Welcome to Litsy!

Submarines have always totally creeped me out, so I was uneasy during this whole book. Excellent writing and it‘s short, so I wasn‘t tortured for very long. 😆 Need to think more on this to ponder the themes and meaning behind it all. Spent much of the reading experience feeling claustrophobic. 😬
Looking forward to the #camplitsy discussion! Also this is my #bookspin for August.

My #bookspin and #doublebookspin seem to have a theme! I‘ll be in the ocean with both reads. 🌊
Our wives is for #camplitsy

Some of the marketing for this listed it as horror, but you will be disappointed if you go into this read thinking that.

What this book is though is a brilliantly disguised love story wrapped up in a strange, not quite fully explained underwater expedition that leaves one wife forever changed.

The dynamics between Miri and Leah are tender and melancholic and explore the deeper bonds of marriage.

I also loved the underwater descriptions. 😁

The deep sea is a haunted house: a place in which things that ought not to exist move about in the darkness.

#FirstLineFridays @ShyBookOwl

Because, obviously, reading things in the right order is beyond me, I thought I‘d start this. (Also, it‘s due back and I can‘t renew). Very atmospheric- liking it a lot so far.

“The deep sea is a haunted house: a place in which things that ought not to exist move about in the darkness.”

#FirstLineFridays

I found this beautifully haunting. It‘s a strange story, spare writing, told from both wives POV. Miri who was left behind, and Leah, who is gone so long, suffers trauma and returns changed. It really spoke to me about the ‘sickness‘ and ‘for worse‘ parts of marriage vows, about end of life care, and truly being there for someone you love, and the loneliness of how that can feel. Weirdly affecting, I‘ll keep thinking about this for a long while.

For all US #CampLitsy participants the above book is available on #Hoopla
I listened to the audio and it was very well done😁🎧💜

My last #CampLitsy read. A shortish book (228 pages) and yet it dragged for me. Once I finally got to the end, it was quite moving, however. Miri‘s wife comes back from an undersea expedition strangely changed. Interspersed with Miri‘s reminisces of how she and Leah met and fell in love is Leah‘s account of the expedition. I wanted more Vandermeer-like weird horror and less love story. And what was the point of Miri‘s relationship with her mom?

I really wanted to love this one. I think part of the problem is I saw it labeled as horror and saw it was trying to be horrifying and yet didn't find it to be so. It was wonderfully strange which I enjoyed. And the dual timelone and split POV definitely kept my attention as I tried to piece together what was happening. I guess I just wish a little more *had* happened. Solid 3 stars, between a pick and a so-so.

My August #BookSpin list. I am most excited about the tagged book with #CampLitsy and The Dance Tree and not on the list Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.

Two of my current reads are wonderfully complimentary colors

It took me days to process through this story after I finished it - so creepy, mysterious, and such a page turner. It blew my mind. I loved it. Can‘t wait to discuss this one with #CampLitsy!

Library haul! All the books came in at once, as usual. Ahem, #camplitsy @squirrelbrain, @BarbaraBB, @Megabooks

Creepy is not my usual jam but relationship dynamics and fine, precise prose are...so I ended up really liking this bizarre story. All is not okay between Leah and Miri after Leah returns from a prolonged research trip to the bottom of the ocean. What's real? What's a metaphor? I don't know! So atmospheric & filled with fascinating details. (What's up with the neighbors' tv?!) The last three #camplitsy books are 🔥🔥🔥 This will be fun to discuss!

This gorgeous novel tells the story of Miri and her wife Leah. Leah goes on a deep sea research mission and returns changed. The mystery of what happened to Leah is compelling, but what Leah‘s traumatic changes mean for her marriage is equally suspenseful. What does trauma do to a person and her relationships? How do those who love her continue to best love her? The book alternates between the two women‘s perspectives, giving insight into each.

Just getting started…. I have high hopes! 💕🌊 #camplitsy @squirrelbrain @BarbaraBB @Megabooks

I read this in one day, couldn‘t put it down. It is like nothing I have ever read. A sub accident and a wife that returns after 6months. She is is never the same. Beautifully written, haunting, and flat out strange.

A summer evening with a cool breeze, a good book, and the sounds of a little league game in the background.

What a dang good opening though.

Eerie & haunting / I‘m not quite sure what to make of this book. Im definitely excited to discuss with my fellow campers in August #CampLitsy Told in alternating POVs: Miri, the wife who stayed behind & Leah, the wife who journeyed under sea as part of a scientific exploration. When 3 weeks becomes 6 months, each woman must grapple with the consequences of the separation. Atmospheric writing and unsettling prose makes for an exquisite read.

