Caleb Azumah Nelson is such a talented writer. I'm not sure I liked this one as much as Open Water, but there's no denying that he has a very special gift.

I listened to the audiobook of Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson and while I enjoyed the reading (read by the author), I felt that the story was a little forced. Another gorgeous and tense coming of age novel but the main character was... tortured in a way that maybe felt stilted? The prose is poetic and carries you off into another person's head and world(s). I would've liked a little more flow, a little more ease of reflection, rather than the frustrated tug of war we got, but all the same the writing is an achievement - beautiful words most of us could never pull together into a character.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Publisher and the author for the ALC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Beautiful, lyrical and heart touching story of generations, of being immigrant, of belonging and of culture. As people of global majority, people of colour gets such little space to put out stories like these that I absolutely loved its existence. It pricks your heart in a way, you don't know why and you don't know how, which is the very beauty of it, because you know and feel everything that is being said but is it your story? not really!

Lyrical prose that takes you through the deepest vulnerabilities of a young black man in the UK, through his insecurities, fears and dreams, while showing you his world and the world of his people, the very people that moulded him. Bits of his childhood, his teenage and his current youth, along with the same bits of the stories from his parents all set through 3 summers. There is a palpable sense of loss, sadness and also belonging in the way this story is narrated. The narrator was absolutely brilliant.

There is heavy themes about racism and how black people are treated in the UK. This is my first book by the author and I think I will go back and read his first book now.

This is a beautifully crafted novel. Much like Caleb Azumah Nelson’s first book, the prose is lyrical. The recurring themes and phrases even make it poetic. The main character shares his deepest vulnerabilities with the reader and fills his story with an abundance of culture, food and music. The violence and injustice that Black immigrants face in the UK are a prevalent topic, the fear and sadness really comes through the pages.

In theory, this is a wonderful novel but this is one of the instances where I need to pull the „It’s me, not you“ card!
The constant angst and coming of age conflict really didn’t resonate with me, I couldn’t connect with this book. In many ways, this felt too similar to the first novel. Sometimes it’s fantastic to find an author who keeps the same prose and storytelling, this time around I couldn’t get into the story.

This is still a fantastic pick for readers who love lyrical, identity seeking stories!

This is beautiful, moving, and lyrical. The way that Caleb writes transforms me. It felt like reading a 270 page long poem rather than a novel. This was my first book written by Caleb Azumah Nelson, and sure won't be my last! I'll read anything this author writes and immediately bought a hard copy.

The narrator was a fantastic fit.

Thank you NetGalley for the audio ARC. All opinions are my own.

Unfortunately this audio title disappeared from my library when I had to do an update on my NetGalley app, or it has been archived and I no longer have access to it.

I have a physical copy of the book and look forward to reading it some time in the future.

One of the best reads of 2023!

Caleb Azumah Nelson's way with words brought the music of the story to life. A difficult emotional read given the subject matter, as it tackles mental illness, the loss of loved ones, grief, and the challenges of immigration to a country where you are the minority, Small Worlds manages to glide across the tightrope that is non-chronological storytelling.

This book is beautiful poetry. For that a bit long and I'm glad I listened to the audiobook. Otherwise I'm not sure I would have finished it. The audio version is read by the author - his performance adds a lot to the experience. I loved his voice, the story is full of emotions, yet it took me a while to read it. This isn't a binge reading material.

I thank NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for an Advance Review Copy.

A book by our very own ❤️🇬🇭
This is a Deeply moving story that Sets over the course of three summers in London, England & Accra, Ghana.
It follows 18year old Stephen, a first-generation Londoner born to Ghanaian parents navigating the expectations of her family against what he truly wants.
... the journey and transformation in early adulthood.

A story about family, Love, devotion, friendship, hardship, loss, grief,music etc
Other topics like oppression, injustice, racism etc

Small Words has a distinctive writing style with Characters developed so strong with so much depth.
I commend the author on the accuracy of certain accounts relating to a typical Ghanaian family.

This book brought about so many memories of my childhood, a jog of my memory on some songs my aunties and grandmother used to sing when I was a kid. I couldn't help but sing along. The food mentioned are those I love, with jollof rice being a favorite 😍.
The heartbreak of my country during the world cup, Labadi beach which I still go to and other places im very familiar with.
The challenges we face here in pursuing our own dreams against what our family wants for us was so relatable.

The end of story was very satisfying.
Though the pacing was quite slow at times, the story was exceptionally good that you might not even pay attention to the pacing.

Favorite Quote:
“As we were playing, my fingers slipped, an odd note coming from my horn. The mistake didn’t go unnoticed, but we continued on. It made me grateful for the freedom to be in that space, to make a mistake; and how that mistake might be beautiful to the right ear; how Del heard that odd note and followed with her own, adjusting her thrum; how the rest of us followed that twist and shift, surrendering to whatever unknown we were going towards. It was there that I noticed I only really knew myself in song. In the quiet, in the freedom, in the surrender.”

Thank you NetGalley, the author and Dreamscape Media for this Audiobook.

