I read this in tandem with the audiobook and really loved how much immersion reading elevated this story.

The atmosphere was GORGEOUS, palpable, intoxicating and the characters were so dimensional and flawed and made this story so interesting to follow.

Julia Armfield elevates the atmosphere in her worlds perfectly and makes this story difficult to put down. You dive deep into a drowning world and struggle to surface, yet you will pause underneath the water and wait regardless. Will definitely be picking up more from this author.

Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

Private Rites was one of my most highly anticipated books of 2024. Julia Armfield’s salt slow is one of my favorite short story collections. The way she writes about girlhood and womanhood and otherness and rabid dogs is so visceral and gripping. However, Private Rites was a massive let down for me. It was dull for a lack of a better word. The writing was still good but the bloody poetry was not. I felt the exploration of grief in this novel was very shallow and extremely surface level for what Armfield has done in the past. My biggest issue with this novel was the pacing. The first 100 pages felt like I was slowly being dragged through mud, then it picked up for about 20 pages, and fell back down again, all for it to quickly wrap up within the last 50 pages at a dizzying speed. I will still continue to read Armfield’s work in the future, I think she is a brilliant writer. However, this one was definitely not her best work.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron for letting me read an e-ARC of Private Rites by Julia Armfield! I rated this book 4.5 stars, but have rounded up to 5 stars for the purpose of this review.

Armfield strikes again! A poignant look into the private lives of three estranged sisters after receiving the news of their father’s death. What starts as a slow burn of a book quickly devolves into drama and chaos as we follow these sisters - Isla, Irene, and Agnes - as their father’s passing and the reading of his will bleeds into every aspect of their lives. We bear witness to their failing and burgeoning romantic relationships; the uncovering of secrets left behind by their father and long-lost mother; and the way that the same group of people keep popping back into their lives in the most unexpected places. This is all while facing the constant battle of the climate apocalypse as their world continues to steadily be submerged under water, which, ironically, is important to the plot as their father’s crowning achievement was a glass house that rises with the tide and is a beacon of hope for their small family.

Armfield explores grief, sisterhood, the impact of climate change on society and social classes, and above all - she comes armed with a wonderfully weird twist involving a huge body of water. I only wish that she had expanded on or drawn out the ending just a little bit more because THAT is the Armfield that I love to read. If you’re accustomed to Armfield’s style, I encourage you to give this a read! I’m considering actually reading King Lear before giving this a reread, myself.

After reading Our Wives Under the Sea I immediately read Salt Slow because I just needed more. I was so excited to be approved for an ARC of Private Rites. I'm not sure if I just had different idea of what this book was going to be but my first time though I landed at a four star rating. It is a great book but it didn't quite hit the high I was expecting from her previous books. But I have to say the story and the characters really stuck with me. I couldn't stop thinking about the book. When the audiobook was added to Netgalley I decided to request it too. The second time through really got me! This will absolutely be one of my favorite reads of the year. Julia Armfield is an incredibly talented writer. I think this is a book that is best gone into knowing as little as possible. The book description doesn't quite convey what the book is about, to be fair I would also have a hard time describing it.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This one didn’t really work for me. I think I’m realizing I prefer books that are plot driven and this one was definitely more character driven. I had a hard time rooting for any of the sisters and that took me out of the experience a bit.

I work in the Climate/Environmental field, so I’m always drawn to books that include themes of climate change. My personal interest is in how climate change has and will continue to affect our oceans, so this book really spoke to me when I first heard about it. Unfortunately though, it just didn’t give me what I was hoping for. The characters did have a lot of wonderful depth, but I just found them all to be unlikable which led to my loss of interest in the story. I did finish the book, but it was a bit like pulling teeth (pun not intended- once you read the book iykyk).

I really liked the concept of this book but it just fell a bit short to me. This might be a 'me' problem since I was attempting to read this during a reading slump, but I did want more from it. This is my first book by the author though so I want to give her another shot since I liked her writing style.

I love this author so much omg. This was deeply unsettling and such a great and atmospheric story just like Our Wives Under the Sea. I loved the sister bond in this one and as always the lgbtq perspectives and lives.

The premise of Private Rites initially hooked me: a near-future, rain-drenched world ravaged by climate change serves as the backdrop for a story of estranged sisters brought together by their father’s death. Inspired by King Lear (though I haven’t read the play), the novel explores themes of family, grief, class disparity, and environmental decay. Unfortunately, while the ingredients are compelling, they didn’t quite come together into a satisfying whole for me.

