Our Wives Under the Sea

By: Julia Armfield

Narrated by: 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.

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.

Strange yet beautiful story

I enjoyed it a lot. Almost a fairy tale. Great narration can't imagine a better one.

Creepy and Heartbreaking in Equal Parts

This is one of the best books I’ve read in the last two years. It is written beautifully, has plenty of creepy body horror elements, and is also incredibly heartbreaking. Anyone who has been a long time away from their spouse or significant other, will definitely feel emotional parallels in this story, for better or for worse. It is very much the movie Blue Valentine meets HP Lovecraft…will definitely read again!

Unlike anything I have ever read

This had a very sad undertone, not sure if it was just the narrator or the writing. I’m glad I read it. I liked it a lot. I also am worried about the mental health of the author. In a loving way.

slow but worth it

so fascinating and devastating--makes me think deeply, but i'm left with so many questions

I will be re-reading this book

I can see why some people didn't love this book. There are a lot of elements that aren't really explained. The prose was so delicious I had to buy a physical copy so I could underline and highlight.