Reviews with content warning for Police brutality - Otwarte wody

Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Otwarte wody by Caleb Azumah Nelson

366 reviews

dacha's review against another edition

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emotional sad 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? Yes

4.5

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chellareads's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.75

This is a love story not a romance.
It's Black and it's London.
It's raw and lyrical.

The second person POV won't suit everyone, and the poetic style of prose might pose a hurdle too, but it's worth persevering, if you find the style difficult. That said, it's not dense or difficult, but it is singular.

This is a startling debut, which sounds like one of those trite soundbites to sell a book, but in this case it's genuinely true.

This book cuts deep. It's about love, friendship, being Black in a world that looks at you without seeing you. But it's also about the hurt and fear carried and hidden by Black men and how that plays out for Black women.

This book is short, but it's saying so much. Highly recommend. It should be on literature reading lists. So good.

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anglefish's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious 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? Yes

4.75

Honestly, this book broke my heart in some places. It was trul beautifully written, I loved the mixing of poetry and prose.It made me slow down and really take my time in digesting what i'm reading. It's always a treat when a book is written in 2nd POV, they're so rare! With that, it allowed the author to make the choie of not telling us the main characters names. Deapite not knowing them, i still felt very connected to our characters. The love they shared felt so real and authentic and, at times, messy.

I was sick asf after Daniel died and We push Her away as a result. Seriously, i was yelling at my phone 😭

Even with this book only being 160 pages, it was so impactful. I would definitely read this again and will be recommending this to my friends!

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sammyb's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

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ko_rax's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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

4.75

In the novel Open Water, the reader learns of the lived reality of the Black male body in modern society set against the backdrop of contemporary London.

"You hide your whole self away because sometimes you forget you haven't done anything wrong. Sometimes you forget there's nothing in your pockets. Sometimes you forget that to be you is to be unseen and unheard, or it is to be seen and heard in ways you did not ask for. Sometimes you forget to be you is to be a Black body, and not much else."

Whilst it took me a bit to get used to the second person pov, I have no other major "complains" concerning this novel. In fact, I believe that this stylistic choice benefitted it well, as it allowed the author to not only show lived reality, but let it come alive in a way that I as a reader physically felt the experience. By no means will I, as a non-Black person, ever understand the full scope of what it means to be a Black man, and yet I am deeply grateful for having been granted insight.

Additionally, I want to compliment the prose. The words are chosen beautifully and paint a picture of emotion and trauma in a way so bittersweet that I was left in a thoughtful mood very often. I strongly believe this novel should be read by everyone.