Caleb Azumah Nelson is an incredible writer. His stories are always so beautifully executed. That said, I did prefer his first novel more than this. Would still recommend giving this a read but it didn't grip me as well as the other.

I read Caleb Azumah Nelson first book and it was written like poetry, music lyrics and a novel rolled into one. His voice is like no other. It’s raw a story wrapped in pain growth sadness and joy. All the things that make up a
Life and peoples stories

Small Wonders is a slow paced, lyrical book that quietly examines first world immigration, family expectations, love and racism through music and self expression. The book is a coming of age story about a boy whose is a first generation Londoner. His parents are original from Ghana and have sacrificed for their two sons to enjoy life in their adopted country. The book focuses on the youngest son who plans for his future do not pan through and how he goes about trying to find his place in the larger world and his family. I enjoyed this book but at times, despite being a short book, it felt like it was dragging. The slow pacing of the book worked at times because you felt the anguish of the characters, but at other points seemed to hold the story back. I would recommend this book to readers who don't mind a book with poetic flair that slowly unfolds.

Thanks to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for giving me an ARC, in return for an honest and unbiased review.

~ARC provided through NetGalley~

Caleb Azumah Nelson never misses. "Small Worlds" follows a young Ghanaian man living in London and trying to figure out what direction to take in life. Like his other novel, "Open Water," this one spotlights some very tender romances and captures what it's like to date in your early twenties. However, "Small Worlds" has an equal focus on families, particularly the intergenerational tensions of the central family. The writing is gorgeous, and if you're also a lover of Azumah Nelson's use of the second person--you won't be disappointed.

One of my favorite new releases from this year.

I loved his earlier book, and this one builds on his success. A captivating read from front to back. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

This book was spectacular. I loved Open Water and was so excited to see that Small Worlds was coming out this year. Azumah Nelson did not disappoint.

Small Worlds focuses on Stephen, a Ghanaian Londoner who spends the novel exploring the complexities of his relationship (romantic and otherwise) with longtime friend Adeline; his connections with his father and Ghanaian culture; and his feelings on religion, music, and belonging. Azumah Nelson's prose is achingly poetic and his characterization and structure are just pristine. I cannot recommend this enough!!

great book wow. recommend having nothing else to do but read for a day or 2. the character development was great as as well as the plot.

Thank you to NetGalley and Grove Press for the e-arc!

This is my first Caleb Azumah Nelson book and I have heard great things about this author's writing style. This book did not disappoint in that regard. The writing is lyrical and evokes the emotions of the characters very well. This book did not necessarily have a plot, which can deter some people. However, I think Nelson captivates audiences with his characters and their choices. The book is already out at the time of this review, and I recommend checking it out!

A coming-of-age story and heartfelt musings will have you gasping for air for this book. This book was top-tier in harnessing one's emotions and propelling it for the readers to be swayed by it.

Although there is no plot and feels like a diary of a person braving the mysteries of life, it will give you a glimpse of what it would be like immersing yourself in another person's world, however big or small, vibrant or dull.

It was written to accommodate realizations in life and navigating it feels like walking in a mud. Caleb never fails to capture the emotions of his characters, making them rawer and more honest. The way he executed this with his beautiful and enigmatic prose brought the most perfect illusory of a flawed reality.

Thank you thank you to Grove Press and Netgally for approving my request of this eARC!!

I love this book, the writing is so captivating and I did notice the repeating lines throughout the book. However, in terms of characters' development, is a bit meh and feel flat to me.

Open Water, Azumah Nelson’s debut, was my favorite book I read last year, so I was incredibly excited to read another novel from him. Small Worlds contains many similar themes and also revolves around a couple navigating the twists and turns of young love. Here, I especially loved the exploration of the often-fraught and always-fragile relationship between Stephen and his father, Eric. I would have liked to see a deeper dive into their relationship, or more chapters written from Eric’s POV. My biggest issue with Small Worlds was, surprisingly, the prose. What was a lovely and glowing high point in Open Water felt unfocused and, at times, overwrought in this book. I look forward to reading more from Azumah Nelson and seeing how he grows as a writer.

This is a lyrical coming-of-age story steeped in familial and intergenerational trauma, brotherhood, music, racism, migration, marginalization, community, and intimacy.

Caleb is particularly adept at illuminating the flow of intimacy, vulnerability, grief, and pain. However, I found myself sometimes distracted by the repetitive phrase, this has more to do with the fact that I thought there
was going to be a lot of depth to the plot as compared to open water', but I think the author has sought to define himself with this writing style and I appreciate the lyricality of the prose.

Small Worlds has a more vibrant storyline. I loved how Caleb examines what it means to feel comfortable and secure in who we are, where we came from, and eventually where we're going, and ideally how we carve out and create our own spaces for ourselves.

Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson is a romance/cultural tale about Stephen, an - at the start of the novel - 18 year old Ghanaian-British boy trying to find his place in the world. We follow his journey in life over three summers in the early 2010's, dealing with love, family and culture.

