Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Freischwimmen

I had a hard time getting into the second person POV at first, but it was used perfectly. Caleb puts the reader into the shoes of a young, Black man and leads us into an experience of joy, love, fear, and deep sadness and it was, at least in my opinion, essential that the book be written that way. This MC laughed with his friends, and cried alone in the dark. He fell in love and grappled with his reality of “[praying] every day that this will not be the day.” We existed in the fullness of his life with him and that’s important because Black men are never given permission to show these parts of themselves. They are told to be small, to fit a part society wants them to play, to hide away and suppress and ignore and never, ever cry or be weak. And all the while, more Black men and boys are dying, and more pain and grief are accumulating.

I loved that this book has honest depictions of grief and pain and fear, and also joy and love and life in equal amounts. This isn’t just a story of how a Black man endures trauma. This is a story of how a Black man lives in the truth of systemic racism and the hope for joy despite it.

What a stunning story. What an important one.

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alisonfaith426's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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pkc's review against another edition

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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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