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A review by jadeisgreen
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
An incredible portrayal of the nuance of black trauma and black joy. A celebration of black art, music and love in one hand, while holding the violence that black men and women face in the other. A really impactful read.
I had never read a novel in second person before, nor one that is almost entirely poetry in motion, and the result was something I feel I will cling to for a long time. The perspective of putting the reader into the shoes of our narrator (who’s namelessness only emphasises the point throughout the novel of the value of black bodies in our white society) felt like a whirlwind as we feel him delve into love with others and himself, and the ways this wasn’t always easy.
I am particularly grateful for this perspective of black masculinity, and would consider it to be mandatory reading on the subject.
Really beautifully written- and read by the author as an audiobook. I felt hearing his words spoken outloud made the whole experience all the more poignant.
I had never read a novel in second person before, nor one that is almost entirely poetry in motion, and the result was something I feel I will cling to for a long time. The perspective of putting the reader into the shoes of our narrator (who’s namelessness only emphasises the point throughout the novel of the value of black bodies in our white society) felt like a whirlwind as we feel him delve into love with others and himself, and the ways this wasn’t always easy.
I am particularly grateful for this perspective of black masculinity, and would consider it to be mandatory reading on the subject.
Really beautifully written- and read by the author as an audiobook. I felt hearing his words spoken outloud made the whole experience all the more poignant.