Unfortunately I had a really difficult time getting into this one. I loved the authors other work Open Water and I think this just wasn’t the right time for me to read this book. I hope to return to it in the future!

Beautiful writing style
Authentic and relatable story
Beautiful relationships
Poetic as always
Caleb’s writing style is very unique
You can’t stop reading till you are done and will always want more.

I absolutely loved Caleb Azumah Nelson's debut novel, Open Water, and it was one of my favourite reads of 2021. I eagerly awaited his next novel. I'm not sure if it was the pacing, or the writing style, but this time around, I felt very disconnected from the characters and the story. As a result, I never found myself reaching to pick this one up.

This book follows Stephen, over three summers of his life after graduating from high school and heading to university, set between London and Ghana. It hits important points regarding migration, intergenerational trauma, love, family, marginalization, music, friendship and dance. And it was great to be immersed in Caleb Azumah Nelson's style again. To say this one didn't work for me does not mean it won't work for everyone, and I will still pick up anything he writes in the future.

Firstly, thank you so much for lending the advanced review copy. Like a lot of other reviews of this book, I too think that the writing is lyrically visual and the world that the writer as created is so personal and immersive. The only irritation I had while reading it was that a lot of the lines, sentences and their meaning were repetitive. I was also hoping for a clear defined plot, but I guess it's a slice of life book, which I enjoyed as well.

3.5

The author's writing is poetic and fluid, and the novel has a vibe that feels similar to 'Open Water.'

Important issues were touched upon in the novel, though the depiction of Stephen's experience with the big ones (e.g., father-son dynamic; grief & loss; intimate relationships; finding a path in life; navigating young adulthood) could have been more fleshed out. This makes sense to me given Stephen is a young adult, but it made it difficult to stay fully immersed and connected to the story and the main character and to want to sink back into the novel between reading breaks.

The most powerful moments were portrayals of Stephen's highs and lows, which felt vulnerable and intimate. Perhaps a more in-depth examination of Stephens experience with one or two key struggles over the course of shorter period of time might have made for a more captivating novel.

*Many thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest feedback!

There’s something about the way that really brilliant literary fiction writers are able to capture emotion that just makes me insane every time. The prose in this book is such a masterpiece, it took me a chapter or two to get used to the writing style but once I did? I wanted to highlight every single sentence and imprint it permanently onto my brain. The way everything is described, the lyricism of the writing and use of musical motifs running through the whole story, the way the feelings of the protagonist are communicated on the page… dear god it was all just so good.

This book did a beautiful job at taking us through so many journeys: feeling lost in the transition between childhood and adulthood, first love, reckoning with living in a country that wants you gone, the immigrant experience, finding your passion in life, grief and loss, and I could keep going. I thought Caleb Azumah Nelson handled it all incredibly and I can’t wait to go and read more of his work!

Identity. Community. Music. Faith. These are some of the words that come to mind when I think of Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson.

The book follows a young Ghanaian man living in London through his late teens – navigating young adulthood with respect to his future, his romantic life, and his place in his community. It depicts the struggles of keeping your identity when moving to a new country through food, music, gathering, faith, and celebration.

It explores the small worlds we create through our intimate relationships with others while we are trying to make sense of the bigger one around us. I really loved that part, because it's so true. The relationship you have with one person is entirely different than one you have with another, yet they can all stand alone as a small little world entirely yours that you share together, which I think is so beautiful.

If you have read Open Water, the author's debut novel, you will know that Azumah Nelson has some very poetic writing. I hate to compare it to Open Water, but I did enjoy that one a bit more.

I think what can happen when an author has a specific writing style is that their work can feel repetitive. I could almost picture Stephen, the main character in this book, as a younger version of the main character in Open Water. Not that it's a bad thing, it's just something that I noticed.

Overall, I really did enjoy this and I recommend it. I feel like I created my own small world with the book, just like I do with every book I read that I feel connected to, and I'm so thankful to have been given that perspective through this story.

