Open Water ★★★★☆

Open Water (Click Here To Buy)

★★★★☆

Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson is a fiction book about a Black man living in London who falls in love.

I checked this book out from the library.

To start off with, the story is told in second person. The main character is a Black British photographer who falls in love with a Black British dancer. She is in a relationship with his friend and they move forward tenuously as friends until their truths can no longer be denied. And yet once they are together, the main character still struggles with his vulnerability. As a Black man, he experiences so much that is not talked about - his experiences being stopped by the police, witnessing violence directed towards his friends - he has been taught to carry that weight, and he struggles when she sees him holding back and asks him to share all of himself with her.

The words in this book are so beautifully put together, the rhythm and repetition flow in a manner that is musical and intimate. I have been reading a number of second person narrated books lately and I have to say they do such a lovely job of placing you within the context of the narrative in a way that other perspectives simply can’t. While the love story isn’t perfect, and that felt frustrating at times, I have to admit it’s more real than how I would “want” things to go. Nelson gets at the heart of Black masculinity, of Black trauma - and shows these truths to the reader in an honest and unflinching manner.

If you liked Open Water, I also recommend Queenie by Candice Carty-Williams, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw, In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado, and An American Marriage by Tayari Jones.

Happy Reading, xo.

Ms.Bjork