Private Rites by Julia Armfield
It’s like if your deepest, darkest secrets got together for a girls’ night out. Julia Armfield spins a tale where the line between reality and the supernatural is blurrier than a Monday morning hangover. Equal parts creepy and oddly relatable, it’s a story that’ll have you side-eyeing your own reflection… just in case.. loved this one.

2.5⭐️
Julia Armfield is an incredible writer. Her prose is unmatched and I found myself highlighting several lines throughout the novel, which is saying something because I don’t usually highlight or annotate when reading.

I LOVED Our Wives and was so excited to read this, but unfortunately Private Rites just didn’t land for me (no pun intended). I found the pacing to be slow and a bit inconsistent, and while she did a masterful job of describing the complex dynamics between 3 sisters, I just wasn’t interested in learning more about them. The last 50 pages did pick up, but I also have to be honest in that I have no idea what happened in the end and I read the last 2 chapters twice.

My book club will be reading this in January and I’m eager to read it again and see what the group thinks. I have a feeling it will be a lively discussion.

All in all, I love Julia Armfield’s writing and will always give her novels a try. Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron for providing an ARC of this novel for my honest review.

After loving Our Wives Under the Sea, I was delighted to read Julia Armfield's new book. Her writing is absolutely phenomenal. She has this wonderful way of making a story quietly unnerving that I really enjoy.
This book also caught my attention because it was being described as a queer King Lear set in an apocalyptical place where the incessant rain is actually washing away the foundations of society. The book lived up the hype in all these regards. It is a kind of slow burn story, but I couldn't put it down. I'm excited to recommend it to readers who enjoy literary fiction!

*thank you to the publisher for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review*
Julia Armfield does a wonderful job writing about three queer sisters moving through life after the loss of their father. Her ability to write distinct, full characters draws you in immediately. I found them to be relatable, either because I personally identified with them or I had experienced people or relationships similar to them. And to have this amongst the rain, the continuous tension and intensity she masterfully creates and sustains throughout the book, and her language and writing, which I always find to be gorgeously subtle and powerful, is well done and makes for an excellent read.

This is different than Salt Slow and Our Wives Under the Sea, which I enjoyed more. Salt Slow is my favorite work of hers. Private Rites moves slower, and there were times the pacing felt different and slowed me down a bit. And, I am always impressed when a writer shows exploration and development throughout her work, and this is a mark of that.

4 stars.

Julia Armfield writes an incredible book and has very quickly become a must-read author for me. I absolutely loved this, and if you enjoyed Salt Slow and/or Our Wives Under the Sea you will love Private Rites too. She is a master at creating this unsettling, uneasy background with wonderfully real characters. In Private Rites we follow three sisters that don't like each other very much, but are all dealing with the loss of their father, navigating their relationship with one another in the aftermath of his death, and just surviving a collapsing (literally) society. Just like Our Wives, this is more of a slow burn litfic horror, but the last chapter was wild. Highly recommend this and all of her books! Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the e-ARC.

when it's the end of the world but you can't stop being a bitch to your sister...

thanks to netgalley and flatiron books for the arc!

this book was a quiet, eerie & unsettling book. we follow three sisters after their father has died and the world is slowly ending. armfield could have taken this premise on so many dramatic and wide swings, but instead kept it introspective and silent. we follow these three sisters as they grapple with impending doom, with their feelings of regret, with their grief, with the inability to sever ties that no longer serve them, with their love.

much like "our wives under the sea" this is not a traditional horror, but one that instead latches inside your brain and fills you with a feeling of dread and almost sadness (lol). her books are both not about the physical horrors of the world - the things we can see and touch, but instead of these horrific mundane trials of being a human being. (albeit, the stakes are slightly higher here with the dystopian setting).

it was quite slow-paced, to the point that about half way through the book, I almost took a break because it was getting a little hard to keep powering through. I think the pacing in the last 50 or so pages was much better and I wish the rest of the book was picked up, just slightly. Or perhaps I just wanted more of the climax. It was such a harsh pivot from the pacing of the rest of the book that I kind of wanted to sit in it more.

my only other critique of the book was that i had such a hard time remembering which sister was which (with irene and isla - i really struggled with the names LOL)

If you enjoyed "Our Wives Under the Sea", or are a fan of quiet, literary novels of dread with hints of horror, then I think you'll like this book.