Thank you very much to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Wow what a book! This story was absolutely beautiful and heartbreaking. It was my first book by the author and while I'm sitting here writing this review I have to admit I already broke my book buying ban and picked up Open Water the day after I finished this book. I need more of Caleb's writing! His writing style is truly amazing! He has a way with words I can't even begin to describe.

I loved to follow Stephen, see him grow throughout the story. Following his journey around friendship, love, family, grief and music. All descriptions of characters, places, food and memories were so vivid and detailed I felt like being there with him.
I got so emotional and I sobbed more than once. The chapter of Stephen's father broke me and put me back together. I will be thinking about this book for a very long time and I can't recommend this one enough. It definitely is one of my favourite books I have ever read so far.

Thank you very much Caleb Azumah Nelson, Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

Small Worlds explores grief, trauma, community, memory, and faith through the eyes of Stephen, a British-Ghanaian aspiring musician. Spanning three summers, we follow Stephen's journey in finding himself in art, love, friendship, and family, and in creating small worlds in between - worlds he could be the utmost free in.

As expected from Nelson, the writing in this is undoubtedly gorgeous, full of rhythm and flows like music. They way Nelson was able to create worlds within wolds left me in awe.

However, while everything else is perfect, I do think the characters lack depth (just a little bit!) and the plot ends up seeming too repetitive.

I've been waiting for Small Worlds since I first read Nelson's debut and it didn't disappoint! Nelson has cemented his place as one of my favorite authors.

i didn’t really click with nelson’s debut novel, open water, and sadly i didn’t feel like this one did it for me, either. i understand & appreciate what his going for, particularly regarding immigration & the subsequent marginalization that most poc people face while adjusting to the country that they’ve settled in. but i just can’t seem to connect with nelson’s writing, simply because it feels a little too . . . dramatic? i get that he’s trying to convey the feelings of a boy in the cusp of manhood, but i just felt so detached from the story all along that i couldn’t help but feel a little glad once i reached the end. i’m sure it’ll work for plenty of people, though — it’s just not for me.

I am once again deeply moved by the incredible writing of Caleb Azumah Nelson. The words are so profound, it resonates a lot with me. His way of describes the dynamics around family, love, finding your place, being part of a community, etc. around so truthful. He inspires me a lot as a reader and writer. It's been a while since I had since I had such a big author's crush. It is a privilege to be able to read these words. He shares this beautiful vulnerability with us, I feel lucky to discover it again and again, I can't wait to read it again. There are some sentences that came out of the book, hit me and got right through me. it's a very strange feeling, but it's healing at the same time. It's make a lot of my experiences feel like they are valid. The number of tears I've shed, I'm in awe.

"I've only ever known myself in song, between notes, in that place where language won't suffice but the drums might, might speak for us, might speak for what is on our hearts."

And it SHOWS. In every word, in every line, the importance of music is undeniable and tenable, resulting in incredibly beautiful writing that flows and sneaks its way into your heart. I was deeply impressed by the author's first book, and this one proofs he kn9ws how to write a beautiful story.

But in the end, that was also my one tiny little "complaint". While the book had me completely enthralled and spellbound by the sheer beauty of its language, the quiet moments where things go unsaid but are still expressed, I have trouble saying what it was about. Growing up, finding your way, yes. But. I wanted more plot sometimes? I think? It's still incredibly moving and heartfelt, but sometimes...

Still, I found this an incredibly moving book, and it was a joy to lose myself in it for a while. I also really loved the main character, Stephen, and watching him struggling to express himself and finding his way was a joy.

Beautiful, lyrical writing!
Small Worlds is a very emotional book. It has a bit of everything, finding one's self, about relationship with others- parents, siblings, friends and community. A story of migration and the effects.

Highly, highly recommend it.
There's something in Caleb Azumah Nelson's writing; it could be direct and poetic at the same time..

If someone handed me the first ten pages of this book with no cover, no context, and no author’s name anywhere to be found, I would have immediately known this was Caleb Azumah Nelson. It seems so rare these days that authors have such a distinct narrative voice and style that their work, the words they put on paper, speak for themselves.

