Obsessed! I just loved everything about Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield. Narrated by Leah and Miri, this is about love, hope, grief, loss and what exactly does lurk at the bottom of the ocean… Suspend your disbelief and get lost in this beautiful story.
Opening sentence: The deep sea is a haunted house: a place in which things that might not exist move about in the darkness.
What lies under the sea?
I adore the opening sentence of this book. It sets the tone perfectly. In Our Wives Under the Sea, we get chapters from both Miri and Leah. Miri’s are mostly in the present day – she tells us about life once her wife, Leah has returned from a 6 month submarine expedition.
Yes, Leah has the unique yet frightening (to me anyway) job of going on submarine expeditions. She goes on a 3-week research trip with fellow crew Matteo and Jelka, only to go through the horrific experience of the submarine losing power and just sinking, so she ends up being away for 6-months.
As you can imagine, these are terrible months for Miri, with no communication from Leah, or any way of knowing if she’s still alive. When Leah returns, what should have been a joyous reunion is made difficult as Leah struggles to adjust to life above sea level. In fact, Miri isn’t sure it’s 100% her wife who has come back to her at all…
Leah’s chapters takes the form of the diary she wrote about life on the submarine once the power failed. Slowly, tantalisingly, we are given more detail on the unusual goings on beneath the surface of the sea.
Phantom fingers at the base of my skull, moving downwards: sunken thoughts. Who had said that? I remembered, but it took me longer than it should have done to dredge the name from the bottom of my mind.
Welcome to the Hadal zone…
The pacing in Our Wives Under the Sea is perfect. Leah and Miri’s stories bring reveals at the right moments, you are constantly on edge, while aching for their relationship. I also learnt a lot about deep sea exploration, creatures of the deep dark. I love learning as I read but still have absolutely no desire to ever go near a submarine.
I really liked how the book is sectioned up according to the different layers of the ocean. As you go deeper, they are:
- Sunlight Zone (top)
- Twilight Zone
- Midnight Zone
- Abyssal Zone
- Hadal Zone (deepest – mainly unexplored)
Less is known about the zones further down the list – therefore a perfect reflection of the situation Leah and Miri now find themselves in.
Will be recommending this to everyone
Our Wives Under the Sea is aching, it is haunting, it is surreal, it is a fantasy, it is in parts unexpectedly laugh out loud funny (thinking of the imaginary husband space message board here) it is beautiful, it is touching, it is just an amazing read – one of the best I’ve has this year. Go and experience it yourself now!
Oh, and lastly, a special shout-out for the cover that superbly captures the heart of the story and is just so visually exquisite.
- Get your copy of Our Wives Under the Sea here;
- Published by Picador 2022;
- 229 pages;
- My rating:
Books on the 7:47 
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