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A review by nouranato
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
3.5
I know I gave this book a 3.5 stars but really it wasn't a bad one.
I have expressed my genuine feeling at the start of this book when I said that I feel like this an intimate story it's like I shouldnt be reading this words it feels as if I'm intruding these two.
This is how I felt at roughly the first 50% of this book, it felt like a calm story then it started to get relatively repetitive. Repetitive to the point where one of the characters said something so lame I had to drop a star for that shit.
The story resembles two individuals meeting for the first developing not feelings but some sort of an intimate understanding of each other. The book highlighted the police brutality against black people as well as the sickening sticking judgement that they face without even opening their mouth. How danger equals black and how crime is the black people's logo.
It had mentions of death multiple (here's your TW) and how one deals with it. It talks about what it is to be looked at and to be seen and I quote:
"It’s one thing to be looked at, and another to be seen; you’re scared that she might not just see your beauty, but your ugly too." And that:
"To be you is to apologize and that apology comes in the form of suppression. That suppression is indiscriminate. That suppression knows not when it will spill."
This book served as reflection of what is forced on us in life, in our environment and our community and what is that we force ourselves to indulge.
How that if you keep everything bottled up you'll end up spilling over yourself and others (AND OTHERS) you'll feel unbearable to live with and here I don't mean the people close to you no, I mean you won't be able to handle yourself, you'll keep on closing up further and further until you are left alone because it's easy to punish yourself when others aren't there, so severing ties serves as an excuses for you to torment yourself more and more. Or really this was my own thoughts ? I don't know
What I disliked was the writing from that 4th pov or so because it was confusing at some time as well as the repetition and a very lame line that annoyed me sm I had to drop an entire star from the book (Also this is my 3rd book or so on kindle YAY)
I have expressed my genuine feeling at the start of this book when I said that I feel like this an intimate story it's like I shouldnt be reading this words it feels as if I'm intruding these two.
This is how I felt at roughly the first 50% of this book, it felt like a calm story then it started to get relatively repetitive. Repetitive to the point where one of the characters said something so lame I had to drop a star for that shit.
The story resembles two individuals meeting for the first developing not feelings but some sort of an intimate understanding of each other. The book highlighted the police brutality against black people as well as the sickening sticking judgement that they face without even opening their mouth. How danger equals black and how crime is the black people's logo.
It had mentions of death multiple (here's your TW) and how one deals with it. It talks about what it is to be looked at and to be seen and I quote:
"It’s one thing to be looked at, and another to be seen; you’re scared that she might not just see your beauty, but your ugly too." And that:
"To be you is to apologize and that apology comes in the form of suppression. That suppression is indiscriminate. That suppression knows not when it will spill."
This book served as reflection of what is forced on us in life, in our environment and our community and what is that we force ourselves to indulge.
How that if you keep everything bottled up you'll end up spilling over yourself and others (AND OTHERS) you'll feel unbearable to live with and here I don't mean the people close to you no, I mean you won't be able to handle yourself, you'll keep on closing up further and further until you are left alone because it's easy to punish yourself when others aren't there, so severing ties serves as an excuses for you to torment yourself more and more. Or really this was my own thoughts ? I don't know
What I disliked was the writing from that 4th pov or so because it was confusing at some time as well as the repetition and a very lame line that annoyed me sm I had to drop an entire star from the book (Also this is my 3rd book or so on kindle YAY)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death