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Juliet is failing to juggle motherhood and her anemic dissertation when her husband, Michael, informs her that he wants to leave his job and buy a sailboat. The couple are novice sailors, but Michael persuades Juliet to say yes. With their two kids–Sybil, age seven, and George, age two, Juliet and Michael set off for Panama, where their forty-four-foot sailboat awaits them–a boat that Michael has christened the Juliet.

The initial result is transformative: their marriage is given a gust of energy, and even the children are affected by the beauty and wonderful vertigo of travel. The sea challenges them all–and most of all, Juliet, who suffers from postpartum depression.

Sea Wife is told in gripping dual perspectives: Juliet’s first-person narration, after the journey, as she struggles to come to terms with the dire, life-changing events that unfolded at sea; and Michael’s captain’s log–that provides a riveting, slow-motion account of those same inexorable events.

Exuberant, harrowing, witty, and exquisitely written, Sea Wife is impossible to put down. A wholly original take on one of our oldest stories–survival at sea—it also asks a pertinent question for our polarized political moment: How does a crew with deep philosophical differences and outmoded gender roles bring a ship safely to shore?

Literary fiction isn’t my favorite, but this book someone captured my attention (even though it’s literary AND split timeline). I think a lot of that is because of the sailing–I’ve always loved water and have dreamed of sailing the Caribbean, so that aspect of the book intrigued me.

There isn’t one thing that grabbed my attention or hooked me into this book. In fact, I started reading it, set it down for several weeks, then picked it up again. There’s no massive character change or development; there’s not a giant plot twist; there’s no one thing that stands out as captivating, but the story itself sort of lures you in.

Very much a story of reflections. Grief. Loneliness. But also hope and love.

If you’re a fan of literary fiction, I highly recommend this book.

Rated PG-13 for some language.

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For more literary fiction, check out:

The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
Whereabouts by Jhumpa Lahiri