Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson

 Book Excerpt:

"“Open Water is tender poetry, a love song to Black art and thought, an exploration of intimacy and vulnerability between two young artists learning to be soft with each other in a world that hardens against Black people.”—Yaa Gyasi, author of HOMEGOING.

In a crowded London pub, two young people meet. Both are Black British, both won scholarships to private schools where they struggled to belong, both are now artists—he a photographer, she a dancer—and both are trying to make their mark in a world that by turns celebrates and rejects them. Tentatively, tenderly, they fall in love. But two people who seem destined to be together can still be torn apart by fear and violence, and over the course of a year, they find their relationship tested by forces beyond their control.

Narrated with deep intimacy, Open Water is at once an achingly beautiful love story and a potent insight into race and masculinity that asks what it means to be a person in a world that sees you only as a Black body; to be vulnerable when you are only respected for strength; to find safety in love, only to lose it. With gorgeous, soulful intensity, and blistering emotional intelligence, Caleb Azumah Nelson gives a profoundly sensitive portrait of romantic love in all its feverish waves and comforting beauty.

This is one of the most essential debut novels of recent years, heralding the arrival of a stellar and prodigious young talent."

Title:  Open Water

Author:  Azumah Nelson

Publisher:  Grove Press        

Reviewed By:  Arlena Dean

Rating:  Four

Review:

"Open Water" by Azumah Nelson

My Opinion:

'Open Water' was a wonderfully written book written from the perspective of the male character's second-person narration set in London and centers on two black artists who meet and have a quick connection after meeting in a bar. We find the male character is a British photographer, and the female character is a British dancer who was both black.  

The story has a tenderness about it between these two that will quickly seem believable, drawing you into the story where there will be some severe issues dealt with.  

As you read through this love story, one can easily be mesmerized by its creative masterpiece from its start to the end.  This intimate love story was beautifully written as the couple first meets, and the story builds as one continues to read like poetry flowing beautifully, lyrical, and expressive. Be ready for an 'emotional, powerful, beautiful, identity, grief, loss, love, violence, mental health, long-distance,' and absolutely, in the end, you are given a touching story that will keep your attention turning the pages to see what is coming next.    

There is a lot more to say about this read, but I will stop and just say you must pick up this good read, "Open Water," and see how well this author brings it out so well to the readers.  

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.