Open Water

By: Caleb Azumah Nelson

Narrated by: Caleb Azumah Nelson

Length: 4 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

A stunning, shattering debut novel about two Black artists falling in and out of love.

Two young people meet at a pub in South East London. 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 - trying to make their mark in a city 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.

At once an achingly beautiful love story and a potent insight into race and masculinity, Open Water 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 respected only for strength, to find safety in love, only to lose it. With gorgeous, soulful intensity, Caleb Azumah Nelson has written the most essential debut of recent years.

©2021 Caleb Azumah Nelson. Recorded by arrangement with Black Cat, an imprint of Grove Atlantic, Inc. (P)2021 Audible, Inc.

initially meh...but...

Hard to follow story.
Pretty boring monotone narration.
Two stars for descriptions. Otherwise..a snooze fest.


I'm editing my review after persevering through the first 20 chapters. This story really picks up around it's 22nd chapter. It is really a heartfelt introspection into black immigration masculinity. A genre that doesn't come along everyday. While it may have taken too long to build up, one finally sees purpose in the backdrop the author develops so languarously. The 2nd person narration truly adds up when a man steps out of himself to look at himself.

Read on. It's definitely worthwhile, especially if race, masculinity, and mental health are of interest to you. I'm thoroughly impressed.

I am conflited

the writing style is not for me. you get only one point of view. would love to see what the other characters are up to. overall I like the portrait of how racial Préjudice and racial profiling can affect people and relationships.

Love Story Distracted

This is a beautifully written book but with you and fatal flaw which is the author got distracted in the third part on a story that's less about black love and more about black pain. the two sides of the story don't jive properly, resulting in a disjointed whiplash and a dissatisfying ending.

Black Love

Really good story about Black love ands somewhat unconventional way of Blackness. Voice is very monotone and calming.

A slow burn

But a beautiful one. Relatable, empathetic and emotionally intelligent. Great for bedtime listening. A book for and about artists constantly reflecting on contemporary Black artists in a way that I think skillfully dates the novel.

Lovely storyline!

This was my first time reading Caleb’s work, and I can say I definitely appreciate the uniqueness and how he narrated the story in second person. It also shows how even when it seems like two people belong together they can still be torn apart by racism, fear, and prejudice.

Powerful

It was so refreshing and therapeutic to hear such raw emotions about how it feels to be a black man in this world. Thank you for your vulnerability

Monotone

The narrator read in monotone. It was hard to follow the story because the narrator did not put any emotion or inflection, into the reading. The story itself was just ok. I wish there was more character development.

Beautiful

Amazing performance of a beautiful book. The ending was slightly lacking. A bit of a cliffhanger.

done very well. you will truly enjoy it

done very well. b The author takes his time and it's very poetic. I truly enjoyed