A review by mariam25
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

2.0

lyrical in the worst way. i love lyricism—“this is how you lose the time war” was an instant fave, i’m loving “martyr!” rn. but this was doing the most without conveying anything new or insightful. just love and racism and loving in a racist world. i’m not saying these ideas don’t have value, because they absolutely do. but, in fiction, when your characters lack any sense of personality or motivation (esp your female main character), then your point gets lost no matter how much you try to tell me what your point is. there was potential with this one, but i also think my star rating is more generous than i want to be. so many people love this one, though. i’m not sure what i'm missing.