Private Rites

julia armfield never misses for me, but I found what was happening in the background (a drowned world, the mold-like growth of cults, the alternating need for despair and disconnect in times of crisis) a richer text than our three protagonists. it was like getting glimpses of a more interesting story happening over their shoulders before the narrative inevitably steered me back to their infighting. the ending felt a bit rushed, disjointed, and ultimately unsatisfying, but much of my critique comes from the fact that our wives under the sea is such a knockout.