Open Water

Open Water is a novel by Caleb Azumah Nelson, published February 4, 2021 by Viking Press, and again in 2022 by Penguin Books. The novel is written from a second person point of view, and features a protagonist who remains unnamed throughout. Personal background The year before Azumah Nelson began writing Open Water, his godfather, aunt, and three grandparents died. He spoke of his writing at the time, saying it "came about as I was trying to afford my grief, and in turn, myself, more form and detail. I didn’t want to feel so hazy anymore. So I was spending a lot of the time at libraries, gallery spaces, cinemas, concerts, trying to go past the level of knowing, towards feeling, and asking where those feelings come from. That’s a question which is written throughout Open Water. How do you feel?”