Open Water | Caleb Azumah Nelson

TW: Police Brutality

Open Water is a story about love, vulnerability, freedom, and living while Black. Set in London, it is uniquely told from the 2nd person perspective. You are sucked in, it is winter and you are him and he doesn't have a name. And then, there She is. You see her at the bar one night and ask a friend to introduce you.

The poetic nature of the writing really lends to the pace of the love story on the pages. All the while, the protagonist is living in fear that "today will be the day" that he doesn't come home. It is a deep dive into the reality that Black people face. 

An excerpt from a scene when the protagonist is pulled over by police with his friend driving:

"You fit the description. You don't fit in the box but he has squeezed you in. He looked scared. They all did. You wouldn't accept their apologies, nor their extended hands, because even these are weapons in the darkness. Easy mistake to make. Second time this week for your friend, playing dead. Let's ask anyone else who has ever fit a description: you ever had to play dead? Have you ever not been seen? Are you tired?"

An Alicia read! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 stars. Wow, I loved this book. The fact that Nelson gets across all of these incredibly raw feelings so eloquently and fully in just 145 pages is nothing short of astounding. Please do yourself a favor and pick up this book. It covers some of what BIPOC have to go through on a daily basis alongside a beautiful love story, which is really a glimpse at a world I won't ever fully be able understand. There is also an amazing playlist that includes a lot of the music that is a focus of this book.  

Thanks to NetGalley & Grove Atlantic for providing the ARC on my Kindle. Open Water will be available on April, 13, 2021.

***Interested in reading or owning this if you haven't already?? Go to https://bookshop.org/shop/oohiwanttoreadthat to purchase your copy!