Although I've seen some negative reviews, I really enjoyed this novel myself. The writing style is beautiful but still very comprehensible. The story itself is joyful at some moments and honest and heartbreaking at others. I really like how completely human the characters are. They make mistakes and hurt each other, but you understand why they do it and you can't really blame them when you know what they've gone through. I haven't read Nelson's debut novel "Open Water" yet, but I'm definitely running to my local library to pick it up as soon as I've finished writing this review.

I was very excited to read this book after how much i loved the the authors debut reading it twice within a year. The book didn’t disappoint although i didn’t love it as much open water. Small worlds reads like music and feels like a summers so hot you will need shower multiple times a day, young love/infatuation, and big family gatherings.

This is a story about embracing your roots, family history, the past and the present. It is not only about a young man struggling as a child of immigrants from Ghana in the UK today, it is about him connecting his life through stories of his parents' lives, through visiting Ghana and learning where they came from, connecting his life here today with his family and friends. It is important to learn about the past because it keeps repeating: on a political, social level (the riots, inequality) and on an individual, personal level (the absence of closeness between fathers and sons).
Life seen through music, through dance. I specially liked the importance of (every) summer in the novel. Summer is not only a time of the year, but also a place. Summer is a place of freedom, childhood, comfort, music.
A quiet, slow, delicate, melancholic novel, beautifully written, filled with true, subtle emotion. A story about growing up, coming of age, becoming mature, finding and getting to know yourself.

This book is more than a novel, more than prose. It is rhythm and vibe and heart and raw emotion, packaged and bundled in ink and paper.

It is a character study of a young British man of Ghanaian heritage, Stephen, coming of age, full of angst and trepidation and love, moved and inspired by music, dancing, and cooking. He takes note, commits to memory moments with those he cherishes, their intimacies that hold them together in their own small worlds where they feel belonging and connection.

He paints a portrait of Britain in the 90s and early 2000s, the violence that police perpetrated against people of color, and how this impacts him, his family, and his friends. They all long for a place where they can feel connected together while also truly free to be. Stephen works toward building that place, both tangibly and spiritually, for himself and his loved ones.

The fraught relationship with his father is a focal point of the novel. Its moving culmination is underscored with a change of perspective that drew me in, answered questions, and broke and mended my heart with its bittersweetness.

There is also romance and true love, complex and messy but beautiful.

The author reiterates certain phrases throughout, like verses of a song or poem. This stylistic choice lent the book a song-like quality and reflected some of the book's themes.

I received a DRC from Grove Atlantic, Grove Press, and Netgalley. I also listened to the audiobook and wow, hearing the author read the poetic passages himself was a fantastic way to take it in. His voice actually breaks with emotion in two spots at the very end and hearing that felt like the author was sharing a moment with the reader, bringing us into this small world he created with text and voice.

I loved Open Water (see my prior post), but I think I felt even more with this book. Highly recommend for folks who are interested in experimental prose, character studies, coming of age stories, immigrant perspectives, and stories focused on the experiences of Black and Brown people in White-majority societies.

Thanks to NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for this read. This good was good right from the start and it kept getting better as I read on. The writing was very. poetic and easy to like.

This has been on my TBR for ages - thanks to Net Galley for the ARC!

We follow Stephen, a Ghanian Londoner, as he transitions to adult life, navigating intergenerational trauma, mental health issues and the daunting question of ‘what next?’ Music is an escape and a solace amidst everything.

I liked how it switched to the father’s perspective towards the end of the book, but otherwise, this didn’t really grab me. I don’t know why, maybe this just wasn’t a book for me.

POETIC!

I'm convinced that Caleb Azumah Nelson has a penchant for the poetic. For the brilliant. For creating words that come together masterfully and sing like poetry as you absorb them. I was floored and blown away by his debut novel and Small Worlds hit just has deep, in its on space and time. In it, we follow Londoner Stephen who has come to a very critical point in his life. Born to Ghanaian parents, Stephen feels pressured to follow the path that his parents have helped create for him. What they don't understand, however is just how much music is his first love and his reason. When he decides he will follow his passion, it creates a rift that changes him forever. In this way, Small Worlds is a coming of age story complete with highs and lows, love and loss, identity searching, community building and finding a safe place in which to have peace, freedom and love flowing.

I loved the infusion of music all throughout from different genres and time periods. It's truly a beautiful rendering and one I recommend that you read. Thanks to NetGalley for a e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5/5

3 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an opportunity to read this masterpiece earlier than expected. Before, I actually wished for July to come fast so I can read Small Worlds immediately and have my thoughts all over Goodreads.

There is just something about Nelson’s writing that makes you feel free, hopeful, and joyous. The way he writes about intimacy, rhythm, music, and grief makes his books so well-written. His lines about grief and, of course, music has me in awe because NO ONE, no one writes like that. I think the only part in this book that didn’t persuade me to give this a 4 is because it was anticlimactic and I wanted more.

In comparison to Open Water, which I thoroughly loved, Nelson’s writing here has improved and outgrown Open Water’s. But Small Worlds cannot come close to the feeling and intimacy Open Water gave me.

I love how this book encourages us to be better by being more open—open to the people we love, trust, and honor. Reading about the main character find his space was amazing. This was truly iconic and I loved it.