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A review by michellechien930
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
3.0
Open Water is the kind of book that has a very rhythmic prose, a book that is poetic fiction personified. Every line is an analogy, every line has a hidden meaning. I felt like at times the plot was lost in the lyrical sense of the writing style, but it still conveyed its story well: a boy meeting a girl and falling in love, separated by difficult circumstances and life. I was a bit lost in the seemingly unending character sketches, but some of the written lines are rightfully amazing. I really liked the bits where the main character described watching Moonlight for the first time, and when he listened to Frank Ocean's album while lounging in the sea, it felt impactful and amazing to hear them artfully described when I loved them so much as well. I also loved the analogies about 35 mm film and art, especially my favorite, the ending paragraph of this book:
When the photo is developed, she’s sure, if you look closely, you’ll see the shadows cast across your skin, the eyes both seeing her and seeing the world, the honesty resting calmly on your features. If you look closely, you might see a tear making a journey from eye to cheek, as you cry for her. If you look closely, you’ll see what she has always seen, what she always will: you.
When the photo is developed, she’s sure, if you look closely, you’ll see the shadows cast across your skin, the eyes both seeing her and seeing the world, the honesty resting calmly on your features. If you look closely, you might see a tear making a journey from eye to cheek, as you cry for her. If you look closely, you’ll see what she has always seen, what she always will: you.