This simultaneously gives us access to Miri’s turmoil in dealing with the prospect that her Leah is no longer with her and Leah’s strife in experiencing a disturbing and troubling deep-sea dive that leaves more questions than it answers. The five sections of the novel are creatively named after the depth levels of the ocean and, within each of these sections, the chapters alternate between Miri and Leah’s perspectives, each chapter title reflecting which perspective we are reading. One of the most compelling aspects of the novel is Armfield’s use of dual-perspective narration. You are utterly compelled to find out what happened to Leah under the water and to discover what will happen to her above sea level. A riveting page turner, Our Wives benefits from Armfield’s natural rhythm and fluidity and forces you to keep reading even when the hairs on the back of your neck are standing upright. All the years Miri and Leah have spent together seem to unravel in front of Miri’s eyes as she must come to terms with the fact that the Leah she knew, the Leah she fell passionately in love with, may be gone.Īrmfield’s magnetic writing style is perfectly suited to a novel where every sentence has the power to reveal something new about Miri and Leah’s relationship, the development of Leah’s changes or the process of dealing with loss. The novel centres married couple Miri and Leah, whose lives are completely altered when Leah comes back from a deep-sea dive different. Our Wives Under the Sea is what can only be described as a deeply romantic, chillingly unsettling horror story. Where does Our Wives stand in comparison to salt slow? Well, somehow, it’s even better than its predecessor! Don’t worry: there are no spoilers! As you can imagine, I was itching to get hold of a copy and dive into her beautifully lyrical writing once again. Julia has now published her debut novel, Our Wives Under the Sea.
Last year, Surrey New Writer’s Festival had the absolute pleasure of listening to Julia Armfield talk about her sensational debut short story collection, salt slow, during our Magical Realism panel.
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