azumah nelson’s writing is so stunningly beautiful, he really knows how to make the mundane moments truly magical. but at the same time, it can get a bit convoluted and slow to get through, i fear that happened a bit more with this one than with his previous book!

While I was not a fan of the lyrical prose in Nelson’s first novel to the point I could not finish it, I found this one much more captivating (perhaps because it felt so much more familiar). In this novel we follow our protagonist Stephen through key life experiences that shape his familial and personal relationships.

Overall, a beautiful novel with a fluid storyline heavy on the small moments we often overlook.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for providing me with an eARC in exchange for an honest review

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.”

another stunning masterpiece of nelson. small worlds felt intimate, cohesive, and familiar. i was extremely impressed with nelson’s debut, open water, and am just as equally impressed with small worlds.

we follow the protagonist, stephen, through various pivotal experiences in his life, intricately intertwining personal, familial, and relational elements within — what makes up one’s small world.

i will forever admire nelson’s lyrical and poetic writing style. even the mundane moments are made to feel significant, each detail flowing into the next. the narrative was deeply emotional and raw, the pacing cohesively running parallel to the storyline. in terms of the story’s structure and content, small worlds felt more like an expansion of open water, keeping many elements from the previous novel at the core of this one. it makes sense to continue what works, for it has proven to resonate with many.

nelson once again has made reading feel much more like an experience, a journey rather than a telling.

i adored open water, but this one fell a little flat for me — on paper, it felt like it should be just as good: poetic writing, significant themes, characters coming of age.

but all of it felt stilted and effortful. open water unfolded naturally and gorgeously, while all of this felt like it took something.

this was longer than open water, but it felt shorter — it accomplished less for our characters.

Caleb Azumah Nelson is such an amazing writer and we, as readers, are so lucky to be able to read his work. Small Worlds was a incredibly fantastic book and I can't get over how lyrical and dreamy Nelson's writing is. I will be screaming about how amazing this book for a long time.

Caleb Azumah Nelson is one of the best writers of conversation in intimate relationships between friends. You feel like you're overhearing secrets being told in a way that few writers can get at.

Small Worlds is a beautifully written novel following Stephen, a young black Londoner who moves through his life in a very fluid sort of way. He doesn't have much in the way of purpose, but he's not passive either.

It follows in the lineage of "small on plot, big on vibes" novels that have become popular as of late. And I'm here for it.

Very wonderful. A few tweaks to this story structure/POV could’ve made this a perfect book to me, but it still really moved me. Caleb Azumah Nelson is pure talent.

Thank you to the author, Grove Press and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a hard one to review - I loved the author's first book, Open Water and he has the same ease with evocative, poetic language here. The central theme of music is echoed in the rhythm of the narrative, and the small worlds are invoked again and again in various aspects that work really well - music, family, relationships, identity and belonging. However, where the author lost me is in giving heavy topics like intergenerational trauma, migration and marginalization the same weight as two young people trying to communicate their feelings and emtions to each other. While I can understand that this works for the young people in their situation, it doesn't work for the overall narrative and flow.

I really enjoyed Caleb Azumah Nelson’s debut novel, Open Water, but I flat out loved Small Worlds.

Stephen is a musician and a second-generation immigrant in London, and, in Small Worlds, Nelson takes us through three of Stephen’s summers following his high school graduation. On the surface, I don’t have much in common with Nelson’s main character and my college years are starting to feel distant. Even so, Nelson’s observations on family, relationships, career goals, and belonging were wrenchingly relatable.

Small Worlds revolves around music and is written lyrically enough to sometimes feel like music in and of itself. It doesn’t hurt that a couple chapters in I switched to the audiobook, which is narrated by the author and really accentuated the musicality of his writing. Interestingly, I counted 25 times that Nelson used the words “small world” in this book, and far from feeling repetitive, they felt like a natural refrain.

Some have critiqued the fact that the novel’s scope is not as targeted as Open Water; however, Small World’s slice-of-life approach really worked for me. All in all, I highly recommend this novel, especially on audiobook!

Thank you to Grove Atlantic, Dreamscape Media, and Netgalley for the ARCs. (Out 7/18)

I was blown away by Small Worlds in all of the best ways. I was hesitant to read Nelson’s next work because I did not fall in love Open Water in the way that I had hoped, but I did with Small Worlds.

The novel follows Stephen, a first generation Englishman living in London with his Ghanaian parents and brother. Stephen is about to leave for university and enters into a world where he knows his time at home is numbered. The small world he has grown up in and his relationships are about to change.

I truly was astounded by own beautiful and lyrical this novel was. The importance of music and records to the story added a new layer that elevated the lyrical elements of the book.

