First things first: the writing in Small Worlds is totally lush. It is musical in both style and form, and I loved the use of repeated motifs, whether they are short phrases ('Black crowns', 'an easy two-step'), longer ones (most often about cooking), or entire paragraphs repeated with minor variations, like when Stephen's parents separately recount an event that they shared.

Music permeates the whole book, accompanying the characters, shaping their lives - specific songs and artists as well as the musicality of the streets they live on and the community they are a part of.

The themes are coming-of-age, the British-Ghanaian diaspora, family, community, love, grief - and what it means to build a life. Just trivial stuff, you know, nothing big.

Many people are coming to this with expectations from Open Water, which seem to have been more than met. I never quite got round to Open Water, but I definitely will now.

My thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the ARC.

Azumah Nelson’s debut (Open Waters) was one of my favorite books of the year, so I was really looking forward to reading his sophomore novel. Stephen just graduated high school in London and, like so many young adults, is questioning his next steps as influenced by his parents (Ghanaian immigrants), his older brother, and classmates. While the prose continues to be outstanding, the storytelling unnecessarily jumps forward so as to lack the requisite detail for emotional impact. All the plot and character elements have been established only to wither on the vine without being developed.

This book was a great read about friendship, love, grief, growing up, or maybe just life in general. The prose was absolutely beautiful. It is captivating and made me feel like I was witnissing everything that was happening to the main character. It was like you as the reader are part of the story.

The way that music is portrayed in this book in phenomenal. The way this author writes about music and actually makes me feel like I know the music. I can feel the music without having to listen to it. It is like you are actually listening to the sungs.

Most importantly, I think that no matter who you are, you can find a part of this book and relate to it. Everyone had doubts about the way their life is heading, or had to deal with grief, or in general had to grow up. I can guarantee you that I had several moment is this book where I thought something along the line of: "hey, I have felt this as well".

The only thing I just did not enjoy in this book was the way the characters were described and build. It took so long before I felt like I really knew who these characters were and what their personalities were like.

Like Open Water, Small Worlds isn't just a book, just a novel. It's a playlist, a poem, a song. It's a work of art, a place you want to disappear into. For anyone worried that Small Worlds won't be as good as Open Water, let me reassure you. It's just as good. Caleb Azumah Nelson is so incredibly talented that reading his writing feels like looking directly into the sun.

Small Worlds follows Stephen over three consecutive summers, somehow they manage to all feel like formative years of his life, whilst also remaining relatable. He puts language to the feeling that summer will last forever, and the knowledge that it won’t. The desire to go out and see the world, mirrored by the desire to stay home and listen to records on repeat. These nuances of life are what Azumah Nelson tackles so beautifully, so delicately, in a way that makes the reader feel like they are wrapped in their own small world within his writing.
In the first summer, Stephen finally gathers the courage to put action to his feelings for Del, a girl he has been friends with forever, who he knows down to “the way the light holds her neck.” In the second summer, Stephen has dropped out of university after struggling being away from home and studying a subject that holds no interest for him. He is working at a restaurant, learning how to cook and feels better than his time at university, but his father is ashamed and kicks him out of his family home. Stephen moves in with a friend and again battles some of the sadness he felt whilst away at university. Towards the end of part two, he meets Del again and together they play music and Stephen listens to her DJ. The final summer felt the most emotional to me. Stephen visits Ghana and tries to rebuild his relationship with his father, coping with loss and love intertwining over the final few months of the novel.

Music weaves through Small Worlds, and it’s impossible to read without looking up the artists and albums and playing them in the background. Stephen plays the trumpet and loves records and Del is a musician too, DJing on different stages in different places. Music is in everything they do, and dance is the solution to all of their problems. The novel reads like a symphony, each part, each summer, a new track or a new album. Each character adds a new note to the melody, creating a symphony that draws you in.

I adored the exploration of the father and son relationship in the final part. I've never read anything before that so expertly unpacks how it is to be a son, a father, to live up to expectations. The emotional intelligence depicted made me highlight lines, made me want to commit them to memory. Stephen goes through a depressed period whilst at university and struggles to explain this to those around him, yet Azumah Nelson describes the feelings so intimately to the reader, allowing us a glimpse into Stephen’s mind.

An expertly crafted novel about love, family, music and food that doesn't shy away from harder topics like racism, migration and loss.

While Open Water is beautiful, the unnamed protagonist shocked me. It took me a couple of tries before I completely got lost in Azumah Nelson’s writing. Small Worlds on the other hand immediately captivated me from the first page. Stephen felt like a familiar figure in my life. Azumah Nelson captures the second generation Ghanaian experience in the most captivating light. He writes in such an effortless way that even me who normally opts for storytelling over prose, can’t help but love. I’ll never not marvel at the way he shines a soft light on the small world of a man who is trying. In life, in love, in just simply existing. He is trying to be a fully formed human, in touch with his feelings and those around him and I appreciate that more than anything. This is not always an easy thing to articulate but Azumah Nelson does it with ease. It’s a nice reminder that men like Stephen truly do exist.

I'm gonna start out strong and say that reading Open Water convinced me that Caleb Azumah Nelson is one of the greatest writers alive. Small Worlds cemented that.

The book, set across three summers, follows Stephen as he finds himself faced with big life changes. This is a story about growing pains, family, love, friendship, dance and music.

When I say music, I don't mean just the literal playlist (love the Open Water one), or the way Nelson can translate into text the music his characters are listening to or creating, but the actual lyricism of his prose. It's breathtaking and melodic, repeats the theme in just the right places and made me choke up multiple times throughout the book. I've read some prose that thinks itself musical, but nothing like this. If writing is a craft this is a master at work.

Stephen's world was such a joy to be immersed into. The drifting apart and finding the way back, the journey from London to Ghana and back again, the parallels, oh my God, the parallels. I had to put my kindle down multiple times because I was too emotional. I don't remember the last time that happened. The father storyline broke me into a million pieces and built me back up. This was, hands down, my favorite read of the year. It had me making a pinterest board for the first time in my life.

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.