Leah is a marine biologist. Her last expedition started the same way that any expedition would, but something went entirely wrong and her submarine ended up sinking to the very bottom of the ocean. After a long rescue, Leah finally returns to her dedicated wife, Miri. But Miri knows something is off; Leah doesn’t seem to be the same and has begun doing some weird stuff. And so OUR WIVES UNDER THE SEA follows Miri as she attempts to solve the mystery of what happened to her wife during that emergency situation. The changes it brings to their lives are truly frightening and heartbreaking.

"OUR WIVES UNDER THE SEA is a beautiful tale about a lovely marriage that has fallen under the spell of powerful natural forces.... This fantastic debut is a totally captivating thrill ride and a love story that offers a real romance."

The little details that Julia Armfield builds into her debut novel are strange but incredibly compelling. For example, Leah takes a rotation around the apartment every day, testing all the taps, morning and night. She shows all the signs of post-traumatic stress, but whatever happened to the crew under the water as they waited to be rescued has stayed with them and altered how they experience life on dry land.

OUR WIVES UNDER THE SEA is a love story --- a woman’s love for her job, the love that two women have for each other, and love for the natural world. As the overwhelming sense that their life will never return to normal becomes almost unbearable, Miri must accept that her precious love may never be the same again. Is this crazy person even the wife she left at the dock that day?

“‘I don’t think this is OK,’ I say, on my own, in the bathroom, to nobody. I am scouring around the edge of the bath with a sponge and the scrim that comes away with each stroke is pinkish, less granular than it has been in previous weeks, as though something about it is growing thicker. I try not to get it on my fingers. I’m uncertain of whether or not this matter has any correlation to Leah, to the size or to the shape of her, like a layer removed.” Leah changes shape and is evolving. But into what? Don’t jump to fairy tale conclusions. This is not THE SHAPE OF WATER. It’s something altogether creepy and far more interesting.

Armfield allows her characters to tell us their side of the story, and the voices we hear are completely different. Leah continues to go over and over the activities that led to the problems on the sea floor. Miri gives us the lowdown on how their life is changing day by day, and the reader is allowed to unravel the growing mysteries with her.

OUR WIVES UNDER THE SEA is a beautiful tale about a lovely marriage that has fallen under the spell of powerful natural forces. It encapsulates the vulnerability of love and union, and how the world is constantly throwing us curveballs. Armfield’s straight-ahead narrative style is an awesome twist with the strange mythic forces that she avails to her protagonists. This fantastic debut is a totally captivating thrill ride and a love story that offers a real romance.