For me, I think I was most drawn in by Stephen’s original conflict of leaving for university. I knew exactly how he felt preparing to leave home and then hating university. Leaving the small world/community that you’ve grown up in for a group entirely different from what you’ve known is something I think many can relate to. This began the novel in such an interesting way and truly connected me to the characters more than I could have imagined.

Afterwards, themes of police brutality, racism, trauma, and loss of loved ones are woven into the characters you have identified with. Small Worlds is a masterclass in literary fiction for these reasons and many more.

This was a worthwhile and heartbreaking read from Caleb Azumah Nelson and I am excited to read more from him in the future.

Small Worlds is an homage to the joys of music, food, and human connection. Though brief, this novel encapsulates a sprawling family story, tales of displacement and migration, and a beautiful love story all in one. Beginning as a narrative following young Stephen, just on the brink of adulthood and full of hopes, it develops into much more. Though I haven't read Open Water yet, reading this has definitely moved it up on my list. Tackling generational trauma is a daunting task in a book, and Caleb Azumah Nelson does so with dreamlike prose and to-the-point storytelling. If you're looking for a book with deeply lovable characters, complex relationships, and a beautifully woven community of people leaning on one another, this is the one you should pick up! I'm completely floored by the writing skill evident throughout this novel.

This book was like a beautiful symphony and I never wanted it to end! Seriously, Caleb Azumah Nelson's writing is like poetry. It just flows.

I loved our MC Stephen and I related in a lot of ways to him. Dropping out of Uni and not really knowing what to do, while simultaneously feeling like you're disappointing your family is rough.

I also really liked the family dynamic and loved the progression we got between Stephen & his father.

I will definitely continue to read everything Caleb Azumah Nelson writes.

Small Worlds struck a chord in me that I hadn't expected.

I missed the hype around Caleb Azumah Nelson the first time, so I was pleased to be able to read his second book before its release.
I expected his writing style to be lyrical (because everybody said so), but to experience it myself still somehow surprised me. He managed to describe small actions, everyday actions, in such a new and beautiful way that I started to reevaluate them, appreciate them more (sounds sappy, but it's true). Nelson's lyrical and rhythmic writing style feels like a love letter to life.

For a book on the shorter end, it packs a punch.
The story encompasses three years of the main character's life, manages to paint a vivid picture of everything that happens (like a film in your mind) and discusses a number of deep and important topics, ranging from the choice of what path to take in life, the experience of immigrants in a country who doesn't really want you, the experience of their children managing parents' expectations as well as own desires and dreams, to the unfairness of the systems that are in place (politics and police brutality for one on a bigger scale—but also the expectations we have for our loved ones and how we handle them, especially when they are not met, on a smaller scale).
Most of all, the question of “home”. Is it a place, or can it be a person? And can you find your home in yourself?
I admit, I cried a little a few times.

Highly recommend picking this up!

The one thing that can solve most of our problems is dancing.... "

Thus begins Caleb Azumah Nelson's sophomore novel Small Worlds, a stunningly poetic story about identity, families and music. The book follows Stephen, a London-born son of Ghanaian immigrants, taking his first steps into adulthood. Over the course of three summers we see him fall in love, struggle with parental expectations and discover his community but also experience loneliness, depression and anxiety. A coming-of-age novel of sorts, Small Worlds is about finding yourself and your voice but also discovering your past - the immigrant experience inherited from the parents.

Nelson's prose is almost jazz-like, the book like three albums. There are the repeating phrases, the ups and downs, lulls and climaxes, solos and choruses. Although the novel does deal with a lot of hardships and sadness, there is also an overarching joy that vibrates in the words. Music is Stephen's first love, his way of expressing himself and carving a place for himself. Music also forges connections, it can be shared between friends, lovers, or between father and son.

Small Worlds is also a great summer read. It captures perfectly the sweetness of summer days, the feeling that everything is possible in the summertime. I picked the novel up due to it being on many Booker prediction lists and I'd be thrilled to see it nominated. Definitely one of the highlights of this year.🎶

Thank you @netgalley and @groveatlantic
for the review copy.

I received an advanced reader copy of Open Water in exchange for an honest review. Thanks to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for this opportunity.

Open Water was my favourite read of 2022, so when I was granted an arc for Small Worlds I was beyond excited and read it immediately. It was my most anticipated release of 2023 and let me tell you, I was not disappointed!

Although Open Water felt so incredibly intimate through the use of the second person perspective, Small Worlds was even more personal and thus very emotional. The writing style was exceptional and I felt so moved by the main character‘s story throughout the whole book. It felt raw and honest and vulnerable, but also courageous and proud and oh-so heartbreakingly beautiful.

