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Extremely emotive in its portrayal of young black men in London. Huge swathes of beautiful prose and repeated themes and phrases. I keep recalling the ideas of being seen yet nit seen, heard yet not listened to. And the love and hedonism of summer London Town.

This book was a surprise. The writing style was very poetic and emotive. It is a beautiful story of love between two young black artists in London. But it is also a story about trauma. I loved all the references to music and found that listening to them on Spotify enhanced my reading experience. Likewise I googled some artists and investigated their work. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

145 pages?? You could've fooled me. It felt like I was just treading water rather than making progress. While the author's writing style was undoubtedly poetic, which I usually enjoy, in this case, it was too melodramatic. I know I'm in the minority here but each to their own.

A tumblr quote led me to this book and Lord what a beautiful pool this book is to drown in...to catch your breath to...to linger in...to put down in frustration...to absentmindedly rub your chest in response to the heartstrings it tugs...to be grateful for the truth it can hold….Azumah‘s poetry in prose is absolutely sublime and maybe the only book I‘ve known to accurately describe aches I know more intimately than I‘ll ever care to admit.

Here I am, impulsively deciding to join in on #bookspin for the first time on Litsy.

It used to be on BookTube too but the lovely BookTuber who ran it is on hiatus.

Here are my June picks. 2/3rds of them are e-books languishing on my iPad and the rest are shorter books on my shelves that I‘d love to get to.

Stoked to join in the fun!

Wow. A beautiful, beautiful novella, the story of a relationship between a young Black artist and his best friend/girlfriend. And the experience of growing up in a place where you are not safe, not seen, where home is people, music, familiarity- but never a place.

Quite stunning.

Trying to finish a book or 2 before New Year, while still isolating. Anyhow…

This is very much a marmite book. I get why you might not like it, but I‘m just blown away by it. It‘s an intimate story of a deep, complicated friendship/relationship between two young Black London-based artists. Highly poetic, nothing happens, but it‘s stunning.

My son has praised this book for months so I thought I‘d give it a go. Sadly I didn‘t connect to this very well, possibly because it was written in the second person? It was a very quick read, the writing was gorgeous but it just didn‘t hit the mark for me

I like that this book is how making connections can sometimes feel. Complicated. Like you don‘t know how much to commit and you‘re not sure how long after a relationship ends is respectful and that friendship is sometimes the best way into love. Also there is a playlist on Spotify for this book so extra bonus 🥰

It's rare to get a story told in the second person because it is so hard to pull off. Caleb Azumah Nelson displays his dazzelling talent in doing so. His writing is deeply poetic; it has rhythm. He deftly paints the streets of South London and the experience, hopes and fears of its young black protagonist through vivid vignettes resulting in a novella that will leave you as full as much longer novel.

I liked this but didn't love it like I thought I would. It took me much longer to read than it should have. Open Water is such an apt name for the book it is highly quotable, gorgeously written and makes you feel a bit like you are stepping into a dream land even with everything very UK like and realistic in the settings.

Music and film weave their way through this story which is told in the second person and without naming the main characters. Initially I felt somewhat distanced from what I was reading, yet was then pulled into this intimate and at times devastating story of a love, and of life as a young Black man in London. Our unnamed protagonist is desperate to be seen, yet terrified also. This is short, difficult but overwhelmingly a beautifully intense read

Feeling really good about March's reading, I didn't do as much nonfiction or Women Fiction Prize Long list as I would have liked, but there is always this month!

#readingroundup

"You look like you got hit by a bus, and you dusted yourself off, and did it again for the hell of it. You look like you're wondering when the next time you can get hit by that bus is."

(Are you in love?)

I forgot to post my #weeklyforecast yesterday!
Hoping to finish March strong and bounce back from the reading slump Damnation Spring almost put me in.

