A review by libraryoflanelle
Private Rites by Julia Armfield

dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

‘Private Rites’ contains many incredibly quotable reflections on life under the pressures of a drowning world. As always, Julia's writing is exquisite, and the way she writes dialogue in particular is some of the most realistic and easy-flowing I've ever read. 

 

I’d like to echo what many reviewers have said: this book is very different from what the synopsis implies. It leans more towards literary fiction than speculative/horror for the majority, with a significant focus on the dynamics of the sisters' relationships with one another and others who cross their paths. 

 

I tend to have a hit-or-miss relationship with literary fiction, and since much of this book centres on the relationship between the sisters and their day-to-day lives following their father's death, I found myself struggling to get through some parts. The incessant conflict between the sisters bogged me down a bit in the first half, but this is likely just a product of my own mindset and should by no means put anyone off reading it. 

 

This book is very different from Our Wives Under the Sea, which, for some, will be a good thing. For others, myself included, it may lead to this not being what you're expecting (don’t get me wrong I still really liked this book). The pacing felt a little disjointed to me for the first two-thirds, with it ramping up significantly in the last third. In retrospect, I can see how this may have been an intentional choice to add to the unsettling feelings. 

 

The setting is so realistic yet unsettling. I love how Julia illustrated the atmosphere of a future world different yet eerily similar to our own, so well in fact that I often forgot the world was drowning while people went about their seemingly mundane lives. 

 

The ending is one of those that will likely make or break the book for many people. For me personally, the ending took me by surprise in the best way and led me to skim through the whole novel again in search of references and comments that had definitely gone over my head the first time, perhaps owing to the fact that I read this book mostly in a daze before bed. It's definitely worth making sure your brain is fully switched on when reading this book to take in all the clever things that Julia does in her writing. 

 

Lastly, it should go without saying, but I also, of course, loved the abundant queerness, which, in my opinion, paired with Julia's writing, is reason enough to pick this one up. 

 
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the e-arc. All opinions are my own.