Small World by Caleb Azumah Nelson
Small Worlds tells the story of Stephen, who has only ever known himself in a song. Stephen’s small world is made up of his family and friends. Divided into two parts and set over the course of three summers in Stephen’s life, Small Worlds is a novel about the worlds we build for ourselves and the worlds we live in.

Review:

The dedication reads “For Mum and Pops, for J and J, for Es, my own small world”

Through the author's writing and use of language, Azumah Nelson weaves interconnected stories about family and friends - what makes our small world. The author takes the reader on a journey, unfolding Stephen’s story over three summers. As the reader progresses through the book, we gain a greater understanding of Stephen's small world and transitional period.

In the first part “Two Young People in the Summertime” the author presents Stephen trying to figure out his future as a musician, a romantic relationship with Del and life after graduating High School. In this first part, the reader learns about Stephen’s parents - their life in Ghana and migration to the UK.
A pivotal part of the storytelling of Small Worlds is music. It is not because Stephen is a musician, but because the music describes each character and their pivotal moments.

Another thing I loved is the use of the Ghanaian Language - Ga to describe the depth the language possesses. “Homo Ye Mi, Etomi - Hunger has taken me. I am weary to the depths of my being”. Whenever Ghanaian food is mentioned in the book, I literally felt my mouth water.

The book is intense, raw, and breathtaking written in a poetic prose form. The book has a way of drawing the reader in. It's a heavy pull into Stephen’s small world.

I enjoyed the relationships explored in the book - father-mother, mother-son, father-son, brother (Raymond and Stephen), romantic relationship ( Del-Stephen), Mother-Auntie Yaa, Auntie Yaa - Stephen, and lastly the discovery of self (who Stephen was when he was alone). The father-son relationship explored in the book is honest and vulnerable.

This is my first 5-star read of the year and I highly recommend it.

Here are my favourite quotes

I pray then, like I’ve never prayed before asking not for money, or a job, but that this new world I’m building for myself, I ask that it be constructed from peace.

Grief never ends, but we find a way to walk in the light someone has left behind, rather than living in pain’s shadow.

To sleep with grief is not to sleep at all.

And because anger is close to love, I go there.

It feels like a quiet life, but it's mine. I’ve tried to build my own small world in the vastness, and it's helping: I’m feeling more and more like the person I was or the person I might become.

Thank you netgalley for this ARC!

Omg caleb does it again. Another beautifully written novel i requested this one because i also read the ARC for open water which also was an amazing book please never stop writing books caleb the penship and the writing in your novels is beautiful.

This book had so much stuff from grief, loss,heartbreak,friendships family dynamics, culture EVERYTHING this book did not disappoint it followed so many storylines and i loved so many of them. I also loved the music aspect in this novel which i assume is the big message behind this book how music gets us through so many things in life and how so many of us in our little worlds rely on music for different things and how it also brings us all together in many ways from heartbreak grief or just to have an amazing time with friends and family music will always be there when we need it. I cant tell you how many characters i loved in this novel the author always writes such beautiful characters and always has the reader going through so many emotions during his stories always touching down on important topics in society. This book made me smile at times made me sad at times but overall made me realize how beautiful this piece of work is! I look forward to many more books from this author i love love the writing. I also love that this book took you too different places as well as you read and all the foods sounded delicious.

Yall read this one it was so good.

Set over three defining summers in the protagonist's life, Small Worlds has the same charm and pull as Open Water. For me, it's actually the better, stronger story; the writer's storytelling skills have certainly matured. The prose can still be a little too repetitive, but because this book has a much clearer narrative arc, it doesn't negatively impact the story like it did (for me) in the latter half of his debut offering. The author's voice is smooth, poetic, and has the uncanny knack of voicing complex feelings so many of us feel but are unable to sufficiently articulate.

Highly recommended for readers that enjoy Black coming-of-age, exploratory stories about identity, father-son dynamics, immigrant life, racism, belonging, and more. As with Open Water, music plays a pivotal role in Small Worlds.

This was a really beautiful book covering so many topics we can all relate to romantic and parental love told through music, food, connection and ultimately finding freedom and acceptance. It's poetically written and takes you on a journey throughout an early adulthood of figuring out where you fit in the world.

The only issue from me was the frequent repetition of lines representing themes of the book, including repeating the title many times. I get that we're trying to convey a message throughout but it felt a little like being spoonfed when it was repeating so frequently. I think without having that so often, I'd have no fault in this lovely little book.

I am once again under the spell of the incredible writing of Caleb Azumah Nelson. The words are so accurate, it resonates a lot with me. Her way of talking about family, love, finding your place, being part of a community, etc. He inspires me enormously, he is one of my biggest literary favorites in recent years, this author. It is a privilege to be able to read these words and that he shares this vulnerability with us, I feel lucky to discover them. There are really sentences that come out of the book to get inside me, it's a very strange and restorative feeling at the same time. I have the impression of rediscovering a lot of my experience and things that make sense. The number of tears shed...

I truly have no complaints. The characters, the pacing, the story, the music, the writing, the ending. The couple typos that inevitably popped up due to it being an advanced copy just made the story feel more intimate overall. I don't know how it could get better but I'll be there to check when this book comes out, and to supplement this review with a million quotes and excerpts. Thank you for reading and go preorder this book.

Thanks to Penguin General UK - Fig Tree, Hamish Hamilton, Viking, Penguin Life, Penguin Business and Netgalley for provinding me with this Book!

I loved this book! I absolutely adored Caleb Azuman Nelson's debut novel, Open Water, and so I was incredibly excited when I heard that his second book, Small Worlds, was due out this year. Despite my (very) high expectations, I was certainly not disappointed and I daresay that I loved Small Worlds even more than I did Open Water!

This is by far one of the most beautiful books I've ever read. Small Worlds is a gorgeously written story about growing up, the art and beauty of music and dance, and the power of love in all its forms - familial, romantic and platonic. The prose itself is lyrical, reading like a music of its own - it has its own rhythm and its own melody, and it truly is a joy to behold. Small Worlds is almost like an open love letter to music, thoughtfully and movingly depicting how music can bring us closer to our roots and our community and provide us with a sense of belonging; how music allows us to express our emotions and encourages us to feel deeply; and how music can restore and save us when we feel lost.

Quite honestly, I loved everything about this book. Genuinely touching, poignant and so very powerful, Small Worlds has confirmed that Caleb Azumah Nelson is one of the most unique and exciting contemporary voices out there.

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.