Este sitio utiliza cookies para ofrecer nuestros servicios, mejorar el rendimiento, análisis y (si no estás registrado) publicidad. Al usar LibraryThing reconoces que has leído y comprendido nuestros términos de servicio y política de privacidad. El uso del sitio y de los servicios está sujeto a estas políticas y términos.
"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"--… (más)
I think the absolute biggest issue I had here is the 2nd person narration. It rubbed my brain the wrong way - instead of reading a story about a person, my brain interjected, even for a split second, at every "you", saying "I'm not that". The worst is at the moments where it's close enough to a situation you might face that you feel annoyed at the suggestion. No, "I" would not take an Uber in London along a route that has a perfect good train. Be serious!
Is that stupid? Yeah. But I think it stopped me from appreciating the story as a story. It was a really surprising amount of friction that made me read the main character in a less charitable way. Which I feel really bad about. I think again this is unfair of me but... Yeah.
I guess I felt too like the main story of the romance just didn't work very well - or at least felt not very romantic. The ending really solidified this for me and I found it very frustrating you leave her in silence for A YEAR and then just expect her to be ready to talk whenever you turn up, ready to run back to your arms? And it works??? It just feels... Ugh. I don't think they were even together a year. I was just never sold that he cares about her, that he knows about her, that he wants to make a life with her. There's no consideration even to the end of how she feels about things. The narrative only barely considers it.
And it's complicated cause so much of the book is about the experience of being a Black man living in London today! And I feel unequipped to judge it cause of that. So take my rating and my feelings as me being ignorant and responding only on a mundane, shallow, "enjoyment" level ( )
Some great writing. It also opened up my eyes, like The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas, of living a life of not having to "look over your shoulder". I have a very WASP upbringing/lifestyle and so many of the issues brought up in this book I don't have to face. ( )
Beautiful prose and a deep story that involves grief, trauma, being Black in a predominantly white country, intimacy and love in its deepest state. What a beautiful start to 2023! ( )
"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"--
Is that stupid? Yeah. But I think it stopped me from appreciating the story as a story. It was a really surprising amount of friction that made me read the main character in a less charitable way. Which I feel really bad about. I think again this is unfair of me but... Yeah.
I guess I felt too like the main story of the romance just didn't work very well - or at least felt not very romantic. The ending really solidified this for me and I found it very frustrating
And it's complicated cause so much of the book is about the experience of being a Black man living in London today! And I feel unequipped to judge it cause of that. So take my rating and my feelings as me being ignorant and responding only on a mundane, shallow, "enjoyment" level ( )