I fear words cannot do this masterpiece justice. Armfield mastered a narrative that feels like drowning in rising water. Drowning in your life, your job, your family, in that particular type of near-toxic love. A flawless illustration of sisterhood, complicated family structures, and queerness all in a layer of light horror.

Armfield has quickly secured their spot as an auto-read author for me. Everyone wishes they had what Armfield has with water.

This story is a reimagining of King Lear, centered around three sisters navigating a whole lot of fragile family dynamics and finding their true selves. The sisters’ sort of spiral out of control in the wake of their father's death. Many disturbing revelations come to light and further throw things off balance, in addition to a constant rain that seems to be reshaping the land and has more profound implications as the story progresses. Thank you so much to Flatiron Books & NetGalley for this ARC. This book will publish via Flatiron Books December 03, 2024.

I am sure Private Rites will appeal to readers of Julia Armfield’s previous book and even readers of King Lear as the book is described as a speculative reimagining of King Lear.
Unfortunately I could not really get into it even though the writing is strong and the sisters are compelling characters.

I loved the eerie setting of this story. Armfield is so gifted at atmosphere! The pacing here was rather slow and I found as interested as I was in the world around these sisters, I didn't care much about what was happening to them.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher Flatiron Books for a free digital ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
I'm disappointed to say that I just don't think Julia Armfield's writing is for me. I wanted to like Our Wives Under the Sea, and I didn't really, but I thought I would still give Private Rites a chance. This book was incredibly slow, and I felt like I was slowly sloshing through most of it, hence why it took me over a month to finish it. The world building was admittedly super cool--the water rising higher and higher throughout the novel as the rain almost never stops its endless pouring; the feeling of hopelessness so present in this society where the wealthy are able to climb higher in buildings tall enough to withstand flooding, while the poor experience flooding similar to that scene in Parasite. Compared to the slow pacing of the whole book, the ending was way too fast, events happening so quickly in the final 5-10% of the book that I couldn't even tell what was transpiring. Cults? Sinking? I couldn't tell you. It kind of reminded me of the ending of Night in the Woods, but more confusing. My favorite part of the book by far was the troubled relationship between the sisters as they halfheartedly try to get along with each other, but ultimately just get on each others nerves at every turn, or perhaps don't like each other that much. It reminded me a lot of my brothers and I, and I related heavily to Irene as the sibling who feels stuck in the anger of my childhood, which is how my family will always view me. If you like reading about messy sister dynamics, this is for you.

This is a really great read for anyone looking for a sad, spooky, slowburn horror novel featuring an all-queer cast of characters. Set in an ambiguously-distant future where London is slowly drowning, the novel follows three sisters and their significant others in the wake of their father's death. The writing is lush but also restrained, making for a sensuously subdued atmosphere. The ending felt a tad rushed, but I might revise my opinion on a reread. All in all, an excellent second novel following on the heels of 2022's Our Wives Under the Sea.

Our Wives Under The Sea was a fantastic read & I couldn’t wait to read Private Rites Julia Armfields latest.I was immediately drawn in by her writing and her strong characters.This was a multi layered complex storyline that kept me turning the pages.#netgalley #flatiron

I was so excited to receive this book, as Our Wives Under the Sea is one of my favorites. While the writing is absolutely beautiful, I found this book to be super slow and just not a lot going on until the end. I also didn't find it to have much of a horror aspect. I did love how character driven it was though.

This book is phenomenal. I had been reading it slowly. Enjoying it like a finely aged wine (hilarious of me to use that turn of phrase considering I do not in fact drink wine…but I digress) The prose in this book is gloriously atmospheric, eerie and so artfully crafted. I can’t wait to pick up a physical copy of this book to dive back into the story again and annotate more fully.

What an enthralling exploration of family relationships, grief in a drowning world.

I'm a little torn about this one. I love the author and think her writing is phenomenal but this book felt a little flat. The pace was slow and not much happened until the last 20 pages or so. I would like to have seen more of the horror elements a little earlier on so that the weird ending doesn't seem so abrupt. I did like that the apocalyptic setting was subtle and almost mundane? Like, everyone was still going about their business in the wake of all this destruction. I do also like that it was water related, I feel like most dystopian environments are dry and desolate, which I am not a fan of. However, every once and while a sentence would come out to strike you right in the heart. I did like this book but could've used some editing.

