This is a "underline stuff because the words are beautiful and poignant" kind of book. And that makes me sad, cause I read it on a digital library copy which means I'll have to return my underlines.

But I digress.

Our wives under the sea is a book saturated with grief, unease, and the terror of the oceanic depth. Leah and Miri alternate the narration of the story - Miri tells us what happens when her wife comes back from her deep sea voyage that lasted months longer than it was meant to, while Leah recounts the moments that led up to her travel as well as the voyage itself.

I loved how both narrative threads felt like long exposes that danced around some horrific unavoidable eventuality. The tension building was superb, as was the sense of claustrophobia and unease cultivated throughout the book. The strange things that happen to Leah upon her return (bleeding from her skin, vomiting salt water) don't take center stage, but are instead details that intensity the horror and dread presented in this book.

This book blew me away and it's difficult to define what exactly I loved about it. I think it reminded me most of the movie Saint Maud (and there were some religious undertones, although not as overt), which I loved. I also think it satisfied the creepiness and excellent pacing I'd been looking for ever since being disappointed by Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke.

Anyway, I loved this. I need more of this. Recommended if the deep sea both fascinates and scares you, if the idea of losing a loved one without them being dead fills your heart with immeasurable ache, and if experiencing that dread-fear-grief in beautiful prose sounds like your idea of a good time.


More thoughts here: https://youtu.be/AiaZh8Bpmyw