A really interesting plot and a great first half of this novel, but the storyline did not set up the ending for me and left me confused. I wished there was more "dread" in the story to match up with the ending. I loved the introduction of the sisters and learning who they were and who their partners were, but then things got boring, and the ending threw me off guard. It felt like reading a separate book. Books about family dynamics, and specifically sisters, always intrigue me, but this left me wanting so much more.

2.5 stars

I love _King Lear_. I also thoroughly enjoyed my last read from Armfield. Unfortunately, this most recent effort just did not work for me.

Three sisters deal with the death of their father and the challenging memories they have that precede that death. Readers also get some insight into each sister because of multi-perspective narration. The trouble for me was that what they were thinking, saying, and doing was not interesting enough to help me get invested in any one of them, let alone all three.

I came into this book thinking it'd be an understated favorite of the year, and I'm completing the listen (I went for the audiobook after not being able to get beyond the first section in the e-book for a bit too long) knowing that this could've really been DNF under slightly different circumstances. I'll give this author another chance, of course, but this one fell flat for me.

2.5 - 3 stars maybe? “Mundane Apocalypse” as a description is fitting, but that is not my issue with this book. I like the mundane, quiet version of what the end of this world looks like. I liked the depictions of rain and flood and what it looks like to try and outrun these issues. The horror that was promised comes only at the very end, while the rest of the novel focuses on 3 sisters in the aftermath of their father’s death.

Normally this wouldn’t bother me. I love sticky family dynamics and prickly characters. But unfortunately these sisters felt so entirely bland to me. And the majority of the novel just follows them around while they think bland thoughts and hold on to anger at each other for things they couldn’t control. It just didn’t make for the most interesting reading experience.

Nobody can deny Armfield’s writing power, though. I just think this may have been a bit unbalanced.

I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 rounded up! julia armfield has once again done a masterclass in writing about grief and loss- though very different types of relationships than Our Wives Under the Sea. this book is written with multiple POVs including the “City,” which highlights the underlying horror. besides that, i feel as though the premise and literary horror did not come through til the end. so interested in the end though!! lots of unanswered questions like her previous novel. (time to read reddit theories and author interviews)

the POVs of the sisters were hard to keep straight at first, especially Irene as her own entity. on a personal level, i wish i paid more attention when i read king lear in high school.

thanks netgalley and flatiron books for the eArc! out in the US on Dec 3rd!

I absolutely loved Julia Armfield's short story collection Salt Slow, but unfortunately that didn't carry over to Private Rites.

Armfield is a stunning writer; there's no doubt about that. But my goodness this just bored me so much. I think the three POVs was too much. I get that they were probably necessary for the story, but I couldn't care about all of them. I kept mixing up the two *I* sisters, and I was really only interested in Agnes. But even that wasn't enough to sustain my interest.

As I write this review, it is raining — and the rain has been pretty much constant for the past 24 hours. It feels something like kismet to have encountered Julia Armfield’s new novel, Private Rights, in such an environment. Set in the midst of a perpetually rainy and unnamed city, Armfield’s novel follows sisters Isla, Irene, and Agnes as they grapple with the loss of their estranged father, personal upheaval, and a world that’s as hauntingly mundane as it is apocalyptic. An atmospheric science fiction retelling of King Lear, the novel interrogates themes of family, memory, and love in a doomed world.

My favorite thing about Private Rights is the way it examines the gap between personal and global grief, and the oft-complex ethics of having your own problems when the world is actively dying around you. The apocalypse doesn’t mean that you stop fighting with your family, stop dealing with the legal drudgery of death and divorce, stop falling in love — it just adds a new, complicated layer to the mix. As someone who has often struggled with the reality of private and public grief, I enjoyed the way Armfield uses these issues in her novel.

If you enjoyed the moody, slow-burn horror of Armfield’s 2022 hit Our Wives Under The Sea, you won’t be disappointed by Private Rights — the way the novel builds to its climax with a slow, creeping dread was a delight to experience. The novel’s pacing is wonderfully slow, like a pot of delicious and creepy stew set at a perfect simmer. I adore Armfield’s take on cosmic horror, where the state of things is impossible to wrap your head around in its magnitude, desolation, and inevitability. If you’re looking for a novel that effectively captures the horror of climate change, look no further.

In her introduction to The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K. Le Guin argues that science fiction is “descriptive” rather than “predictive.” In Private Rights, Julia Armfield is not predicting the end of the world so much as describing the ways in which we are already reacting to the catastrophes around us. Despite that, Private Rights is not at all a hopeless book. In Armfield’s world, reconciliation is always a possibility, and love is no less life-altering, even in the ruins of society. The world of Private Rights is doomed, but it is still breathing.

