Our Wives Under The Sea cover art

Our Wives Under The Sea

Winner of the Polari Prize, a hypnotic, otherworldly love story

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Our Wives Under The Sea

By: Julia Armfield
Narrated by: Annabel Baldwin, Robyn Holdaway
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About this listen

Winner of the Polari Prize
Shortlisted for the Gordon Bowker Volcano Prize

‘A gothic fairy tale, sublime in its creepiness’ – Florence Welch

Our Wives Under The Sea is the haunting novel from Julia Armfiled, the critically acclaimed author of Salt Slow. It’s a story of falling in love, loss, grief, and what life there is in the deep, deep sea.

Miri thinks she has got her wife back, when Leah finally returns after a deep sea mission that ended in catastrophe. But it soon becomes clear that Leah may have come back wrong. Whatever happened in that vessel, whatever it was they were supposed to be studying before they were stranded on the ocean floor, Leah has carried part of it with her, onto dry land and into their home.

Memories of what they had before – the jokes they shared, the films they watched, all the small things that made Leah hers – only remind Miri of what she stands to lose. Living in the same space but suddenly separate, Miri comes to realize that the life that they had might be gone.

'A wonderful novel, deeply romantic and fabulously strange' – Sarah Waters, author of Fingersmith

'Part bruisingly tender love story, part nerve-clanging submarine thriller' – The Times

 Genre Fiction Horror Literary Fiction Literature & Fiction Romance Scary Fiction Heartfelt Mind-bending Tear-jerking Marriage

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Critic reviews

This haunting novel is beautifully written and artfully narrated by Annabel Baldwin and Robyn Holdaway...Thanks to fine performances, Leah's diary entries, Miri's flashbacks, and the unimaginable mystery of the deep ocean all seem real. Listeners won't want to miss this genre-bending love story. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award 2022
Julia Armfield is one of my favourite writers, Our Wives Under The Sea moves fluidly between horror story and love story, the gorgeous and the grotesque. A contemporary gothic fairy tale, sublime in its creepiness (Florence Welch)
A wonderful novel, deeply romantic and fabulously strange. I loved this book (Sarah Waters, author of Fingersmith)
Tender, strange, lucid, and so assured – comparisons feel insubstantial, but if you love sci fi or love stories or books that defy labels or chew-your-arm-off good writing, this is for you (Kiran Millwood Hargrave, author of The Mercies and The Dance Tree)
Beautiful, otherworldly, like floating through water with your eyes open (Daisy Johnson, author of Fen)
Our Wives is spooky and romantic: a gorgeous, lyrical novel that gets under your skin. Armfield leads you softly through a story that feels epic and intimate at the same time (Sarvat Hasin, author of The Giant Dark)
Reading this book is like diving into the deepest depths of the ocean and finding beautiful and disturbing wonders (Kirsty Logan, author of She is Witch)
Delicate and horrifying, Our Wives Under The Sea is a darkly brilliant novel that submerges the reader's imagination in the depths of the unknown (Megan Hunter, author of The End We Start From)
A mesmerizing triumph. Julia Armfield has created a surprisingly seamless novel: it is a love story, a grief story, a question without end. It's a tale of the sea that swallows you whole and breaks your heart in the very best way. It is tender and funny. It is shockingly bold. Without a doubt, it is one of the best books I've ever read. It's not only art, it's a perfect miracle. We are lucky for it (Kristen Arnett, author of Mostly Dead Things)
As in her stories, Armfield is extremely good at anatomising the women’s relationship: the self-defensive blindnesses, the resentments and rituals and angers, grief for vanished joys – all the small moments of which lasting love consists. There are clever lines, everywhere, and wry, funny ones
Sharp, atmospheric, dryly funny, sad, distinctive . . . There is an almost spiritual endlessness to its quest. Like all good novels, it goes deep and then deeper again
All stars
Most relevant
**Spoilers (just in case)

When they end, we can't always say how or why. We aren't always given easy answers. Just a lot of experiences to think back on, in the personal way of memories.

There are concrete moments we can point to, the things we do and say, but that's external.

Ultimately we come to terms with ourselves and move on. Or else stay down there and change until we're different enough to surface.

I don't know that this helps as a review exactly. But having finished just minutes ago, it hopefully shows that this isn't a book that floats. It made me think and feel. That, to me, is enough.

To me, this is about relationships.

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The alternating narrative between the two lead characters works so well; Julia Armfield is an accomplished and gifted writer, building the tension and unease skilfully. I think I was hoping for an explanation at the end (or maybe a conspiracy) but it resolved itself anyway. I’ll definitely look out for more of Julia’s books.

Gripping tension but slightly disappointing ending

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Great performances. Mysterious story, poetic language, creates sense of foreboding. Some poignant descriptions of loss.

Poetic, enthralling and mysterious

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A story that is related by two different characters, gradually reveals the mystery at its heart. It’s a strange and unsettling tale of a journey to the deepest of places, and how nothing will ever be the same. I really enjoyed the performance, as well as the story. A really good listen. Prepare to be spooked.

Mysterious

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Picked this up on a whim based on it title and blurb and I have to say it is an extra ordinary book. Every word and turn of phrase bleeds with emotion, splitting between laughter and sorrow. I have pre-ordered Julia's next novel and i can`t wait.

The performance is brilliant, the two ladies do a excellent job and made me feel every word.

Take me down to the sea

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