Open Water Winner of the Costa First Novel Award 2021

Gelesen, geliebt, geheult, gefühlt, gesehen, (ge)empfohlen

Bewertung am 22.02.2025
Bewertungsnummer: 2419498
Bewertet: Buch (Taschenbuch)

A super raw novel about love, discrimination and art. It made me feel a LOT. Most of all seen… as a person who also feels a lot and lives in their head, as a person who also was in a similar love-situation, this was just an amazing read. Simultaneously it shed light on the experience of POC in a white society! Written beautifully and so poetic. Even though i usually rush through books for the plot, i found myself taking my time with this, and savoring every sentence, every word and letter. Words aren’t enough, not for the author and not for me to describe the book. So raw, so important, so beautiful.

Like a love song

Bewertung am 20.02.2025
Bewertungsnummer: 2417907
Bewertet: Buch (Taschenbuch)

I fell in love with this book on the very first page and could not put it down - I read the novel in one sitting. Caleb Azumah Nelson's writing is so evocative it sounds like a love song, or a beautifully crafted poem. The journey follows a love story that tugs at your heartstrings and then takes a twist that cut my heart right open. It is not only a beautiful ode to Black love, joy, family, manhood, culture, music, identity and lifestyle but also deals with trauma, grief, fear, anxiety and racism in such a poignant and profound way that it left me crying and shaking. It touched me so deeply that it will probably stay with me for a long time. It is an absolute must-read and reading recommendation! To know that this is his debut novel leaves me in awe and makes me crave to read his next book even more. Absolutely stunning!