Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

115 reviews

ketsia_1412's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Police brutality

Moderate: Death and Grief

Minor: Sexual content and Alcohol

baielleebooks's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Really magnificent at the sentence level; lyrical, moving and referential. A sonorous love story coloured with vital renderings of trauma, masculinity, and tenderness, and a poignant exploration of what it means at the soul level to inhabit a Black body in a world made hostile and prejudiced. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Police brutality

Moderate: Death, Violence, and Grief

Minor: Alcohol

mpeach's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Grief, and Classism

Moderate: Car accident and Alcohol

biobeetle's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual content and Terminal illness

laceyfearon's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism

Minor: Death and Grief

bibliomich's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I'll start by saying that Caleb Azumah Nelson's writing is absolutely beautiful, and I would happily read more of his work. Because of the beautiful prose, I enjoyed much of Open Water, though overall there was something about the pacing that didn't quite work for me. The book felt like it either needed to be a shorter novella that really honed in on the themes or a longer book with more plot points. It fell somewhere in the middle, and I found myself both wanting more and also feeling like there were scenes that didn't quite fit. I know lots of readers loved this one, and I can absolutely see why. Overall I would recommend this book if you're looking for a poetic piece of literary fiction.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Police brutality, and Grief

Moderate: Death and Violence

adrianascala's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Police brutality, Grief, and Murder

fengxin's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

i went into this book knowing absolutely nothing and i was very surprised, but delighted, to find out it's in second person pov. what a beautiful story, i never wanted it to end. the prose kept taking my breath away, i was highlighting one sentence in nearly every paragraph, or even whole paragraphs really. the immediate and yet organic chemistry between our two mains? beyond stunning. the romance was so tender, i adored every moment. the way the author wrote about race, prejudice, and all that comes with being black was just stunning and still very real. the repetition of certain phrases made the book even more beautiful in my opinion, the whole thing felt like a poem. the ending devastated me, this story made me feel every emotion under the book and i'm so grateful it exists and i was able to experience it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Police brutality, and Grief

sophiestasyna's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

Beautifully written. Spectacular prose. Layered, complex, metaphoric.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism

Moderate: Police brutality

Minor: Grief

ssolov's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, and Grief

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Slavery and Alcohol