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A review by oldschool_screenname
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is and is more than a love story and is and is more than a sad guy book. I'll definitely revisit Open Water both for its own sake and in order to build a reading/listening/viewing list from the works it references.
The pacing was, at times, a little sluggish and the prose crossed a line in to "a bit much" for me in some places. It was still compelling all the way through in its presentation of the young artist's full range of complex emotions and experiences. It's possible that the problem lies with readers who say this book about a young Black man coming to a new relationship with himself and a world that seeks to suppress him is "a bit much." As a reader, there were places where the narrative lagged, but the protagonist is such a fully realized charachter that I'm rooting for him to express himself loudly and however he damn well pleases.
The pacing was, at times, a little sluggish and the prose crossed a line in to "a bit much" for me in some places. It was still compelling all the way through in its presentation of the young artist's full range of complex emotions and experiences. It's possible that the problem lies with readers who say this book about a young Black man coming to a new relationship with himself and a world that seeks to suppress him is "a bit much." As a reader, there were places where the narrative lagged, but the protagonist is such a fully realized charachter that I'm rooting for him to express himself loudly and however he damn well pleases.