The story alternates between the perspectives of the three sisters—each grappling with the death of their architect father, their fraught relationships with one another, and the struggles of their own lives—and the “voice” of the city itself, which offers glimpses into a crumbling society. People cling to routines, join cults, and navigate an atmosphere of quiet chaos. There are moments of brilliance in the atmospheric writing and some poignant insights into loneliness and estrangement. However, the novel felt like it was juggling too many themes without committing fully to any of them.

Was this a story about the sisters’ fractured relationships with each other and their father? A critique of the wealthy elite who can insulate themselves from disaster? A meditation on the climate crisis and humanity’s inertia in the face of it? The book tries to address all these questions but doesn’t spend enough time exploring any one of them in depth. The tone is understated, and the plot meanders.

Despite my issues with the execution, Private Rites does have its strengths. The atmospheric descriptions of the constantly raining, decaying city are evocative and immersive, and the quiet moments of the sisters’ lives are often sharply observed. However, the novel’s ambition ultimately outweighed its cohesion, leaving me more frustrated than engaged.

For readers drawn to introspective, fragmented narratives, this might still be worth exploring. For me, it felt like a missed opportunity for something greater.

Thank you to Netgalley and Flatiron books for an advanced readers copy of Private Rites.

In Private Rites, Great Britain is somewhere in the future with climate change causing near-constant rain. The sea level has risen and the population remaining in the city has adapted as best they can. Isla, Irene, and Agnes's father, a famous architect who has just died, coped by building a house that can rise and float with the water. But there is a shortage of places to live with the inundation, and the sisters are all dealing with their grief--that of the changing world and what seems like imminent catastrophic flood--and the death of their father, who none of them were particularly close to.

All three are queer. Isla is a therapist, whose wife asked for a divorce and has moved upland, but Isla doesn't quite know how to move on. Irene is an accountant, who is partnered with Jude, a government relocation assistance worker, and Agnes, younger than Isla and Irene by about 10 years, and who had a different mother, works in a coffee shop and avoids any relationships that involve feelings.

Armfield's writing is gorgeous, and full of insights that I had to highlight for future reference. As the sisters follow their old patterns through the reading of their father's will, and the funeral, Armfield has crafted a world that seems more and more dangerous--can the sisters rely on each other, finally, to get through this?

As in her debut novel, Our Wives Under the Sea, what starts out seeming to be a quiet, character-driven family or relationship drama subtly turns into literary horror. It's masterful, and I enjoyed many things about it--the sisters relationship and the insights about it, especially.

I highly recommend it, and was pleased that I didn't note any anti-fat bias.

I've never read King Lear, so I'm sure I'm missing things, but I don't even care. This book was so good.
Julia Armfield is officially an auto-buy author. I wonder if her next book will also include themes surrounding water...?
This book has a slower pace, but I was gripped by the climate change aspect of this story and the fact that the city itself has its own POV. Like in Our Wives Under The Sea, there's an ominous, insidiousness taking place that's never fully answered and I LOVED it here just as much as I loved it there. Also, the writingggggg. I highlighted so many quotes and will definitely be returning to them over and over. I'm so glad I took a chance on this book. 🙌

A timely and harrowing reflection on surviving through the climate crisis, PRIVATE RITES reminds the reader of the importance of community, family, and continuing to live amidst existential and more domestic layers of chaos. I think this is a novel that will continue to bloom in the minds of others as time goes on, and we continue to live past the estimated "points of no return" and continue to ravage our resources with the proliferation of AI tools--tons of food for thought, but don't let the churn of capitalism or existential dread weigh you down. Thank you again to Flatiron and Netgalley for the ARC :)

I knew what I was coming back to — it’s another book from the author that absolutely delivers on being moody and melancholy, and I’m so there for it, because it places women right in the center and with so much nuance to their emotional palette. Loved it.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!

Disclaimer: I know nothing about King Lear, other than the fact that the guy has three daughters, so my review will be written without taking into consideration the source material.

Not gonna lie, I sort of struggled with this one. This is a relatively short read, a little under 300 pages, but it took me nearly a week to complete this book. ( I typically finish 300 pages in 2 or 3 days.) I think the main reason for this is that the pacing is slow. Like, really slow. There's not a lot of plot going on, and for the most part, we follow our three main characters going about their day to day lives.

