Our Wives Under the Sea - Book Review

Julia Armfield’s Our Wives Under the Sea had been on my radar for over a year, patiently waiting its turn while I finished other reads. Once I finally picked it up, it consumed me, proving a haunting companion that kept me enthralled and seeped into my dreams.

The story centers on the married couple Leah and Miri, whose lives are forever changed when Leah, a deep-sea explorer and researcher, goes missing after her research submarine suffers a catastrophic failure. For months, Miri is left to cope with the agonizing uncertainty of Leah’s fate. Eventually, Leah and her crew are found, but they are undeniably changed, different somehow, setting the stage for a truly unique and disturbing narrative.

Armfield employs a dual point of view, with the narrative seamlessly shifting between Miri and Leah. The story unfolds in a non-linear fashion, with flashbacks and memories colliding against the unsettling present, creating a sense of disorientation that mirrors the characters' own experiences.

Miri's perspective delves into the profound impact of long-term relationships under duress, featuring unsettling Cronenbergian body horror elements as Leah undergoes a disturbing metamorphosis. While other characters drift in and out, the core of Miri’s narrative focuses on the evolving dynamic between her and Leah—from their initial meeting and falling in love to the profound shifts brought about by Leah's transformation. Concurrently, Leah's story slowly unravels, detailing the terrifying ordeal of her five months lost beneath the water. These sections evoke a tense, Alien-esque claustrophobia as she, cocooned with two other crew members, grapples with escalating psychological trauma.

This is an unsettling tome about the human condition, set against the unfathomable depths of the ocean. Armfield masterfully explores themes of love, loss, and the extremes of the human spirit to survive. It's a novel that lingers, a disquieting symphony of domestic intimacy and oceanic dread that is anything but cheerful, and all the more compelling for it.

Beyond the narrative, Armfield's writing is a standout feature, masterfully blending moments of profound horror with tender intimacy, all while crafting a truly unique reading experience. Her prose can be lyrical and insightful, as seen in her poignant reflection on grief: "Grief is selfish: we cry for ourselves without the person we have lost far more than we cry for the person – but more than that, we cry because it helps. The grief process is also the coping process and if the grief is frozen by ambiguity, by the constant possibility of reversal, then so is the ability to cope." Yet, she can also be brutally precise, delivering lines that resonate with chilling clarity: "What you have to understand... is that things can thrive in unimaginable conditions. All they need is the right sort of skin.”

Armfield is a master at drawing the reader into the increasingly claustrophobic world of Miri and Leah as they navigate the aftermath of traumatic events against an unknowable force. The novel refrains from providing firm answers, instead immersing the reader in an atmosphere that is both beautiful and threatening, much like the sea itself, echoing the evocative and ambiguous work of David Lynch. Our Wives Under the Sea is a truly unique and unusual literary achievement that deserves widespread praise for its bold vision and unsettling brilliance.

If you're seeking a novel that will challenge your perceptions and linger long after you've turned the final page, this is it.