A review by james1star
Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

What a book. What a story. What a realisation of characters. Wow. 

Caleb Azumah Nelson’s prose is pure poetry, the writing in this book is so beautiful, lyrical, moving and meaningful. Truly a masterclass. I have so many passages underlined because each paragraph, each sentence, each syntax, dare I say each word holds immense meaning and it’s just so impactful. I will copy in some of my favourite quotes at the end. 

At the root of Open Water is a love letter to love. The primary storyline is that of a modern romance between our second-person narration of an unnamed protagonist, a black British young man, and an unnamed love interest. They begin as friends but it’s clear that on first meeting something more was bound to blossom (Nelson phrases it ‘the line was there, is always there, will always be there, but you’re both trying to strengthen it’) so yes, this is mainly a lyrical portrayal of two lovely, nuanced, flawed but real characters falling in love. And it is beautiful. But also there is continuous reference to self love, specifically black self love, male self love, black male self love. Nelson has written a story from a perspective very little representation is given. He reinforces this ideal of black men being seen purely as a body and how this detrimentally affects one’s mental health, behaviour and sense of personhood. It’s so raw, honest, hard to read and emotional but also beautiful and exquisitely told. Very eye opening and insightful. 

Another recurring idea linked to what I’ve mentioned above is that of police brutality and how black men are viewed as dangerous. This is told from British and American POVs, both from those viewing racial profiling and victims, something the protagonist has dealt with personally. And then how this anger of projected guilt manifests in oneself, growing larger and larger culminating in outbursts or not and then one’s mental health suffers detrimentally. Similarly, violence in the form of gun and knife crime is shown to be a way of relieving this anger and shame and then how this in turn has detrimental effects. And finally, how being a young black man means having a target on your back, this idea of any day could be your last and for the majority it is in no way any fault of their own except being born into the body they have. 

The exploration and love of black art, music, literature, photography, people is so exceptionally penned and Nelson’s admiration of these creatives shines through his poetic prose. There are numerous references to rappers, songs, lyrics, art pieces, books, authors, poets and more. The protagonist is primarily a photographer and the way he uses the camera to see people, not just look at them is beyond powerful. The way the female mc’s love of dancing (her passion) is portrayed beautifully too in the way this freedom allows her to just be. Agh it’s so amazing you have to read this book. And the London (my city) references really makes the book, characters and plot come to life. 

My only qualm would be some aspects of the plot I didn’t like all too much with certain things happening. The writing, albeit beautiful and lyrical, was also hard to comprehend at points. I was thinking of giving it a 4.75 ⭐️ rating but it’s just such a powerful, raw and poetic story with so many meaningful and necessary messages so I couldn’t give anything less than 5 ⭐️s. The characters are just so damn lovable, they are made so real and just wow wow wow. 

Some of my favourite quotes/passages (I honestly have so many so I’ll try and cut it down but it’s so difficult!!): 
‘If flexing is being able to say the most in the fewest number of words, is there a greater flex then love? Nowhere to hide, nowhere to go. A direct gaze.’
‘What is better than believing you are heading towards love?’
‘When you sow a seed, it will grow. Somehow, someway, it will grow’
‘Like Baldwin said: you begin to think you are alone in this, until you read’ 
‘How does one articulate a feeling?’
‘you confess your joy, your pain, your truth. You stop and ask yourself, how are you feeling?’ 
‘Have you ever been afraid of what lies within you, what you’re capable of?’ 
‘Perhaps that is how we should frame this question forever; rather than asking what is your favourite work, let’s ask, what continues to pull you back?’
‘Is that what love is? The feeling of safety?’ 
‘You wonder what it means to know someone, and whether it's possible to do so wholly. You don't think so. But perhaps in the not knowing comes the knowing, born of an instinctive trust that you both struggle to elucidate or rationalize. It just is’
‘to return to a memory is to morph it, to warp it. Every time you remember something, the memory weakens, as you're remembering the last recollection, rather than the memory itself’ 
‘It is one thing to be looked at, and another to be seen’ 
‘You know that to love is both to swim and to drown’ 
‘If the heart always aches in the distance between the last time and the next, then heartbreak comes in the unknown, the limbo the infinity’
‘That is what you are being framed as, a container, a vessel, a body, you have been made a body, all those years ago, before your lifetime, before anyone else who is currently in your lifetime, and now you are here, a body, you have been made a body, and sometimes this is hard, because you know you are so much more’ 
‘You have always thought if you opened your mouth in open water you would drown, but if you didn't open your mouth you would suffocate, Se here you are, drowning’
‘If you look closely, you’ll see what she has always seen, what she will always see: you’ 

Sorry there are so man - actually no I’m not this book is exceptionally written and this is just a tiny list of the beautiful passages so go read it and enjoy more. This is a mere taster, it’s my personal crème de la crème but go compile your own. 
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