A large focus is on the relationship between the sisters and their parents (or lack thereof). I really resonated with the portrayal of their sibling relationship; there were moments that felt like the author had written down the exact thoughts and feelings I've had about my own siblings. (Although me and my siblings definitely get along better.) The trio's relationship with their parents is less focused upon, but impossible to ignore, especially with the tension caused by their father's death.

The speculative setting feels ever more timely; the city they live in is being gradually submerged by rising waters, which has become so normal that the constant rain and ferry rides is just another aspect of their lives. I loved the sections in between the main story entitled The City; it shows what is going on outside of the main characters and gives the story a different perspective.

This book really captures how boring it is living through the end times. (I hate that this is relatable.) There is a underlying tension caused by the ever-present rain and gradually increasing flooding, but the characters still have to go to work and do chores. The story isn't entirely miserable; Agnes finds love amidst all the mundanity, and it is ordinary and extraordinary at the same time. In Everything Everywhere All At Once, Ke Huy Quan's character says "In another life, I would have loved doing laundry and taxes with you." I think this sentiment captures Agnes's relationship with Stephanie completely.

I sort of forgot that this is supposed to be a horror novel; aside from a few weird moments plus the overall creepy vibe, this book read more as lit fic than horror. Towards the end, however, the horror elements kick into full gear. There is a huge tonal shift that I am not sure I like? It felt out of place with the rest of the narrative. Maybe I am missing something, but I don't see how the ending fits in with the overall/rest of the book.

Other than the ending, this book as a whole is gorgeous and lyrical and relatable, and will definitely be staying with me for some time.

This was a highly anticipated read and it started very reminiscent of Blue Sisters with the themes of sisterhood and grief. It eventually led to something else but it did take a while to get there. I do think the commentary is interesting but it didn't work as well as Our Wives Under the Sea worked for me.

Julia Armfied once again stuns with a deft mix of literary fiction and horror. The characters and family relationships shine against an uncanny backdrop of a world nearly underwater. The main characters deal with a drowning society while trying to keep afloat of their own dark secrets and family struggles. Run don't walk to read this book.

confession: i had to start and stop this one no less than five or six times. at one point, i was 75% of the way through and had to start over because i had no idea what was going on.

this book is about three sisters: irene, isla, and agnes. they've just been told that their father has died.

i think that i was very much put off of this book from the beginning when isla, a therapist, talks about dealing with her patients and nicknaming them atrocious things while in session with them. a therapist mentally referring to a patient as "ugly knuckles" - okay? though i understand that therapists are human beings, i'm not truly sure what this sort of narration about her served.

i grew even more frustrated with the interactions between sisters. both older sisters are hostile and mean toward baby sister agnes, born of a different mother. when they're not being unnecessarily cruel and dismissive of each other, they were constantly at each other's throats. there was a scene that recapped an incident prior to their father's death when he was hospitalized. one of the sisters says, "it's good that you've actually managed to show up," and is completely baffled when the other sister is upset by the way she expressed this information. it was weird and mean.

some things i think were done well: there was the inclusion of nb characters without any discussion. i loved that there was so much queerness in the book, also.

armfield also really does a great atmosphere. she painted this drowning world so viscerally that i felt like i was there.

i wasn't a huge fan of the ending. it felt abrupt, it felt like a hurried, unplanned inclusion. i didn't really get it. perhaps i'll enjoy it more if i reread it after rereading the book it was based on.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Julia Armfield's Private Rites follows the lives of three sisters as they deal with grief and love. It is a tale of familial relationships, queer love, and how people react when they are faced with the end of the world.

My feelings on this book are completely mixed. There were many things I liked about this book, but quite a few that I disliked as well.

I was originally interested in this book because it is a reimagining of King Lear. I loved the King Lear elements of this book. It was a creative and intriguing take on the original story. Armfield mastered the reimaging aspect. It's a wonderfully unique story that takes some of the elements I loved about King Lear and weaves them into this new story in such a beautiful way.

I'm still not sure how I feel about the writing in this book. There were some chapters where I was completely in love with the writing and some where I wasn't sure I actually enjoyed it. The way Armfield can discuss grief and relationships is incredible. She takes these deep topics and puts them onto the page in a way so many people would never be able to do. Specifically with the topic of grief, she handled it in a way I had never read before. I always love to see how different authors discuss grief, and this may be one of my favorite depictions of it. It's clear throughout this book that Armfield is a talented writer.