Private Rights by Julia Armfield is out on December 3rd, 2024 in the United States, and available for pre-order wherever you purchase books. Many thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for providing this e-gally!

I loved Our Wives Under the Sea, Julia Armfield's first novel and one of my favorite novels of the last few years, and fans of Our Wives should also love Private Rites. Armfield's writing is a haunting, lyrical mix of literary and horror that slides between reality and the supernatural. Private Rites is a story that moves around climate fiction, family drama (particularly a sister story), and queer relationships--as well as a reimagining of King Lear. This is a hard book to otherwise talk about or explain, and it's really one to be experienced. Armfield is a special, distinctive writer and I can't wait to see what she does next.

If you enjoyed the experience of Armfield's Our Wives Under The Sea, I think you're going to like/love this one as well. Again, we have lots of water. Just so much water. I bet you can guess why...that's right, climate change! It's an, "I can certainly see things ending up like this in a few years" scenario.
The writing is just amazing. You can just feel the dampness and smell the mildew. The characters are interesting and pretty flawed TBH. I do wish we'd had more time with some of the secondary characters, but I seem to say that a lot. Three queer sisters that don't get along and suffer from a lack of parental love, make for some complicated relationships. A nice representation of LGBTQIA+ in cli-fi with a side of horror.
Then there's the ending. I just don't even know what to say because I don't want to spoil anything. It's quite a shock though. One that will probably have you rereading the book for missed clues. It's good though-so good!
#NetGalley

I think this book changed me as a person.

Since her debut novel, Our Wives Under The Sea, and her debut short story collection, Salt Slow, Julia Armfield has quickly become a favorite author of mine and an inspiration in terms of her writing. I was worried I wasn’t going to love Private Rites as much as her debut novel, but I was wrong.

Private Rites is an immersive and complex novel, a retelling of King Lear, centered on three sisters and the repercussions they face after the death of their father.

Julia Armfield’s newest novel focuses on various themes - such as family dysfunction and love - but she writes her books in a way that it is haunting and creeps up on you.

I loved it, and I can’t wait for the audiobook!

This is my first book by this author, and I wasn't sure what to expect. In terms of the "end of the world" story I expected, this was MUCH more quiet and subtle than I assumed. The writing is beautifully eloquent, and it's obvious that the author is skilled at character work. While this story is an atmospheric look at grief, sisterhood, and the queer existence, it just wasn't all that entertaining for me. The best way that I can explain it is that I felt like I was watching this story instead of being immersed in it.

Thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an early copy for review.

Audio: the audio narration is very good!

Review: I wanted to like this book so much. I really enjoyed the premise and the idea that the world is getting more and more rain, there was an undertone of climate change and taking care of the earth. Before I dive in, I did not finish this book, I do think I might come back to it much later in life. However, for now I wanted to share my thoughts. I had a hard time connecting to the characters. They shifted and changed too much and at times were hard to tell apart. They have distinctly different lives however, a lot of the details and traits of each character I had a very hard time figuring out who was who and what I should be gaining from their interactions. Because of that, it greatly decreased my enjoyment. I know that this author is supposed to be a very powerful lit fic writer and I don't doubt that's true. However, I had a hard time getting the depth of this novel and I"m really not sure if that's a me problem or not. I generally enjoy hard hitting, slower pace and at times weird stories. Something was very much a miss with this for me... for now.

Three sisters, Isla, Irene, and Agnes, reunite after their architect father's death in a world submerged in relentless rain and ancient practices. As they navigate their own struggles with love and loss, they uncover family secrets that threaten to tear them apart. With their mother's disappearance and mysterious strangers in the mix, the sisters realize they have been chosen for a significant purpose that could have devastating consequences for their family and the world they live in.

This book beautifully explores the complex relationships between three sisters, touching on themes of resentment, dependency, and the impact of parental troubles. The story also delves into the effects of climate change, painting a realistic picture of a world slowly succumbing to disaster. The interplay between personal and global struggles creates a poignant narrative that is both horrifying and relatable. Overall, the book's atmospheric and controlled style makes it a compelling read that leaves a lasting impact on the reader.

As a first-time reader of this author, I eagerly anticipate delving into more of their work in the future. The chosen narrator breathes life into the story, keeping me engaged and thoroughly enjoying the journey through the book.

