Reviews with content warning for Murder - Open Water

This book made me want to read every single sentence, word for word, and I’m usually a skimmer. The writing style is simply beautiful. It doesn’t seem forced, it just flows. I felt the pain, the joy, the love, the confusion and the emotion behind the words. What an incredible debut novel!

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bookbinbaby's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Found the characters a bit infuriating at times, more their resistance to how they felt about each other, but had a lot of sympathy for them both at different stages of the book. The feeling-the ache he describes and the feelings and themes of loss, grief and submission/injustice/prejudice were painful to read. It was written from an odd viewpoint for me, which put me off a lot and the dreamy prose was too much at times (again for me! Others might find it appeals) but I liked the scattering like beautiful breadcrumbs the names of art and music which could provoke and interest further exploration. All in all I am glad I read this. I feel it is a story I won't ever forget.

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whatannikareads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative 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

3.5

I reaaaaaally wanted to like this more than I did; I liked the ideas that were being thrown out—talking about being a Black man, incorporating his love for music, the modern love story, photography, etc. But I think they didn’t actually connect with each other and ended up just being their own little bubbles that didn’t flow well. And the writing style is really beautiful and poignant at times, but at others it got too descriptive that I felt myself zoning out. So I went through waves of mixed emotions while reading. Writing in second person was an interesting choice; again, I think it either hit or it was a bit obstructive in the process of comprehending the reading as it had me trying to visualize myself in the situation but also seeing it from a Black man’s perspective as intended, so it took more effort for me to process.

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merin_aran's review against another edition

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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

5.0

This book is absolutely stunning! The writing is so beautiful, elegant and poetic. The story itself is tender yet powerful and heartbreaking. I felt like I was reading a diary; something so personal and intimate that I wasn’t meant to witness it. It has an incredible impact for such a short novel. It beautifully explores themes of black masculinity and love, as well as British racism and the black British experience. Cannot wait to read more of Nelson’s work. Truly remarkable.

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leslielychee's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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epellicci's review against another edition

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challenging reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

Open Water is complicated, raw, and deeply moving. What stood out most to me was the way in which Nelson weaved words into experiences, and the strength of his truth. The ability to articulate real emotion and, as he describes it, both heaviness and joy of being Black British onto the page is something that was incredibly immersive. This book is more than fiction, it is testimony to a peoples strength and vulnerability. Essential reading

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