This book is incredible! It is so beautifully, lyrically written. Here Caleb Azumah Nelson is an artist telling the story of two artists and it is just heart-breakingly beautiful. There is such a clear love for black art in these pages that you can't help but be awe of these artists he mentions. He gives voice to the desire to be seen but the fear of the vulnerability that comes with it. It's just beautiful.

#ukkindledeal #99ponkindle

What words to say after reading this book (pushing 2nd person narration way out of mind)? Only lovely thoughts remain after that action. But really what is there to say after experiencing this book? It is the kind of writing that compels me to look up to the heavens and inquire ‘How does anyone write like this?‘ ‘What gift of gifts was bestowed upon this writer?‘ ‘How does language do what language did here, in the pages of this book?‘👇🏽

Poetic writing about falling love and being black in Britain. The book was most effective for me when focusing on the narrators life outside of this love relationship. I am not the target audience for this novel but appreciate the craft of the writing.

Started this today, recommended by a Waterstones bookseller. It's written in the second person, a rare approach, and the writing is beautiful.

Every word in this beautifully crafted love story has meaning + I definitely slowed my normal reading speed to enjoy the writing. A young couple meet one night in a London bar, their friendship is instant as they share a love of music, zadie Smith, & art. The gradual realisation of love is moving but it is conflicted by a powerful evocation of the black male experience on London streets from a police force that cannot see beyond colour. Brilliant.

This is simply beautiful. I am refusing more than a few pages at a time so that I can sit quietly with the contemplation of its possibility. Sometimes I am amazed at phenomenal artistry or my sheer luck at witnessing it‘s existence.

2nd Person Point of View is a distraction. It requires a diligent effort to hold onto to the rhythm and flow of narration, but I won‘t let this story getaway.

Now it‘s time to cheer for the Rams in the Super Bowl🏈

I like the cover. Because of the title and the cover, I don‘t want to know too much before I start reading. I‘m curious enough. I brought it home, but not because of the front cover. One of the sentences on the back is what really got me… “a story that pulls the reader close.” Yeah, that‘s what I was in search of, something to provide some type of near proximity to someone else.

Reading this when the day settles into night.

This is what happens when I watch a bunch of Booktube! Library haul. At least they are all on the short side and I can fit them in along with the Big Book Challenge I am doing this year.

A moving story and message. The author undoubtedly has talent and it‘s another great debut to add to those I‘ve read recently.
I struggled occasionally with the 2nd person POV writing.

Today‘s #bookmail. Looking forward to these.

You're in a memory of something yet to happen, when they stop you, like a moving vehicle edged off the road. They tell you there has been a spate of robberies in the area. They say many residents describe a man fitting your description. They ask where you are going and where you have come from. They say you appeared out of nowhere... They don't hear your protests. They don't hear your voice. They don't hear you. They don't see you.

Reading Envy Podcast Episode 235: Nature of Humanity with Paula. @Centique

Paula is back for the last regular episode of the year and we talk about biography, books from the backlist, and books from countries we don't know much about.

Listen and subscribe:
https://tinyurl.com/ReadingEnvy235

Finished this just now and loved it. Highly recommended!

“Perhaps that is how we should frame this question forever; rather than asking what is your favorite work, let‘s ask, what continues to pull you back?” I love this sentiment even though I am not by nature a re-reader.

Got off on the wrong stop on the metro because I was so engrossed in this… loving the style.

Books Read October 2021: 215-236

Total Books Read: 22

audio: 3
eBook: 15
print: 4

Library: 4
TBR: 1
Purchased 2021: 3
Review copy: 14

Around the World: 10
Booker Prize Long or shortlist: 1
Europe 2021: 2
National Book Award finalist (long or short): 3
Read the World 21 (Western Europe): 1

Memoir: 2
Poetry: 2
Romance: 3
Sci-fi/fantasy: 3
Translated: 6
Women in Translation: 4

Okay this is one of the best books I've read this year and I'm not sure why I haven't heard about it from more people. It's a relationship novel - not a romance - absorbed in the emotions and internal dialogue of intense connection. It's also about Blackness - specifically in London - and creating art. Loved it, and read it in #hoopla

"'Lonely, no?'
Like Baldwin said, you begin to think you are alone in this, until you read. In this instance, two books are being spread open along the spine, despite the fact you don't remember some of these pages. She's looking at you and there is nowhere to hide here, nowhere to go. An honest meeting."

