Open Water

Open Water (2021) is a beautifully written love story and exploration into race and identity. It is about finding yourself in a world where a person is only seen for what they look like. Taking place in the second-person (‘you'), Open Water navigates the struggles of a Black man crafting his own unique space within the collective Black body that homogenises him as he falls in love with another Black woman.   

Nelson's prose has the lyrical beauty of a poem and the narrative structure of a book. It really is beautifully written. It's also short, which I liked as sometimes author's drag their ideas for too long and the book stretches. Here, however, Open Water doesn't overstay its welcome. Short and concise, as it should be.   
I also really enjoyed the the second-person ‘you'. I found it suited the prose naturally, and allowed it flow elegantly to its full potential.  

Most importantly the characters are great and I found myself quite attached to them. 

However, I had hoped for more plot. Whilst the characters are great and I found myself quite attached to them, I unfortunately was much more engaged in the romance plot than the books greater themes. Here, the romance serves merely as a plot device for Nelson to explore his ideas surrounding the self, identity and the Black body. Whilst this is undoubtedly great for many, I found it a little jarring as we, the reader, are taken chapter-to-chapter from concrete, plot-centric, action that push the story forward to abstract, dream-like descriptions of thought and mood. Instead I would have preferred if Nelson had been able to weave the abstract and concrete together to form a more cohesive narrative.

Overall, I enjoyed this book enough to finish. It was beautifully written and I felt a genuine connection to the characters. However, a stronger plot line with a better weaving of abstract and concrete together rather than seperate would've lead to me feeling more attached to the story. Unfortunately, I don't see this book being particularly memorable going forward. 

That said, if plot is less important to you or you resonate strongly with the premise and its homages to Black art (especially music), then I think this could be a very special book for you.