Thank you, Macmillan Audio and Flatiron Books for digital and audio ARC copy. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

thank you to netgalley for the eARC.

i’ve heard good things about this author and wanted to check something out of theirs and started with this book. i was let down.

i didn’t enjoy this book at all. i feel like not much of substance was talked about for a majority of the book. i debated whether i should dnf it several times. i wasn’t interested in the story until the 51% mark and it didn’t hold my attention for long at that point. when chaos ensued at the 95% (!!) mark, i didn’t care much for it and just wanted it to be over.

there were its weird moments which i liked, but i didn’t like much outside of that. the characters and their relationships sucked and the writing style was off considering what type of story it was. i really tried to overlook the first half of the book, but it was just so boring to me that three stars seems like a reach.

Let me start by saying I am still firmly in the Julia Armfield fan club. I wouldn’t say I’m disappointed nor would I say I don’t get the love for ‘private rites’. It just wasn’t for me. It had the same watery foreboding feeling as ‘our wives’, I just lacked the same connection.

Armfield’s prose is beautiful and she has the ability to articulate complex feelings. I think that perhaps I read this book at the wrong time, because it was difficult to inhabit her drowning world when reality is currently so bleak. I normally don’t like when narratives shift perspectives often, but I think that the choice to continue to write in the third-person made it easy to shift between characters.

Private Rites by Julia Armfield is a haunting, speculative reimagining of King Lear that follows three estranged sisters—Isla, Irene, and Agnes—brought together by their father’s death in a world reshaped by endless rain. In their childhood home, a glass-walled relic of their father’s controlling legacy, the sisters uncover buried secrets that revive old wounds and complicate their fragile reunion. As they navigate queer love, loss, and a sinister mystery tied to their mother’s disappearance, Armfield’s lyrical prose creates an atmospheric tension that builds toward a shattering climax. Blending myth, family drama, and an eerie sense of fate, Private Rites is a resonant story of resilience and inheritance in a world slipping beneath the waves.

Three sisters come together after their architect father's passing. While they reckon with their childhoods and romantic relationships, the world is flooding.

Private Rites is a VERY slow read for the the first 80% or so, and then it kicks into an ending that makes you almost want to revisit the whole story. It's beautifully written, but the many of the clues to that ending were far too subtle for me to pick up. The ending would be more satisfying if it were fronted by a different story. Will be great for those who enjoy reading about complicated families.

Gorgeous as always, Julia Armfield continues to write wonderful haunting spooky little tales. Incredibly atmospheric and frequently unsettling, I’m not always crazy about it reimaginings but this one just worked..

Very sad to say that I did not enjoy my time with this one 😭

Private Rites follows three sisters, Isla, Agnes, and Irene, as they reconnect over the death of their father. All the while, the condition of the world is continuing to deteriorate as the never-ending rain and constantly rising water levels threaten those who cannot afford to live above the flood. Of course, this had all the makings to be something I really enjoyed: a dystopian end of the world scenario, dealings with grief, familial relationships, and from an author I have enjoyed before.

Unfortunately, I was incredibly bored throughout the entire story. I did not feel connected to the three main sisters, and the side characters felt dull & flat to me. Nothing really happens until the last 5% of the book where a million things come flying at you out of nowhere. If you know me, you know this is something I absolutely cannot stand when books do.

I did enjoy the world this takes place in and the way everything is collapsing around our characters and everyone else, yet society has learned to adapt and somewhat ignore the inevitable demise that lurks all around them. Constant rising water means people are forced to continually move upwards, whole parts of the city are shut off, and alternate modes of transportation have become commonplace. There is also conversation around wealth & social class as the author looks at how such an event would affect different populations. Obviously, with money at their disposal, wealthy people can just keep moving into bigger and better homes that sit higher above the water level, while the poorer classes are jampacked into crumbling apartment buildings and told to get over it. The city itself becomes a character within the story, and we get chapters from the city's POV which I appreciated.

Other than that, I had a hard time enjoying anything else. I wish there was more build up and tension leading to the end scene to keep me invested throughout.

I would recommend this to readers who enjoy any of the themes I mentioned above, also those for whom queer representation is an important element, those who can appreciate lyrical & dreamy writing and don't mind a slow burn.

<i>First, a thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an eARC of this book.</i>

I have to say, I am a little disappointed. I *really* loved [book:Our Wives Under the Sea|58659343], so I was really looking forward to this one.

It was interesting how the city was treated like a character, getting its own chapters and getting to be part of the story.

Overall, I think my disconnect with this book was just that I didn’t like and didn’t really care for any of the three sisters, which is maybe how we are supposed to feel. But I found myself having a hard time caring about them and wishing I got to know more about the world and the state of things than the drama going on between them.

I still want to read [book:Salt Slow|42870948], and I will probably continue to read Armfield’s work, but this one just wasn’t for me.