I loved the poetic quality of the prose and how the author explored themes of grief and loss, I was grasping for something concrete. Ended up feeling as dissatisfied as the characters in the book.

Putting the LOVE back in Lovecraft

Such a gorgeous book, and I’m wavering between 4 and 5 stars, as the last 3 chapters were so magical as to bump my opinion up. This isn’t a scary book by any means, just light cosmic horror with a sprinkling of unsettling body horror to really build the dread. Mostly, this is a beautifully wrought love story, and a meditation on grief and loss. It’s a slow burn, for sure, but thankfully short to keep it from dragging. The ending was both aggravating because of what we never learned, yet also intensely satisfying with what little we do learn. The last few moments were just breathtaking and made the whole read worthwhile. The narration was a bit TOO serene, and though the readers had remarkable diction, at times the monotone made it hard for me to stay focused on the story.

beautiful and lyrical

Great storytelling. The readers are terrific. I just wasn’t sure what it was all about in the end.

Masterfully indirect storytelling

I’m a jokingly say there is only a single rule to getting the most out of this remarkable title. You’re gonna need to listen to this twice. There is a lot going on, pun intended, beneath the surface. Additional laps around the field will be rewarded.

I wanted more

The story and the characters captured me completely but I wanted more of both and was disappointed when it ended.

Strange, Creepy, & Gorgeous

This novel was a very unique twist on a tragic story of love and grief. I found myself asking, “What the heck is happening?” on more than one occasion, but the mysterious and parallel plots propelled me forward. Leah and Miri are extremely relatable and easy to fall in love with both individually and as a couple. The scientific details juxtaposed with the beautiful figurative language was entrancing.

My only critique is that not a lot “happened” as it is one of those reads that describes everything but tells of nothing. I also wish the two wives had more of a distinct difference in their personalities and voices. It sometimes seemed like Miri and Leigh were the same person but just in different scenarios or chapters of life. I almost thought that maybe that would be the plot twist at the end.

Overall though, I’m very glad this was my first book of the new year! Well done, Armfield on your debut novel!

Beautiful

This story is so lovely and romantic and yet veined nicely with strangeness and science. The aspects of fear, loss, and grief add to the story in a way that makes the ending bittersweet. I highly recommend.