Caleb Azuma Nelson’s debut novel is a strong piece of writing about two young black friends in London and their changing relationship.
The sense of helplessness and injustice of living and working as a black man was powerfully written and really highlighted to me the racism targeted at members of society purely based on the colour of their skin.
I did find the second person narrative challenging but maybe that was the point.
In these BLM times and the rise of fascism across the world this book has an important place in making the reader think and feel how black men, in particular, feel
4 Stars
Thanks to Netgalley for allowing me to read this book in return for a fair review.

I think the writing style threw me off, the writing was very prose-like but I found it quite hard to want to read it. I felt a bit disconnected from the characters sadly. Wanted to like this a lot more than I did.

I must admit it took me a while to get into the flow of the book as it's not written in prose in the normal sense, it's much more poetic, with repetitive sentences and dreamlike sequences. But once I was in I was hooked. It gives you an insight into the mental health of black men who are consistently only seen as a 'black body' and all of the negative connotations that go alongside that within the police force. A real eye opener, plus it's a really interesting love story too.

Oof. A tale of falling in and out of love, of vulnerability, of being seen, of feelings that words cannot articulate. It is incredible. Moving, entrancing, powerful and lyrical, it aches. I - aptly, I guess - don't have the words to do how much I loved this justice.

Open Water follows two young creatives from South-East London who fall for each other. But they are pulled apart by fear and struggle.

I honestly don't have the right words to describe this book. At first I thought this book was going to be a romance novel but it is so much more than that. Nelson offers insight into the mind of a young Black-British man. A man who grapples with what it means to be vulnerable, in love, a black man and of course, human.

The story is told in second person which took a lot of getting used to. But its powerful because you are literally put into the mind of this young Black man. The novel left me challenged, with so many questions that I had to ask myself internally.

Such a moving narrative that is powerful and sweet. It was an achingly beautiful love story that offers more than the typical romance. There is much more depth to this story that Nelson has done really well to portray.

This novel is a gem and I cant wait for its official release in Feb 2021.

Thank you to Netgalley and Viking Books for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

I have friends who will love the writing style in this book and I would buy it for them. The writing style however was not my cup of tea. I found it hard to keep reading and that made it hard to concentrate on the story itself.

Thank you to NetGalley for my copy.

What an emotional rollercoaster of a book! I absolutely loved reading Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson, which touches on the frailty of love and life from the perspective of the unnamed character You and his love interest She. This is a novel about finding and losing love, and the tenderness and complexities of matters of the heart. The story follows You and She, their close-knit friendship and on/off relationship as they deal with the realities of modern life including racism, identity, unconscious and racial bias, masculinity, trauma and vulnerability. The story is written in the second person which takes a little getting used to, and once you get over that hurdle, it’s an easy read. It’s hard to believe this is Caleb Azumah Nelson’s debut novel and I found the book so intriguing that I finished it within days. Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.

A love story between two young Black British artists in contemporary London. An hymn to Black artists everywhere, this is a slow burning love story with beauty all around

A beautifully written and affecting exploration of contemporary love and Black British identity. I devoured this.

This a love story between two black British artists which is set in South London. It is told from the perspective of the boy in an almost poetic, stream of consciousness style as he examines his feelings for the dancer who is his best friend and lover whilst also dealing with what it means to be black in London, the culture he loves and the fact that his grandparents are still in Ghana and the impact this has on family life. You root for this couple, you get to know this young man intimately and the pages fly past as you go on this journey with him. An impressive debut novel.

“I received this Arc in exchange for an honest review”

When I initially heard of the premise of Open Water, I was instantly intrigued and had it on pre-order before I was fortunate enough to receive a copy to review. Nelson’s writing had beautiful and lyrical prose, which instantly stood out in now he described a thought or feeling. With the novella being written in the second person, Nelson casts the reader as the narrator - However, the narrator’s experiences are so fleeting, it doesn’t allow the reader to feel the repercussions of a scene or experience. It makes the sequence of events feel generalised rather than an intimate perspective into a character’s life. There were moments throughout that I really wanted to be expanded upon as Nelson raises some interesting questions on life, love, unresolved trauma and racism, discrimination and identity issues, but the plot moved at a pace that didn’t allow such reflection. There were references to other pieces of literature, music and film which I feel took away from Open Water - a few with similarities to the characters or plot could be very effective, but too many takes away the individuality of this work in itself.
With the love story between You and She - both characters remain unnamed, which made me feel disconnected as both characters felt as if they had a mystery about them. I found the relationship surface level at times, especially when one wanted that emotional vulnerability and the other refusal caused a continuous rift - this is where I felt we saw the reality of their relationship. Again I wanted more from these characters and when I felt like we were seeing an authentic character arc, it came away and focused on something else.
Nelson had a way with words, but I feel this story needed more structure to really tackle the poignancy of the themes.

This is an incredible read and well worth letting yourself get lost in it.
The second person narrative took me a while to get used to. It's at once an omnipresence that makes the lead character's struggles our own, and it's a guiding voice to encourage, support and help the protagonist. The 2nd person involves the reader quite deeply (if you choose to let it) and gives the chance to share an intimate perspective on the lead's life, thoughts and views. I found this quite eye opening (I'm not a black male) and an important BLM device also.
It's both a romance and a friendship tale, there are deep social issues and mental health angles. The author clearly loves music, and the tracks document the narrative. This provides scope for a movie soundtrack of course! Anyway, highly recommended.

