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charlottiec's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Violence
vinacasti's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Violence, and Police brutality
jesshindes's review against another edition
- 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
This was a debut novel last year and it's set in and around South London (proper South London in specific places, Frances Spufford take note!) (egregious error RE the Brockley overground station notwithstanding). It's about a male character - the narrator, although the book is told in the second person so it's also you, the reader, moving through the story as him - and a woman he meets and falls in love with. They're cautious in taking the first steps, or in moving from friendship to romance, and this is maybe the bit I had less patience for initially - I was like 'Just go for it guys, it's not that deep'. But then actually the whole point of the book is that it *is* that deep (I feel like there's an Open Water pun here somewhere) - because the book is also very much about what it is to exist as a Black person and specifically a Black man, in London, in a society where you can't ever know whether you're going to be seen for who you are or profiled as something you're not; where the police stop and search you as you're on your way to your friend's house for dinner, and it upsets you for weeks; where sometimes the violence or dehumanisation is so much that it's easier not to connect at all.
The book is in lots of ways very different to Natasha Brown's Assembly, which I read last year at about this time and which is also concerned with representing Black experience in London (albeit a different milieu), but I did find myself thinking of them alongside each other. They're both short, powerful debut novels that are more concerned with evoking a specific moment then with unfolding elaborate plots, and I think that as with Assembly this is one I'll find myself thinking over for a good while after having finished it.
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Violence and Grief
velsbooknook's review against another edition
4.75
The story is about a photographer and a dancer. The male MC is going through such a lot of trauma and isn't able to express his emotions it is weighing down that otherwise beautiful love story. The book deals with racism, police brutality, relationships, love and overall what it means and feels like to be a British black man.
Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, and Grief
nialiversuch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Gun violence and Sexual content
heatherv's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Racism and Violence
thatenbyisisreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness
lizziea229's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Police brutality
jay_hobday's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Drug use, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, and Alcohol
orezevida's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This story is set in South-East London and follows the main character (which I assume is partly based on Nelson) in his day-to-day life after meeting a woman at a party. The book doesn’t really have a plot, as it revolves mostly around the main character and the developement of this new relationship (more like a situationship at first). I loved Nelson’s deep exploration of his main character’s emotions, thoughts and motivations. He explored grief, imposter syndrome, black manhood, masculinity, parentification, love, friendship and so many more topics with immense tenderness and insight. His prose is so beautiful and poetic that I found myself feeling emotional even when he described something as mundane as walking home from a bar. However, I did knock off half a star as I felt it became a bit too flowery at times and I had to re-read the sentence once or twice to grasp what the author was trying to convey.
Nelson writes this book in second person, and without naming the main character or the love interest; they are known to the reader by ‘you’ and ‘she’ only. It was strange at first to read from this perspective, but I quickly grew used to, and even fond of it. The namelessness of the characters helped me feel closer to them, as I could easily insert myself into the story whenever I felt the their experiences, emotions, actions etc closely aligned with mine. And after spending so long reading about characters I could only relate to at a distance, it was refreshing and extremely cathartic to finally read a story in which not only the characters’ skin colours and appearances matched mine, but their education, upbringing, thought patterns etc.
I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a short but reflective piece with a bittersweet tone and ending which explores love and all its complications, as well as grief, friendship and race (to name a few).
(P.S. For anyone who likes listening to instrumental music whilst reading, the song ‘Abusey Junction’ by Kokoroko from the Open Water playlist is perfect, and captures mood so well.)
Minor: Death, Violence, Police brutality, and Grief