Definitely a strong contender for my favourite read of 2023, this one!

5/5 stars.

“Small Worlds” – Caleb Azumah Nelson

My thanks to @groveatlantic and @netgalley for my copy of this book.

Set across multiple summers between south London and Ghana, “Small Worlds” tracks the first years of adulthood for Stephen, son of Ghanaian immigrants, as he tries to find a place and path for himself in the shadow of parental and societal expectations, all while dealing with an on-off relationship with musician friend Del and his own dreams in that area.

It’s a book full of music and poetry, with Afrobeats and hip-hop providing rhythm to the prose as well as backgrounds to events. I liked the idea of music crossing generations and being passed down, especially between fathers and sons – I have far more knowledge of 50’s rock and roll than I should thanks to my Dad, and the scenes of bonding over this really resonated with me.

It's a book filled with small worlds (which I felt is often clunkily pointed out in the prose – at least 4 direct mentions of a small world at points), bubbles of companionship or isolation that we create to protect ourselves from pain or the bigger world. It’s a book of the immigrant experience, of the post-immigrant experience, of discrimination and culture clash, of looking for a place in the world.

These are all points that I’m attracted to in books, and I wanted to love this, but I just couldn’t. A lot of it was too broody and melodramatic for me, and while the prose is beautifully written I often found it….. kind of shallow?

I must admit, I’m guilty of shallowness myself – Stephen’s trip to Ghana in the book occurs in 2011, almost exactly when I went, and I found myself reminiscing about my own experiences of places he visits (Aburi Botanical Gardens, Cape Coast Castle) without ever feeling I should connect with HIS feelings at all. That, coupled with huge jumps in time with the gaps never completely filled in, left me feeling almost disconnected from the story and the characters.

There’s SOMETHING in this book, but I’m not sure this lived up to the hype (story of my reading, recently). If you liked “Open Water”, you’ll find more of the same here, but this was a miss for me.

Thanks to Netgalley and Grove Press for the ebook. This lovely second novel follows Stephen, living in London with Ghanaian born parents, as he feels uncomfortable in following the university path that is expected of him. His first love is music, seen as such a risky and unstable career choice. He later finds cooking and a desire to be a chef. Family dramas and romantic entanglements have to work themselves out, sometimes gracefully and sometimes with great upheaval, in this insightful novel.

4.5 Stars

Small Worlds is a contemplative, rhythmic, lyrical book. Reading this one felt a bit like listening to a slow yet captivating song, which is fitting, given how Caleb Azumah Nelson uses music as a metaphor for home, for identity, for love. As with Open Water, he offers a thoughtful narrative with stunning writing, and even if the language might not feel believable (do people really think and talk like that?!) you don’t care, because like a painting, it’s so beautiful that you crave the gorgeous reality in his world over the realness of your own.

I was most taken by how Nelson contemplates the idea of home, not only as a place but also the home we create in ourselves. I was similarly drawn to Nelson’s considerations of the cyclical nature of grief, especially in the context of Stephen’s father. Although I found my attention wavering a bit in the first half, the second portion sucked me back in, as Nelson contextualizes Stephen’s narrative with other contemporary issues, including racism and police brutality.

So yeah, this one was a win for me. Is it a typical summery read? No way. Will everyone like it the way I did? Definitely not. But it’s one I’m glad to have read for sure.

Thank you groveatlantic and netgalley for the eARC.

Small Worlds explores the father-son relationship in the most endearing and expansive way. Stephen is born in London to Ghanaian parents. He is about to begin his university education and wants to pursue music, his passion, but his father wants him to get a degree that will be good for him to get a regular job.

Stephen decides to follow his passion and that breaks the family apart. But unfortunately, he also doesn’t get into the music course he wanted, and his love to leaves him. All these happenings shatter Stevens and leave him sad and lonely. Now Stephen must pull himself together and find a path that leads him to peace and freedom.

Although the writing begins at a slow pace, it is elegant and slightly rhythmic, and lyrical. It speaks about the injustice meted out to Blacks even today. But portrays it in a very light and non-violent way. The relationships between all the characters felt very respectful and uplifting.

I enjoyed this immigrant story immensely and it did touch my heart in a way that I think Stephen and Del will remain with me forever.

After having read and enjoyed Caleb Azumah Nelson's first book, Open Water, I was interested to see what else he would write, and Small Worlds did not disappoint! A longer book this time, and I enjoyed that because I got to know the characters more deeply. Will read anything else he writes in the future. And I love that cover!