I am absolutely fascinated by literature that doesn’t make the reader privy to the names of main characters. Here we never learn who the couple being described are by name. But we learn at least what one of them is thinking and seeing. And it’s so poetically done.

We’re also confronted with the reality of young black men facing police prejudice and gang violence. Caleb touches on grief and how it manifests itself in different situations. How the advice and teachings from the family members in Ghana who came to this world before him, leave our protagonist feeling.

I really cannot find the words to match the writing of Caleb Azumah Nelson here. If you read anything soon, please make sure it’s Open Water.