Private Rites – Julia Armfield
A queer reimagining of “King Lear,” set in a dystopian, waterlogged London where the collapse of the climate mirrors the collapse of familial bonds. Despite its intriguing premise, Julia Armfield’s “Private Rites” struggles to stay afloat, ultimately sinking under the weight of its own ambitions.
The story centers on three estranged sisters — Agnes, Isla and Irene — left to reckon with their father’s death and the mess he left behind, both materially and emotionally.
Armfield creates a haunting, claustrophobic atmosphere of a slowly drowning world, capturing the eerie monotony of survival in a collapsing society (eerily familiar in a post-COVID-19 world).
Yet, this promising backdrop is largely wasted. The dystopian elements feel like an afterthought, appearing in earnest only in the novel's final third, which also introduces a cult subplot that provides the only glimmer of genuine suspense.
While my opinion is contrarian, I thought the characters lacked depth and were mostly whiny. Their interactions – rooted in relentless melancholy – make it hard to connect with them.
The heavy-handed water metaphors, while thematically consistent with Armfield’s prior work, feel overwrought here. Even the queer elements, including sex scenes, fail to integrate meaningfully into the narrative, feeling jarring and out of place in an otherwise bleak, plodding story.
In other words, it’s time for Armfield to come up for air.
Though the prose remains lush, her reliance on symbolism and Shakespearean allusions requires a level of patience and literary devotion this novel didn’t earn. For those well-versed in “King Lear” and drawn to dense, slow-burn literary fiction, there may be more to appreciate.
For me, however, the lack of compelling characters and the uneven balance between dystopian horror and family drama made this a slog. In hindsight, this should’ve been a DNF.
In full disclosure, I received an ARC from Flatiron Books in exchange for an honest review. I initially made it through about 40 percent of the physical copy before switching to the audiobook to push through to the end.
Narrated by Hannah van der Westhuysen, the audiobook offered a quintessentially British experience – well-executed yet surprisingly prim and proper, considering the novel’s darker and more provocative themes.
While “Private Rites” might captivate a niche, erudite audience, I’m not that reader.
Rating (story): 2/5 stars
Rating (narration): 3/5 stars
Format: Hybrid read/listen (personal library; library loan)
Dates read: September 12 – December 15, 2024
Multi-tasking: Good to go. While I really struggled getting through this in print, it was helpful to keep track of the three sisters and their respective backstories. If you’re committed to seeing this one through to the end – and I can’t say it’s totally worth it – than a hybrid read/listen is the way to go.