Open Water was one of my favorite books in 2020 and one that I have reread twice sine and still find myself revisiting underlined passages. And Small Worlds is another I know I will be revisiting just as often.

The thing I find most impressive about Nelson is his ability to write prose in a way that is both direct and poetic. I have never felt as though the plot or actions of the characters were too vague, or buried too deep beneath some beautifully rendered language. The poetry never outweighs the story, but it is also never sacrificed for the need to move things along.

A really beautiful, poetic novel. Caleb did very well for his second book after Open Water. A must read.

Small Worlds is a beautiful, lyrical story of a young boy, right before college, during three different summers in his life as he comes to deal with loss: losing his childhood, losing faith in himself, losing his purpose in life, and losing his loved ones. And then he attempts to regain parts of who he was and make way toward who he wants to be.
I haven't read Nelson's Open Water (weird, I know) so I had nothing to base my experience on and no prior exposure to his writing but you can be sure that I'll be heading to his debut book very soon. I loved the writing style and the soft atmosphere and emotion that radiates off the page. I found myself really touched by the thought-provoking insights and the way he describes an immigrant's disconnect with their home country and their current country and how he shows the effects of being unable to communicate with those you love and to get them to understand.

While I'm not so sure about the overall "plot", I do think this is a book you read for the ~vibes. Rather than being hooked into seeing what comes next, you're more interested in what emotion will follow and how the character will describe it.

My main issue is that, at times, due to the style of the writing, some things and certain moments come to feel a bit repetitive. You feel you've already read this exact description before and it loses its charm this time, it makes you start to wonder if maybe the (already pretty short) book can be even shorter.
Side note: I don't know if this is maybe due to the fact that the version I've read is, as claimed on the first page, unedited and that there are certain changes to be made but I would often see certain phrases repeated twice even on the same page, and not in an intentional/lyrical way, but in a way that feels like a mistake. So, I can only hope this is due to the version of the book and that everything will be as perfect as it can be by the time it's out and everyone reads it!

Overall, if you're looking to explore a book with writing you feel you can touch that will leave you feeling all the emotions possible, I highly recommend this one.

Small Worlds is an exciting and vast book about the worlds we create for ourselves, the worlds we live, dance, and love inside, taking place over the span of three summers of Stephen's life, traveling from London to Ghana and back again.

Reading this was like dancing in the rain as I let Caleb's writing's beauty wash over me, erasing all my worries in the process.

Stephen, the main character, has one quality that sets him apart: he loves to dance. He will dance in church, to his father's records, with his brother, and with his best friend. He may have lost his faith, but he has unquestionably retained his sense of rhythm.

I will read this book again and again because of how beautifully the romance was depicted.

Everything about the story—characters, music, pace, and writing—was flawless. I can assure you that I will read a book if it was written by Caleb.

When it is published, I strongly suggest reading this; you will love every minute of it. especially if you enjoy modern literature, writing, and music

Thank you to Grove Atlantic and Netgalley

I absolutely loved this book. There’s something about a book where the characters speak to you, and this really exceeded my expectations. Caleb Azumah Nelson is an incredible writer!

Small Worlds is a story about love, grief, relationships, family, community, and everything in between. The story follows Stephen, and his relationship with himself, his best friend, his family, and art(majorly music and dance). It is not a simple story at all, and the book dives into everything mentioned above using the most beautiful language. Caleb Azumah Nelson has a way with words, and the way he manipulates language in whatever form he wants to pass his message in all his books is amazing. Though the plot is not very complicated, the language makes it so. Nelson uses complex words, repetition, idioms, and “pop-culture” references to his advantage. Every sentence is beautifully written with language that was crafted to invoke something deep in the reader....

What a gorgeous novel from Caleb Azumah Nelson. Poignant with music woven the whole way through it.

We share Stephen’s life over 3 summers and are totally transported into his world and how his life is shaped: coming of age post school, decisions that are true to you and respect your family, community, love, grief, being a British Ghanian. Music and the way it infects and adds to our lives.

I’d recommend this for an immersive, hopeful read, which will stay with you. Thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the ARC.