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helliepad's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The prose was beautiful and I love the 2nd person POV. The story itself had a pulse like the music it metaphor'd the entire time. At first I was tired of these people dancing around the fact that they like each other (I can't stand torpe guys! Spit it out now!) but then I get to the point where they show a reason why he can't let himself be that vulnerable and it just made me feel things. Great story!!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism and Violence
Minor: Death
airr's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Police brutality and Racism
Moderate: Gun violence, Death, and Violence
icarusandthesun's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-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? Yes
3.0
a wonderful book, but simply wasn't for me.
nelson's writing is plain beautiful. lyrical. it sounds like a song, like a poem, like a friend telling you about their woes, like an observation of the world - its beauty and terrors - all in one.
i've never seen anyone describe life and love quite like he did. nelson's portrayal of love must be one of the most comforting, most romantic and rawest portrayals one can find in literature today.
passages heart-wrenching, alternating between joy and grief. appreciation for all kinds of art created by people of color. celebrating it.
nevertheless, i was a little bored. and i want to note that that's totally on me, not the book. since it is a very lyrical piece, it doesn't have a lot of plot. i also found it a little hard to concentrate on some of the passages, kept zoning out, because there were a lot of repetitions (used as a stylistic device and executed beautifully, but alas), long descriptions of memories and photographs of moments to remember. i just couldn't quite find my footing, if that makes sense.
it was kind of like swimming in open water - lyrical and sensitive words flowing all around you, but there was nothing to grasp, nothing that wouldn't immediately seep through your hands again, leaving you with but open water, and no land to be seen.
if you like swimming, that's great, you'll love this. but personally, i'm not one to swim.
but whatever! will this stop me from reading nelson's second book? absolutely not.
even if i won't be staying for the story, i will for the quotes, i know it. because the ones in open water were all gorgeous, filled with dreams and pure truth.
nelson's writing is plain beautiful. lyrical. it sounds like a song, like a poem, like a friend telling you about their woes, like an observation of the world - its beauty and terrors - all in one.
i've never seen anyone describe life and love quite like he did. nelson's portrayal of love must be one of the most comforting, most romantic and rawest portrayals one can find in literature today.
passages heart-wrenching, alternating between joy and grief. appreciation for all kinds of art created by people of color. celebrating it.
nevertheless, i was a little bored. and i want to note that that's totally on me, not the book. since it is a very lyrical piece, it doesn't have a lot of plot. i also found it a little hard to concentrate on some of the passages, kept zoning out, because there were a lot of repetitions (used as a stylistic device and executed beautifully, but alas), long descriptions of memories and photographs of moments to remember. i just couldn't quite find my footing, if that makes sense.
it was kind of like swimming in open water - lyrical and sensitive words flowing all around you, but there was nothing to grasp, nothing that wouldn't immediately seep through your hands again, leaving you with but open water, and no land to be seen.
if you like swimming, that's great, you'll love this. but personally, i'm not one to swim.
but whatever! will this stop me from reading nelson's second book? absolutely not.
even if i won't be staying for the story, i will for the quotes, i know it. because the ones in open water were all gorgeous, filled with dreams and pure truth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Racism, and Police brutality
Moderate: Death, Hate crime, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol
ginachapman's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Mental illness, and Racism
ceedy's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Racism, and Police brutality
asourceoffiction's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-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? Yes
5.0
Filled with quiet, poetic beauty. This is a novel to savour, drink in, enjoy in quiet moments.
I find a second-person narrative always takes a few chapters to get used to. But this lent itself so well to the story; it gives events an inevitability, like the central couple only had so much control over what was coming.
The whole thing is kind of wistful, and the two main characters (whose names we never learn) lead each other in an intense dance filled with emotion and inner conflict about growing up black in London.
I love the showcase the book gives to black art and music, and how that inspires these characters and their relationship. It forms a counterpoint to the racism that's endemic in how they are seen (or not seen), and shows how important it is to continue championing black voices. A really powerful book.
I find a second-person narrative always takes a few chapters to get used to. But this lent itself so well to the story; it gives events an inevitability, like the central couple only had so much control over what was coming.
The whole thing is kind of wistful, and the two main characters (whose names we never learn) lead each other in an intense dance filled with emotion and inner conflict about growing up black in London.
I love the showcase the book gives to black art and music, and how that inspires these characters and their relationship. It forms a counterpoint to the racism that's endemic in how they are seen (or not seen), and shows how important it is to continue championing black voices. A really powerful book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Racial slurs, Drug use, Murder, and Racism
emfield's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Police brutality
Moderate: Murder, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Drug use, Grief, Hate crime, and Mental illness
readbyanjali's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Very poetically written, heart-wrenching story. This book unabashedly immerses you in the experience of the Black man in a world that never ceases to watch and interpret him in ways he never intended. I felt the weight and suffocation of his experience. This aspect of the story was brilliantly done.
I personally found the writing style to be heavy-handed. I believe the author is London-based, but the number of references to London -- specific tube stations, famous neighborhoods -- almost felt like this was written by someone who's visited London once but wants to sound like they know the city well. Also, while I appreciated the prose at many points, the poetic repetition wore me down after a while. It did, however, get across that feeling of distance and haze around the main character. He is swimming in his anxious thoughts and is terrified for you to truly see him.
I personally found the writing style to be heavy-handed. I believe the author is London-based, but the number of references to London -- specific tube stations, famous neighborhoods -- almost felt like this was written by someone who's visited London once but wants to sound like they know the city well. Also, while I appreciated the prose at many points, the poetic repetition wore me down after a while. It did, however, get across that feeling of distance and haze around the main character. He is swimming in his anxious thoughts and is terrified for you to truly see him.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Police brutality and Death
Minor: Violence
melstephens's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Violence
bek_p87's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Told in the second person, this short novel is lyrical and poetic and most definitely way too smart and cool for me. An honest and raw exploration of love, self, and being a Black man in the UK, some of the prose and ideas this book contains will haunt me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Violence