5🌟 OPEN WATER is a gorgeous, intimate debut! At once, I was pulled in by the beautiful, intense poetic writing. Told in vignette style, this story is about a man and a woman, both Black and British, falling in and out of love. I was really drawn into these characters and their relationship. The raw honesty depicted by the author really makes you feel the pain and struggle of being a Black in society. A quick read, so emotional and vulnerable.

A love story, celebration of Black excellence, and insight into what it is like to be Black and in the world. Exceptional writing - hard to believe it‘s a debut novel.

Reads like poetry. A bit slow at times but lovely. What an achievement, considering that this is a debut. Lots of references to music. I found myself reading and listening to songs or musicians mentioned in the book. Definitely recommend!

Our storyteller is introduced to a girl at a party. A book about being black and about falling in love with your best.

Our storyteller loves NW by Zadie Smith.

My #DoubleSpin for May @TheAromaofBooks
My 2nd book finished for #NutsInMay @Andrew65

There‘s a piece of art which comes to mind by Donald Rodney, titled In the House of My Father. […] You‘ve often had such an image, or something similar, where you are made aware that you carry the house of your father, which means you also carry a part of the house he carried, your father‘s father‘s, and that this man would‘ve done the same. Your first instinct is to ball your hand into a fist, crushing the thing,

Gorgeous, gorgeous prose. A first novel-it‘s hard to fathom the skill. Young love, honesty, truth & the desire to be seen & heard for the right reasons, for the individuals we are regardless of skin colour. I loved this; it was incredibly powerful. Part of my Shakespeare & Co A Year of Reading spring selections, they hit it out of the ball park! Each book comes with a jacket blurb as to why it was chosen. So two reviews in one. 5/5.

Both Open Water and Pray touched me in ways I can't explain, this book deserves an award.
Caleb Azumah Nelson writes pure poetry within his stories and everyone needs to read this! I think it should also be used as text for English Literature exams, there is so much content and context to break down and consider within this singluar piece!
(Also marked many beautiful passages, hence the sticky notes in the top)

#MotivationalMonday @Cupcake12
1.Present day London(tagged book),NY during Golden of Comics(Stan Lee),WWI trenches(at night all blood is black), Restoration era England(Mirror for monkeys),Chicago(Julie James)
2.Jasmine Guillory,NK Jemisin, Viet Than Nguyen
3.Doing a literature quiz for my quiz club!
Reviews of books here!https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/55182748-stan-lee
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/50403480-at-night-all-blood-is-black

https://lithub.com/here-are-the-best-reviewed-books-of-the-week-4-16-2021/

Open Water is a short novel about two Black artist falling in and out of love in London. While their relationship is key to the story, this is less a romance than it is a look at what it‘s like to be a young Black male in London. I think the second person POV worked well and enjoyed the way that the story is told through snapshots, but the style choices did keep me at a bit of a distance and made the timeline of the story hard to follow. 3⭐️

I‘m so delighted with my recent book mail from the UK - specifically these Black British books that were released recently. Bernadine Evaristo is working with Penguin to have these re-released. And my new blanket was the perfect background.

It‘s been a long time since I‘ve experienced a novel that touch my heart in this way. Stunning, authentic and shattering. This is why we read, to see into someone‘s soul like this.

A short, hard-hitting debut about two people who fall slowly in love and then all at once, as often happens in the best of love stories. While the story revolves around two Black artists and their experiences in London/Dublin being seen merely as Black bodies, the author writes a love letter to Black art, media and thought. I can‘t say I enjoyed the writing 100% but it is an impressive debut to check out. Hoping to read more of the author!