"Our Wives Under The Sea" First Impressions *No Spoilers*

[SFFBC, Ancillary Mod]

Come talk about your initial, general impressions!

Please save all discussion of particulars, details from the story, character choices, plot questions, etc. for the full spoiler thread.

Content warnings for those who want them: (view spoiler)[ Religion, homophobia, loss of a loved one, body horror (hide spoiler)]

User-submitted content warnings on Storygraph: https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/6...

(More about CWs here.)

[DivaDiane]

I plan to start this fairly soon.

[Shawnie]

Sorry about that. Moved it to the Spoilers thread.

[Kinematic]

I found the first 50 pages a real struggle to get through. I found the Leah chapters really interesting but everything else just felt a little boring and meandering.

At 100 and on, I feel a bit better about the book but I am still disappointed that it has taken so long to feel like I am connecting.

[Olga]

I’m very wary of horror. Is it very scary? And what kind of scary?

[Ian]

I agree with Kinematic it was definitely an effort to get into this book though the idea itself was interesting. I am now over half way through the book and will definitely see it through to the end to see how it all works out.

[Kinematic]

Olga wrote: "I’m very wary of horror. Is it very scary? And what kind of scary?"

It hasn't had any real horror that I've seen. So far it has just been issues related to decompression sickness and describes the symptoms but doesn't try to make you squeamish.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

No more scary than I Who Have Never Known Men.

[Cynda]

I'm wary too, yet I will give the book a try. In another week or so it will arrive at the library branch I use.

[Eduardo]

This looks good!

[Melanie]

I really love this book so far! I'm only 37 pages in, but I love the characters and the writing. I can't wait to read more, but I also don't want it to be over too soon.

[Ellen]

I'm 15 precent in liking thus far. Looking forward to continuing.

[Olga]

I'm so glad I gave this one a go despite my fear of the horror genre.

I think that the scary part is how one copes when their loved one literally becomes a different person, a person that needs constant care, but with no way to help them, to bring the person they used to be back. And that can be more terrifying than any deep sea monster.

I'm at 79%, so plenty of time to get scared, but I'm definitely enjoying it so far. The language is exquisite and the relationship between them is so real and relatable.

[Knight]

This is an "all consuming grief" type of horror.

[Cynda]

I am close to 50% through. The literary art is good. I can where the story is going and cannot stop thinking and reading.

[aPriL does feral sometimes]

The book grew on me, till by the end, I was full of admiration for the author’s talent.

[Richard]

Very introspective and a little long winded maybe. About 75% through but managing to hold my attention.

[Melanie]

I'm hoping to finish this today. I still love it (a lot) and the writing is beautiful, but it's losing me a little bit.

[Cynda]

I've been thinking on the novel. Being a literary novel, nothing everything is as it seems, and speculation becomes more complex.

Leah has come home to find comfort with Miri. And she does try, but it is really up to Miri and not Leah who is dying. Dying is hard work. Living is hard work. Miri has to brace up. Being only human and inexperienced in this sort of dying, she cannot find the strength. Maybe there is not strength enough to try to help Leah, save the marriage, and take care of herself (Miri). Letting go with love and support may be all there is to do.

That Miri and friend go to Miri's dead mother's house in a literary reading stands in for a charnel house, a place of death. The death house is indicated by furniture draped in sheets--a basic way to indicate ghosts is cosplay/Halloween costumes.

Ann the letting go into ocean is common enough, a practice the Vikings and coastal people practiced.

[Cynda]

Cynda wrote: "I've been thinking on the novel. Being a literary novel, imagery becomes more important, and speculation becomes more complex.

Leah has come home to find comfort with Miri. And she does try, bu..."

[Avery]

I agree with Message 13. Yes it's a slog to get through in the beginning, but imagine a novel so peculiar and eerie, it's almost a literary haunted house. Depending on how you found it -- boring, a slog, or weirdly haunting, this book can make you rethink your relationships and maybe even that goldfish you never trusted. It will have you questioning whether your toaster is plotting against you.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

lololol

[Hana]

I feel like this book would have been better as a novella or if it was a little more about the "cyborg" debate between human and machine.