Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

37 reviews

autismandniamh's review

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

4.5


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readingwithgoose's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.0


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dinipandareads's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional informative 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

5.0

"It's one thing to be looked at, and another to be seen."

I don't even know where to begin with this review. This was so beautifully written. I don't pick up much poetry but this often read like spoken word and it added more depth and movement to the writing. Although slow-paced, at 145 pages it still could've easily been read in a couple of hours, but I wanted to take my time to savour every moment with Azumah Nelson's stunning prose. It's deeply moving and written with such heart. I know that this will probably stick with me for a long time to come.

"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."

Open Water is at turn an achingly tender romance and a heartbreakingly honest and eye-opening portrayal of what it means to occupy a Black body in a society that refuses to see you. Set against a backdrop of an improbable summer romance between two best friends falling madly in love, Azumah Nelson presents the slowly intertwining lives of our nameless narrators through various dichotomies, taking us from embracing joy, light, love, and hope, to being shadowed by anger, trauma, fear, and death. I loved how Azumah Nelson captured the intimacy of their romance and made it feel almost as if we were intruders in their tender love. Although there is so much joy and safety in their relationship, it is tempered by the racism and violence that surrounds their lives, particularly that of the male protagonist. This story is rich in themes and they are all done so well! The author explores what it means to love, be free, be seen, be honest, and be vulnerable enough to let someone see your ugly alongside your beauty. Unsurprisingly, the raw heart in this story had me crying buckets (ch. 27 wrecked me)!

"Indeed, what is a joint? What is a fracture? What is a break? Under what conditions does unconditional love become no more?"

I loved the joyous celebration of Black art and culture, particularly as experienced through music. It is a core part of these character's lives and it's woven through their connection. While reading I decided to check whether there was a playlist for this book and I found one prepared by the publisher—listening to the tracks while reading elevated my experience of this book and I highly recommend it if you can do so! Overall, this was a short, poignant and impactful story wrapped up in stunning writing that will keep you hooked until the last sentence and the very last word.

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sandwiiche's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective 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

this is a powerful and thought-provoking story. the prose was heartfelt and lyrical, and many of the quotes resonated with me on a personal level. it's also told in second person, which was very interesting because it placed us into the main character's shoes.

here are some of my favourite quotes:

You have always thought if you opened your mouth in open water you would drown, but if you didn't open your mouth you would suffocate. So here you are, drowning. 

It's easier to hide in your own darkness, than to emerge, naked and vulnerable, blinking in your own light. Even here, in plain sight, you're hiding. 

There is a difference between being looked at and being seen.

i definitely recommend this -- it will challenge you, open your eyes to the racial injustice that occurs everyday and speak powerful truths into your life.

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alexisvana's review

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reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I'm SO in the minority for pretty much every part of my review, but here goes...

  • I think the writing style (i.e. prioritizing poetic/lyrical prose over like... baseline plot development) actually mostly worked for me, I'm shocked! There were a couple times where I highlighted lines because I thought "hmmm... this line sounds pretty, but it doesn't make a lick of sense" but aside from that, I generally enjoyed it
  • Don't care about the second person narrative in this context. For me, this very rarely works for my brain in novels/memoirs and I don't really understand what purpose it was serving here
  • I think the plot of the first 70% of this read like an episode of 'Friends' in that... I feel like we were romanticizing deeply problematic/toxic behavior. I think 5-10 years ago I would've been absolutely swooning but now I'm like "damn, I would've dumped BOTH of you a long time ago" lol
  • In general, I think there was far too little character development for this to be moving for me. I'm walking away knowing next to nothing about our main characters other than they are presumably very hot and drink pretty much constantly

Not mad I read it, but I think it should've just been a poem or a novella - I think the lack of character devleopment/floofy writing style would've been much more successful if it were less drawn out.

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annick's review

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dark emotional inspiring mysterious 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

4.5

Highly recommend. With patience you reveal the beauty in the lyrical heartbreak of this prose. 



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alisonfaith426's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5


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frankieclc's review against another edition

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4.5

The audiobook for this (read by the author) is incredible, you get to appreciate the flow, sentence structure and prose so much more. Incredible actually

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ivulikkivulik's review against another edition

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medium-paced

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thecatconstellation's review against another edition

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challenging emotional 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? It's complicated

4.75

A beautifully written reflection on love, trauma, and Blackness. Steeped in references to music and art and using language as a precise tool, this is definitely a must read.

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