Reviews with content warning for Physical abuse - Open Water

Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

7 reviews

mollyb13's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Though short in page number, this took me a while to get through but I enjoyed the slow journey overall! Caleb Azumah Nelson has a very lyrical and rhythmic way of writing, which mirrors the repeating themes of music and rhythm in the book. The author paints a story of being Black in London which is both beautiful and heartbreaking all at once. I had a bit of trouble getting used to the second person narration and found myself having to reread certain sections to figure out what was going on.

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pkc's review against another edition

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dark hopeful reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

If I was asked to review this story around the mid way point, it probably wouldn’t have been massively favourable. In fact, I came reasonably close to DNFing but in the last 70 pages, something happened. The core of the story unveiled itself, made itself known in a really profound way that I hadn’t expected. At just over 140 pages I hadn’t expected as much depth as I got from this book. It’s a touching and haunting look at the safety (or lack thereof) of black people amidst the persistent thrumming drumbeat of a system that is built to oppress and violate in equal turns. The second person narrative is so well considered and any reader can become engaged in the unease and feel everything that “you” are supposed to feel. I loved the protagonist and the rich storytelling was poetic, languid and sumptuous at points.

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