book reviews with mimi ep.1: Open Water

I want to start off this review by saying this book is the closest anyone has ever gotten to matching my description of love. No author has made me feel as understood as Mr. Nelson. This novel is a phenomenal account of what it means to be consumed by love, consumed with self, and enraged by the things you cannot change. Open Water follows the story of two Black artists who met by chance and grew closer by choice. The metaphor of planting a seed and gaining its roots, which is referenced throughout the novel, alludes to their first meeting and how their connection continues to grow. Their connection began platonically, and in the moments when their friendship breached the lines of romance, they stopped themselves from going any further. The heart-wrenching buildup and the deep intimacy of this novel pulled me into the most intimate moments between the protagonists. However, their relationship is tested by the internal battle of what being Black means in the U.K. the unnamed male protagonist faces. The fact that he remains unnamed somehow makes him more relatable; makes his emotions more tangible, more in reach. He talks about how taxing it can be to flinch at the sight of police sirens, or be paranoid when passing police officers, what it means to bear the loud and wrong assumptions made about Black people and how you feel almost obliged to prove them wrong. He says that when the police look at him, they see a Black body; they do not SEE him. Open Water by Caleb Azumah Nelson is a novel with hypnotizing passages, intimacy that deepens with each chapter, and love radiating from its pages. It’s a book that will make you smile, cry, and scream. It will make your heart yearn. This love story is tender, gentle, and intense. It shows that love is patient, love is being seen, love is forgiveness.