Private Rites

I wish I loved anything like Julia Armfield loves water.

Her latest is a queer take on King Lear (and also a particular recent-ish British movie that it would be massive spoiler to name) across a backdrop of climate change (which is a little annoyingly not really explored - I just kept thinking that if it's raining this much, what food is growing and why hasn't everyone starved to death?). It's powerfully written, and you will feel distinctly soggy while reading. I did find the characters in this one a lot less relatable or even likeable than in Our Wives Under The Sea, which is fine, as not everything needs to be a cosy cuddle fest, but at the same time it doesn't have the unsettling vibe of the earlier novel. It's a good book, but maybe doesn't quite match the expectations I had after the debut. I'll still be around for the next one though.