This novel is simply stunning, it is a lyrical piece of art.
The overview of the story has been describes as a love song, (quoted by Yaa Gyasi author of Homegoing) and I’d echo that statement.

Two young people meet in a South East London pub. They are Black British students with scholarships at private schools. They are artists, he’s a photographer, she is a dancer and both are trying to make names for themselves in cities that reject them. They slowly fall for each other, but the fear of their love often tears them apart.

This story is intimate drawing upon the angst and longing of two people in love. The prose really strikes at the heart of vulnerability. Caleb Azumah Nelson has written this story in a creative way and depicts the issues that Black British people face. He talks about the perceptions of people, how the colour of skin creates assumptions and the writes about the fear that is felt by our main characters.

I really enjoyed this novel and I devoured it in one sitting. It may be a small novel but it has a big heart at its core.

Stunning debut about a young couple falling in and out of love, set in South and South East London. This isn't just a love story, it's a raw and unflinching look at masculinity, mental health, discrimination and racism. The use of language, repetitions and rhythm is so evocative and precise, it's hard to believe this is a debut. I cannot wait to read what Caleb Azumah Nelson writes next.

A beautiful piece of work, profoundly lyrical with a relevance and relatability to it that makes it so powerful. This is the type of book that will make you feel grateful for the ability to read and embrace other’s stories.

The second person puts you in the protagonist’s shoes and you really connect with his experiences as if they were your own.

For me, this felt like a better, more poetic Normal People - not only a love story but insight into what it’s like to be broken and fixed over and over again with the presence and absence of the one you love. Also carrying themes of toxic masculinity and miscommunication between two people feeling everything but verbally sharing none of it. Open Water addresses blackness, the internal mental side of it: feeling isolated and not accepted, and the external physical aspects: police brutality, racism and profiling.

Admittedly, I didn’t get some of the references and the second person narrative was hard to adjust to at first. The novella felt like a long form poem and flowed beautifully. I had to wait to be in the mindset for this, and I’m glad I did. For a debut, this is outstanding. I can’t wait to read more from Caleb.

“You say words with your chest. You feel bass slap thud, like a heartbeat. You say words with your chest and know there is power in your voice. You say words with your chest and trust yourself. You speak and realise that, in slowing down to speak, you can breathe. It’s a strange turn of phrase, you think, being allowed to breathe, having to seek permission for something so natural, the basis of life; in turn having to seek permission to live.”

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for the early access copy.

Falling in love is always a hard subject to write because it can be schmaltz or it can be twee, and then there's the polar opposite where we tred into the Jackie Collins and e l James ilk but with this novel the task of falling love is written so beautifully you feel like you are being carried away like a leaf in a breeze
I cannot believe this is a debut novel because it just oozes so much talent and strength its like the 5th or 6th book where the author has grown
This book will win awards and deserves every accolade that will be thrown at it... I will be eagerly awaiting book 2

This is a poetic and moving debut, both a love story and the experience of a black man in the UK.
"The seed you planted so long ago grown, the roots clutching in the darkness, pulling each other closer. Your lips meet under the canopy of a tree already showing autumnal symptoms."
Nelson has such a lyrical writing style. 2nd person might not be for everyone, but I loved it. It felt intimate and personal but also universal at the same time. I think everyone will be able to relate to this in some way, whether it's the deep connection the two characters have, the main character's mindset or the injustices he faces daily. The relationship was beautiful, but so was the connection to the main character, through rich cultural references. It's amazing how much is in 145 pages!
"You're listening to music but the melodies are dull, the drums lack punch, the lyrics come towards you and join the wash of your own thoughts, like a tide coming and going, coming and going, the tow tugging you this way and that, and all you can do is stay still. You don't have it in you to move any more. You don't have it in you to swim."
You really get a sense of the main character's exhaustion throughout the book, having to face injustices every day. There are many heart-breaking moments of the book, whether that's microaggressions or police brutality. The book really explores how people only see 'a black body' and nothing else, and how he never feels truly seen.
This was a powerful read that I encourage you to pick up. It's not an all-time favourite, but it's definitely something that I will be thinking about for a long time.

Open Water explores many themes, mainly the complex relationship that develops between 2 creatives, a photographer and a dancer after a chance meeting, as well as what it is like to be a young Black man living in London and what it means to truly be "seen".

I will admit, this is the first novel I have read that is written in 2nd person and wondered if I would enjoy the writing style but after a few pages I felt submerged in the emotion of Caleb's words and before I knew it many chapters in, captivated.

Overall, a strong debut, a book which is so relevant now and in the years to come. I look forward to hopefully seeing more from Caleb in the future.

Since I started reading, I wasn’t sure how I felt about the style that the book was written in. It was a story about love, and race, and feeling...underwater, and learning to swim in that water. The falling in love and being in love part was written beautifully, but the book, as a whole, didn’t work that well for me.

An intoxicating and poetic exploration of love, contemporary relationships, and Black British identity. I didn't want it to end--it was just so beautiful and affecting.