Another thing I loved about this story is the fact that we got the city's point of view. It was such an intriguing addition to the story and one I hadn't seen before. It added another level of depth to the story that I absolutely adored.

There were some elements of the storytelling in this book that I didn't love. My main issue is that a lot of this book didn't feel like much of a story was being told. As I got further into the book, the sister's thoughts and actions got more and more repetitive. I was excited at the beginning because they all had such interesting personalities and dynamics with each other. Unfortunately, it felt like you never got to know them any better. I kept thinking that we'd get a deeper look into their personalities, but they eventually began to feel one-dimensional.

My other issue with the book was how the end of the world aspect was handled. I love a slower story, but not when a seemingly major plot point only feels relevant for the last 50-100 pages. There are brief hints to it throughout the story, but it doesn't play much of a role until the very end. When we did get to it, I thought it was written in a beautiful, interesting way. However, I would have liked it to be more important for more of the book.

Although my feelings toward this book were changing so much from chapter to chapter, I can look back on it now and see that I mostly enjoyed it. I didn't connect to the story as much as I would have liked to, but I'm still glad I read it. This has convinced me that I need to read more of Julia Armfield's stories.

Review on Goodreads (sophreadingbooks https://www.goodreads.com/sophreadingbooks) as of 11/27/2024
Review on Instagram (sophiesreading https://www.instagram.com/sophiesreading/) expected 12/10/2024

Private Rites, just like Armfield's Our Wives, didn't quite hit it for me. Both books I've given 3 stars because they are readable, incredibly unique, and the writing is nice, but fell short. In both books I struggled to connect with the characters and care much for them. They all seem one-dimensional and I had a hard time remembering which sister was which. I found the ending to be so out of left field and bizarre.

The Carmichael sisters don’t like each other. They hate their famous architect father. One could argue that they’re not that fond of themselves, either. All of this simmering loathing makes Julia Armfield’s Private Rites a challenging read. Challenging, yes, but understandable. What I don’t understand is that Armfield decided to set this family drama in a world drowning in endless rain and to populate it with a mysterious cult that follows the youngest Carmichael sister around. I’m going to keep an eye out for other reviews of this book that can, hopefully, help me figure this out.

Oldest sister Isla works as a therapist. Ever since she was a little girl, with her cold, combative father and increasingly mentally ill mother, Isla was the one who kept things organized. Consequently, she can be a bit patronizing and far too concerned about appearances. Her younger sister, Irene, is the angry one. She resents everyone and everything, it seems. Talking to her is a minefield of perceived insults. Youngest sister Agnes is a cipher, though her sisters seem to think she’s a flake. Agnes’s phone is never on and she runs from anything that might tie her down.

The sisters take turns telling us their stories. I was glad for this because their inner thoughts were much more illuminating than their spiteful conversations with each other in the wake of their father’s death. The sisters reveal scenes from their childhood that show us exactly why they detest their father and why only his death could bring them back together, at the house he built to stay above rising water. Isla, as usual, is trying to observe the niceties while Irene lashes out reflexively. Agnes is mostly a ghost, though I can’t blame her for this given how fraught her sisters’ relationship is.

Some books stand out to me not because of their characters or their plot but because of the mood they invoke. Private Rites, to me, is a mood book. That mood is a blend of frustration and despair. (There may be a German word for this.) Everyone knows that the time to fix the environment is long past. Nothing can ever be normal again. But no one is doing anything: not the government, not the corporations, not the people themselves. People still go to work, even if they have to use ferries and water taxis and their homes are increasingly flooding out. It’s hard to say if hardly anyone is trying to fix things or even adapt much to life on a watery planet because they think it’s someone else’s problem to fix or if they’re out of ideas.

I suppose the environmental catastrophe is a metaphor for how so many people refuse to change and just play out the roles they’re used to playing. (I’m still not sure what the point of the cult is yet.) What I don’t understand is why Private Rites has both psychodrama and environmental catastrophe (and a cult). The family drama was interesting and comprehensible; it didn’t need the heavy underscoring of the water. The flooded world thing is interesting, too, but didn’t need family drama to overshadow it (and possibly reduce its effect to metaphor).

Bookish folk, if you read this book and understand it, please let me know what I’m overlooking.