Reviews with content warning for Gun violence - Otwarte wody

Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Otwarte wody by Caleb Azumah Nelson

67 reviews

garynoplastie's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.75

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sydapel's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-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

5.0

Easily both my favorite and the best book I've read this year. With some of the most beautiful writing I've ever read (had to restrain myself from underlining in my library copy), the way the author weaves desire, youth, masculinity, art and living within the Black body was awe-inspiring. I already want to re read it.

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vasha's review against another edition

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hopeful reflective 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

3.5

Open Water is a literary love story, the story of a Ghanaian-British man, a photographer, trying to find an authentic, open way to love despite the trauma of repeated encounters with violence and police brutality. I had some reservations about reality of the love story: I was very unconvinced by how the protagonist and his girlfriend (both unnamed, though other characters in the book have names) supposedly became instant best friends when they met. The later stages of their relationship were rather better depicted. Part of the book is also devoted to the protag's interactions with other Black men (and a few women)--I found the sections about his friends interesting. It's quite interior, full of analysis of the protag's mind, which he is self-aware about although barely able to speak his thoughts aloud; also, it spends a fair bit of page space on reflections about being Black.

As befits literary fiction, the literal content of this book is overshadowed by how it's told: its interweaving of metaphors; its frequent flashbacks guided by similarities and emotions; its repetitive, rhythmed prose (which, sadly, was rather undone by the fact that the audiobook was monotonously narrated by the author himself). I like this kind of thing, but I wasn't entirely won over by how it was carried out in this case. Too often, I was jerked out of the reflective writing by the conventionality of a paragraph or the intrusion of banal language into a high-flying passage. A description of playing basketball, a list of physical and emotional experiences each prefaced by "You want to...," ends "You just want to be free" as if this was a climax.

I'm only referring to the narration, because most of the dialogue is impoverished on purpose, the protagonist being reduced to few words or silence at important moments. The girlfriend's verbal skills are something for the protagonist to aspire to. She lyrically describes what dancing is like for her: "I’m making space and I’m dancing into the space. I’m like, dancing into the space the drums leave, you know, between the kick and the snare and the hat, where that silence lies, that huge silence, those moments and spaces the drums are asking you to fill." The protagonist answers less inventively by inviting her to a club where he says there's "an energy that's very freeing, a bunch of black people being themselves."

Another problem I had with the book is that it's stuffed with talk about other works, mostly music but also literature, film, and visual arts. It felt too consciously academic. Overall, the experience of reading this book wasn't terrible, and it had some real high points (there are passages I'd enjoy quoting at length) and a satisfying ending.

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nightfell's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

3.5

I don't really know what to say other than this book was really good. The pace was really slow, and it follows the main character's relationship with a woman already in a relationship with his friend. I would describe this book as an insight into what it feels like to love someone who you feel an intense connection with that no one else can understand. Whilst dealing with topics such as racial profiling, and the quiet sadness that comes with struggling to find peace in life.
There were some REALLY good lines throughout that kept me reading, as the book maintains the same tone throughout as each sub section is a snippet of their life together which made it hard for me to keep reading. I wasn't attached to any of the characters, and wasn't emotionally connected with their relationship. The real draw of this book for me was how the author describes what it feels like to be obsessed with another, and how hard life in general is.

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radfordmanor's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

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anima_vestaa's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective medium-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 writing is pure truth. Heartbreaking and emotional, but beautiful in so many ways. Words always fail us but somehow Caleb made them work. I am so thankful for this work 💗

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