Reviews with content warning for Racism - Open Water

The opposite of a little life for me: an important and beautiful story nullified by the overdramatic style. I know that's what makes this such a great book for some people, but it's just not for me. Still, as the minority in this regard, I think everyone should read this, both because the themes of this book are so important and because not everyone will mind the lyrical writing and second person POV nearly as much as I did.

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pkc's review

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dark 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? No

4.0

If I was asked to review this story around the mid way point, it probably wouldn’t have been massively favourable. In fact, I came reasonably close to DNFing but in the last 70 pages, something happened. The core of the story unveiled itself, made itself known in a really profound way that I hadn’t expected. At just over 140 pages I hadn’t expected as much depth as I got from this book. It’s a touching and haunting look at the safety (or lack thereof) of black people amidst the persistent thrumming drumbeat of a system that is built to oppress and violate in equal turns. The second person narrative is so well considered and any reader can become engaged in the unease and feel everything that “you” are supposed to feel. I loved the protagonist and the rich storytelling was poetic, languid and sumptuous at points.

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kajasversion's review against another edition

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challenging dark hopeful sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

It truly is an good book, but still, with all the metaphors and discussions of emotions, i felt like it was lacking more depth. I can’t quite articulate what, but something was missing from the book to make it truly an amazing one. I would probably come back to it cuz the writting is exquisite.

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