Thank you to Netgalley and Flatiron books for the advanced reader copy!

I was so excited to read Private Rites, as I enjoyed Our Wives Under the Sea. There's a lot that I loved about this book. Armfield's writing is atmospheric, poetic, and beautiful. So many fresh metaphors and descriptions.

The setting is so vivid. I loved the attention to detail that went into the world building. Armfield really fleshes out this world, whether it be by discussing the ways that the rain and flooding have changed how people date; led to protests; impacted mental health, architecture, animals, and transportation; or altered what happens to a person's body after death (burials are no longer an option due to the lack of accessible soil). I also loved the sense of dread that laces the entire story and connects to the setting itself.

The characterization is also very strong. Armfield brings each character to life by examining their quirks, fears, and habits. Additionally, the relationships, whether between father and daughter, sisters, or lovers, were all unique, layered, and compelling.

However, other elements of the book fell flat for me. The biggest problem was the pacing and connectivity. The last 10% of the story goes so so fast. It was super intriguing, but it felt too abrupt, and almost disconnected from the rest of the book. While there were hints leading up to the ending, I felt like there wasn't enough substantial connective tissue throughout the book for the end to fully land. Despite everything being incredibly compelling on its own, I lost immersion at the end because it felt disjointed and rushed.

Overall, I enjoyed this read, despite the issues I had with the pacing and connectivity. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review!

I liked the general premise, but for being in an apocalyptic setting with three dynamic main characters, it was SO slow. I also felt like Jude and Stephanie were too good to be true, especially based on Irene’s and Agnes’ behavior. I liked the ending, but I wish there had been more time devoted to it instead of the build up.

im struggling to say whether i enjoyed this novel or not. i could chalk it up to two things: the third person distant POV, and my unfamiliarity with the original king lear.

the POV choice was fine, i think it was even the best choice because this is shown from the perspective of 3 different sisters, their lovers, and the city they're living in. the distance from the audience was sustained, so the effect made for just the right amount of suspense. the prose was economical and specific, but opened itself up to lengthy and interesting description whenever the story called for it.
however, a few more chapters in and the distance and the suspense held steady. the pace felt rather like listening to a radio dj announcing the morning news in a monotonous voice. at a certain point, the story will require a good amount of curious engagement, as in if you were not already interested in where the story was taking you, you'd be bored out of your wits.
thankfully i already liked the characters enough to want to get to know them even better. i mean, come on, im definitely the best audience to hook into a story about lesbian daughters of a successful (in the objective sense of the word) man.

i also thought it appropriate to familiarize myself with the original story of king lear, the story upon which this novel was based. i was sure this would allow me to appreciate the story better. i think at some point i would slowly make my way through it, which might be much better than simply Wikipedia-ing the thing. all that to say, if youre already familiar with the og king lear you wouldn't have any problem sifting through and finding wonders in the themes of this novel.

another fun thing to think about is how the worldbuilding was done. this is set in a post-apocalyptic world submerged in water, but we don't exactly get thrown to sink and swim right off the bat--we're introduced first and foremost to the extreme religious cult(s) that formed in the context of this setting. it's a good narrative decision i think, i was hooked thanks to this hahah

<spoiler>i loved how agnes realized she is in love with stephanie. it's different reading it in isolation vs. reading in at 7 in the morning, waiting for the sun which is yet to rise. something tender about reading about a love so fierce it's scary in juxtaposition to the scene out the window, blue and vast and endless. yep. i recommend reading this not when youre trying to stay awake in liminal outdoor spaces but in the privacy of your own company during the wee hours of dawn when the sun hasnt risen. if not the entire book, then at least chapter 5 in Agnes' POV. </spoiler>

ok yeah who am i kidding, i definitely enjoyed this novel. if you feel as if youre <i>the</i> target audience here you should definitely give it a shot.

thank you NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the eARC.

I would like to thank Net Galley and Flatiron books for the opportunity to read this as an ARC. I really did not like this book. It is hard to read and hard to understand. The narrative floats between the three sisters, and all of it reads like a puzzle, with no clues to solving it. Maybe that is what the author is aiming for, to make you think and look deeper. To me, it was just annoying. It was described as a speculative re imagining of King Lear. Now, I have read a number of current books, which reimagine characters or plots from other books, but this one was just too odd for me.