Reviews with content warning for Blood - Open Water

This is one of the most beautiful, important books I think I will ever read. As someone who is not Black and has been privileged to not go through the things that the author and so many other people of color go through, this book felt so important to me as it showed me so much of my own privilege/prejudice and made me understand things more then I ever have before.

The way Caleb writes is incredible, the way he is able to put words to trauma and raw emotion is unmatched. This is a story about two people who love each other but Caleb also talks a lot about police brutality, how that has affected the main character and how it affects the Black community on a daily basis.

This is such an important book for everyone to read as it deals with internalizing trauma, racial profiling, police brutality, learning to love yourself even when the society you live in doesn’t love you/care about you. So, so important for everyone to read this so that the Black community can be seen, they can be heard and we can put an end to violence against their community and people of color in general.

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rzh's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.25

i really liked this: so poetic, so rich, so evocative, absolutely heartfelt and the author has such a gift for putting words to feelings and situations which perhaps don’t semantically fit but really evoke its lived reality. even though the whole point of the book seems to be that it is a love letter to Black art, at times the references to this art, music etc. felt a bit… clunky? like during a scene when a song is playing, do we need to hear “This is This song by This Artist”? i feel like the lyrics would suffice, at times the long autobiographical or analytical details felt a bit Wikipedia-esque. all the same, at times it really worked: I loved the references to zadie smith and james baldwin, two writers I love too. also there was a technique the writer kept using, of repeating a phrase he had just used in reference to one of these artists and applying it directly to the main character’s life and inner monologue using the same words repeated later in the page, which I liked the effect of in general but was done so many times that it began to feel trite. still a gorgeous book though. 4.25 stars

Content Warnings

nightfell's review

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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.

Content Warnings

writingcaia's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.25

A brilliant testament of the trauma of being confined to a Black body and what it entails, from the micro aggressions to fearing daily for your life, for the wrong things in your pockets, the wrong turn.
A love story of a man who is suffering because he cannot be free, because he’s is trapped in a world that has confined him to a label, to a skin he cannot change, even if he wanted to to, which he doesn’t. It is not an easy love thus, because he can’t face his demons, his frailty, his fear of drowning in the sorrow of his prison.
A beautiful and heart breaking tale, which if it hadn’t a open ending would be more appreciated 😅

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