The narration is on point! I love every second of it. Complements the story plot. Feels like I was there to witness everything.

There is something that blocks me from being able to sink into the words and characters that Nelson writes. I can't quite put my finger on why I do not like the way his prose forms and flows. It could be that I am not quite ready to tackle this particular book at this time. I will try to get to this story at another time.

I loved this second novel from Nelson. I appreciated the exploration of romantic as well as familial relationships. Beautiful writing.

Quite possibly the best audiobook narration I have ever heard. It's so much more than words. It's pure, raw emotions. I highly recommend listening to the audiobook while reading along. The author, Caleb Azumah Nelson, narrates it himself and he absolutely nailed it. I cried at the end. It was absolutely stunning.

Wow, wow, wow. For such a small book, this sure does pack a huge punch. This honestly blew me away and I wish I could experience it for the first time over and over again. Caleb writes in such a beautifully poetic way, the words just fall off the page and slam straight into your heart.

The way the theme of music is interwoven into this book is just stunning and the depth and honesty behind the prose is truly haunting. The use of repetition and symbolic motifs added to this incredibly immersive experience and I can’t wait to annotate this the next time I pick it up.

What to expect:
❤️ Exploration of identity and loss
💛 Lyrical language
💚 Themes of belonging, grief and love
🧡 History of black community and culture
💜 Coming-of-age story

I love this book so much and can definitely see myself re-reading it countless times in the future. I will 100% be grabbing a physical copy of Small Worlds for my little library 🥰

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ All. The. Stars.

Thank you so much to @netgalley @dreamscape_media and @caleb_anelson for sending me an audio copy of Small Worlds to review 🙏🏻

Another amazing book by Caleb!!
I was a bit apprehensive about whether I would like this one as much as Open Water but to be honest, I liked it even more.
The themes of the book centred around connections, relationships, family, and community,
Caleb's writing feels like a dream and the narration was also sufficiently dreamy,
Absolutely loved the book, eager to read more of the author's work!!

Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson was a lyrical, poetic, romantic delight, and the experience was intensified by the audiobook edition. I read Open Water in January of 2022 and enjoyed it immensely, so I had high hopes - and they were met. I usually listen to audiobooks on 1.25x speed, but I kept it at 1x for this book. I loved the repetition of key themes, phrases and moments, and the characters were deeply flawed yet likeable.

This is an intimate study of self and relationships. A coming of age story with a lot of exploration of mental health and being a black man in the UK; it is poetic and powerful. The idea of small worlds and the space that we share with the people in our lives will be something I take with me out of this story.

This did feel a little disjointed in its storyline but overall it was very beautiful.

I really enjoyed the audio narration done by the author but there were some volume inconsistencies between chapters that was kind of annoying.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ALC of this work. All opinions in this review are my own.

not going to be giving this a rating for the time being (i’ll be giving it a 4 on netgalley since it’s required and that’s what i’m predicting it’ll be). i feel like i didn’t really properly appreciate this when i read it, either because i got distracted and missed parts of the audiobook or because i was just in the mood for another genre, and i feel like it wouldn’t be fair to judge a book that i didn’t give my full attention to. i can say the writing style was absolutely beautiful though! i’ll be reading it physically when it comes out, so that i can truly appreciate the book for what it is.

I love books that reflect on family, culture, and people feeling torn about the direction of their life, so I figured I would enjoy Small Worlds This book follows Stephen, who initially has a great love for music and dance and struggles with his relationship with his father as he bounces between London and Ghana.

I really appreciated the way that this book looked at Stephen's life and the things that were going on for him mentally. I really resonated with his struggles to fit in at Uni. I think lots of people will also relate to his relationship with his father and how he feels so judged by him.

I will say that this book moves at sort of a slow pace. It is very character focused, so if you aren't into that, this won't be the right read for you.

It is also very heavy on prose and poetic phrasing. For the most part, it worked, but there were instances where.I found it just a bit heavy handed.

I did also listen to an Audio ARC of this book and I enjoyed the narration of it. The narrator had a very relaxing and pleasant voice which really suited the story.

All in all, if you liked Open Water, I think you will probably enjoy this book as well.

I fell in love with this book from the very first page. The writing was truly incredible; I finally understand what people mean when they describe prose as lyrical. I found the repetition in this book, of both key phrases and overarching themes, to be extremely successful - especially the end where you see how Stephen’s life mirrored his father’s in several key ways.

Caleb’s depictions of the small worlds the characters occupied was so beautiful I felt an urge to find an appreciation for my own small worlds. To say I connected with Stephen is an understatement. I was moved to tears several times throughout the novel hearing the main character navigate isolation and his strained relationship with his father. Despite the real portrayal of grief, loss, and hardship, there is so much joy interwoven in the pages. This book felt like a love letter to music, brotherhood, and Ghana & its people.

Finally, I highly recommend listening to this on audio as it’s narrated by the author. There’s nothing like hearing someone’s story in their own words. Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the advanced listening copy in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.