Open Water

Open Water is the debut novel from British Ghanian author Caleb Azumah Nelson, originally published on February 4, 2021, by Viking Press. It was greeted with positive reviews and critical fanfare, winning the Costa Book Award for First Novel (a recently discontinued Irish-British literary prize) and gaining popularity on BookTok, a community of readers and book content creators on TikTok. The book follows the romance between two Black artists from South East London, depicting the challenges of creating emotional bonds while living under the constant stress of systemic racism. Through referencing a wide range of Black artists, Open Water celebrates Black creativity and the joy of Black community.

This guide refers to the US edition printed by Black Cat, an imprint of Grove Atlantic, in April 2021.

Content Warning: This text discusses systemic racism, police violence, and the death of a Black man.

Plot Summary

Open Water is written from the second-person perspective and is a lyrical, often disconnected text. It begins with a prologue depicting a scene from the middle of the male narrator’s love affair with a woman, in which his barber states that the protagonist and the woman are in a powerful relationship of some kind.