Open Water achieves two things incredibly well in a very short number of pages - a reflection on what it is to be a black man in Britain, and a beautiful love story. 

The love story is more heart wrenching because of the connection between the two characters. They are clearly aching for one another emotionally, creatively, spiritually as well as physically. The gentle build leading to a hot, sultry summer of intense emotion and closeness which peters into a withdrawal and separation is painful and yet undeniably beautiful. 

The reflections of living somewhere all your life but never really feeling at home, or safe, are equally wrenching. As a white women reading this I was gifted an insight into what it is to live in a world of constant “otherness”. Azumah Nelson does not flinch from the hard realities of suspicion and violence baked into the police in Britain, or how that makes black people feel. 

A wonderful debut, I’ll certainly be seeking out his sophomore novel to see how this talent develops.