#NetGalley #AudioARC I totally forgot I started this book before the kiddos arrived - it‘s strange & haunting - not sure where it‘s going but I‘m intrigued. Publishes in the US July 12

In alternating chapters, this story unfolds between Miri and Leah, a married couple that are separated by Leah‘s work as a marine biologist. A submarine expedition goes wrong and when Leah returns to the surface, she‘s very different. A strange novel- part love story and part horror, it‘s an entrancing listen - and of course, the JAWS references only made me love it all the more! A definite discussion starter!

I just finished this last night after hearing so much about it. I've been waiting for it since last year.. it's a trip, and I don't think I've read anything quite like it before. Really beautifully written, there are definitely some horror elements here, but wow. I ordered this from the UK bc I couldn‘t wait until July; the US cover art is stunning & I would have been interested in this book on the artwork alone - luckily, the story holds up, too!

Stunningly beautiful writing, sharp-eyed observations but ultimately too emotionally distant and narratively lackluster for me to truly love it. Told in alternating POVs of a married couple, the story follows Leah's submarine expedition that runs months too long and Miri's experiences with a returned Leah who does not seem like herself. Speculative and eerie, but I wanted it to be more so! About grief, both relationships ending and people dying.

"The fight sat between us like something sore and satisfying -- tender pulp of a freshly pulled tooth."

"It was very easy to offend my mother. Rather in the way that it's very easy to kill an orchid, it often seemed little short of inevitable."

"I want to explain her in a way that would make you love her, but the problem with this is that loving is something we all do alone and through different sets of eyes."

#QueerBooks #LGBTQBooks

Just saw this today on Instagram about our #CampLitsy August choice! I have no idea what to expect, but I‘m very excited! Put in your preorders and library holds US campers. It releases 7/12. It is already out in the UK. 👍🏻👍🏻

Next up!

This book has earned high praise from Sarah Waters, Florence Welch, and Kristen Arnett.

It's also one of the last books @ReadingEnvy reviewed before she passed away. She gave it 5 stars and called it a literary horror novel that she couldn't put down. She ordinarily didn't read and review ARCs far ahead of the pub date but accidentally read this one very early so reviewed it early. We might never have gotten her review if not! 😥

I'm looking forward to reading this novel Jenny ( @readingenvy ) recently recommended. It was one of the last reviews she posted. She noted it's not out in North America yet but she read an ARC in conjunction with a UK book club where it's already been published. Luckily I have an ARC too!

What a great loss for the Litsy and wider online bookish community 😥 Jenny wrote amazing reviews and read so widely and diversely.

#RememberingJenny

I loved this book so much - it‘s hard to tell if it‘s magic realist horror or a kitchen sink portrait of a failing marriage, then it‘s both, then it‘s weirder. I could read a thousand books like this.

My one complaint is that the only bisexual side character seemed to exist only to annoy the other queer characters with references to her bisexuality. I‘m not sure why that needed to exist

#Netgalley #ARC #OurWivesUnderTheSea

One word review: Huh?

I got to the end of reading this and was left thinking what did I just read and what actually happened.

While the book itself left me cold I did appreciate the ending and believe it was really the only way this story could go.

Full review here https://thereadersroom.org/2022/05/27/our-wives-under-the-sea-by-julia-armfield/

Repost for @BarbaraBB:

I am happy to host the August reads of #CampLitsy!

We will discuss the first half of Either/Or on August 6th, the remainder on August 13th.

Then the first half of Our Wives Under the Sea on August 20th, and the second half on August 27th.

@Megabooks @squirrelbrain and I are looking

forward to seeing you there.

After the final discussion you all can vote for your winner and we will have our #CampLitsy Summer champion!

Leah and Miri were married when Leah went on a deep sea expedition that went missing. The novel starts with her back at home but definitely not the same. In some ways the change could symbolize any partner becoming somewhat of a stranger over time, but in other ways it's a literary horror novel watching her wife's body become unfamiliar. The chapters alternate between points of view which always works for me, and I couldn't put it down. ↘️

Still reading this one. I almost bailed early on , but it‘s a good story, halfway now. Strange book , hope to finish soon 🤞🏻

#WeeklyForecast
I never got a chance to do this yesterday, it was my first overnight Granny duty on my own with little Emma, only 4 months old . Went great 😴 🥱. Job done💞
So,
Read half of Ethan Frome .. very good ❤️
Started Our Wives and I‘m not sure what to make of it yet , on page 30, I like it so far.
Hopefully start The Lark

Have a good week ❤️📚everyone.
Hi Cindy 😘

When the sun and your day off align ☀️
Spot Daisy barking to the neighbourhood in the background

Starting this one today. I know very little about it, except it's set after a deep sea mission catastrophe, and it's possibly about the relationship of one of the survivors and her wife. I'm intrigued.

Whoa. This book is beautiful and strange.
A metaphor for grief - how do you cope when your wife has returned when you thought she was dead, but she‘s no longer the same person you loved?
Powerful writing - gothic, romantic, and full of despair.
Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.