"It's true--history is written by the victors. That's why we need poets. To sing of our defeats."
When Sea Wife starts off we know a couple things. We know that a family gave up the comforts of the daily grind in favor of sailing for a year and, we know that something went horribly wrong when they were out at sea but we don't know what happened. All we know for sure is Juliet, the wife and mother, made it out of whatever happened wrecked with grief and guilt. This book starts out at the aftermath of a tragedy we have yet to learn about and unfolds wildly from beginning to end.
A lot about this book really worked for me. I love books that build in foreboding and give the reader the sense that the other shoe could drop at any moment. That always works for me. I will never stop pursuing the thrill of foreboding reads!!
Sea Wife has a very strong sense of place. The descriptions of the sea and the often treacherous winds propelling the sailboat into what we know is going to be a disaster of some kind, was an intoxicating experience. The author's imagery here was so effective I could smell the salt of the sea whenever I read it.
The format of this book is going to prevent people from liking this as much as it deserves. The sea wife switched perspectives and voices often. We read the husband's sailing journal for a good chunk of this book. At first his journal is observations of the water and wind and the different ports he explores with his family, but slowly it becomes a sort of dairy. When we aren't reading his field notes, we are hearing from the perspective of his wife filling in the gaps of what happened. This novel does not follow a formulaic narrative arc. I can guess that the authors intent was to create a disorienting reading experience that is on par with the disorientation the characters feel out at sea. At times the way the author executed this masterfully. Other times it felt a little confusing and contrived.
My rating and enjoyment of The Sea Wife come from my own experience growing up sailing the reservoirs in a landlocked state with my family. So much of this story brought up feelings of intense nostalgia for navigating something so fragile at the hands of such unruly and unpredictable nature elements. I really enjoyed this, but I also understand why people are not going to enjoy this particular type of storytelling. Much like the forces of nature present in this book, it is dizzying and intoxicating in its unfathomable lack of predictability.
⭐⭐⭐⭐/5 stars
Reviewers note: This book was given to me for free in exchange for my honest review.
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