Small Worlds: THE TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

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All that being said, I didn’t find this book as compelling as Open Water. As I’ve already said, I found myself being distracted by repeating phrases and the very fact of that distraction indicates that I wasn’t fully engaged in the book: in a different context I would have noticed the repetition but I wouldn’t have felt the desire to count it. And the main story arc is fairly conventional and unsurprising which means the novel really stands or falls on the writing, which I simultaneously managed to admire and be slightly disengaged by. I want him to be more open, to allow me the space to say, I feel broken, and I’m slowly taking myself apart, so I might build myself up once more" As well as these themes, racism and discrimination in the UK was a big factor of the novel. Introducing such imperative discussions and how it paired with Stephen's personal and familial trauma was so important. It's undoubtedly a novel that will spark so much emotion for all readers, and make us reflect about the space we all hold within our own 'Small Worlds' and society.

Now that could make for interesting concept: A young protagonist torn between his own world - a relatable position, as we all try to build a place where we can thrive with the ones we love and feel ourselves - and the world around him. But nothing here is worked through in a stringent manner, it's a text heavily reliant on moody writing and heavy-handed plot points that treat small and big tragedies alike. Let's take Stephen's attempt to go to university: He feels lonely and out of place, and it's depicted like a Shakespearean plight. So the reader wonders: Why doesn't he act and try to make friends? Why the self-pity? And plot holes abound: When Stephen is so passionate about music, why do we hardly hear that he plays the trumpet, that he works towards performing, that he hangs out with bands, etc.? 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.” British-Ghanaian writer Caleb Azumah Nelson’s debut novel Open Water was a slam dunk. The South Londoner’s ode to music, aspiration and love met with instant hyperbolic praise, and his trophy cabinet (every young writer has one of course) heaved under the weight of numerous awards. Not one to hang about, just two years later the 29-year-old is publishing his much anticipated follow-up. The pace of this book is slow (that ain’t no problem) and the impact of the words are undeniable. I have a lot of thoughts I’m still parsing through but basically, I think I just like the way Nelson’s writing makes me feel, even when my heart is breaking. Like….ouch????I didn’t feel like myself there. I didn’t like this me, who was insecure, and rarely at ease; who felt like he was living in a city with no community to lean on, no one to just spend some time with; who not knowing how to dismantle his loneliness, cocooned, retreated.” My first Caleb Azumah Nelson book, and I'm blown away by the prose. Wow. I knew it would be good, but THIS GOOD? And, well, I liked it, I guess, but I wasn’t in love. Nelson did showcase more of his potent nature, but there was also disappointing filler. So, you can say I am in two worlds when it comes to this one.

Be sure to give this one a read, friends. Congrats to Caleb Azumah Nelson on another great release, and thanks to Grove Atlantic for my copy! So, Caleb’s writing is definitely my kind of thing, but his stories a little less. You might feel different and adore this book!An exhilarating and expansive new novel about fathers and sons, faith and friendship from Caleb Azumah Nelson, the no.1 bestselling, award-winning author of Open Water Much like the highly praised Open Water, Caleb Azumah Nelson's second novel is lyrical and poetically ambitious: Rendered in an intense, dramatic voice, we accompany our narrator and protagonist Stephen during three summers after his high school graduation, so in a transitory phase of life. And this motif of transit(ion) is central, as we learn about the migration history of Stephen's parents and his own journey to Ghana, his brother's path to becoming a father, and Stephen's dream of striking a romantic relationship with his friend Del and becoming a musician. All narrative strands of this coming-of-age novel relate to familial trauma and experiences of racism, particularly in Great Britain. 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. Small worlds follows Stephen as he journeys through summers in London and Ghana, relationships blossoming and unravelling, faith, trauma, grief and rhythm. This novel was one that I adored for so many reasons. A love story that expands beyond two people, the familial exploration of trauma and expectation and the art of dance and music as a reflection of the rhythm of life, loss and emotion. Words simply do not suffice for the rawness of Small Worlds and the exploration of how we find pleasure and joy in the simplicity of our own tiny universes and how at times that is, and isn't enough for us.

Thank you to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion. I couldn't be more grateful that I got to be one of the first reviewers. One of the things I highlighted in one of my distracted moments was the times when remembering and forgetting were paired in phrases. Also, I remembered that a key phrase for me in Open Water was about an “honest meeting”, a meeting where words weren’t needed because of the openness between the people involved. Here, there is a big focus on being “open”, on seeking for emotional depth in relationships. Now here’s the thing, this book did not cohesively come together for me. In a nutshell, there are two main plots: 1) Stephen’s romance with Del 2) Stephen’s relationship to his parents and their immigrant story. The sad thing is that one story is more successful (and interesting) than the other. And the writing for these two was like night and day. But this new book isn’t about a photographer. It’s about a musician, Stephen, and we follow him through three summers with perhaps the main focus being Stephen’s developing relationship with Del. To deepen the portrayal of his characters, Nelson relies mostly on reportage. Del has been shaped by being an orphan. “Her life is informed by loss but because she’s lost, she loves freely, openly, with all she can.” We’re told that music is key to understanding Del’s character, but the author offers little to fire our imagination that how she plays the double bass, for example, might be a manifestation of her grief.His purposeful inclusion of the phrase "small worlds" throughout the story perfectly encapsulates that feeling of pure unadulterated joy from that spark of connection you feel with another person or group during a moment of intimacy over a shared experience. It moved me in a way I wasn't expecting and made me appreciate the small worlds I've built and continue to build with the ones I hold close to me. But it's not always sunshine and rainbows, there's also grief. As someone's who's lost a parent young, I could relate all too well.

The novel works best when we’re given hints – to suggest, for instance, that the dark side of an otherwise happy family, the tension between father and son, has arisen from a glimpsed moment of intimacy between Eric and another woman which may have been misinterpreted by Stephen. If I ever become half as good of a writer as Caleb Azumah Nelson is, I'll die happy. Small Worlds is more than the sum of its parts; it's a masterpiece. I teared up multiple times from how palpably lyrical the prose is. Five stars don't do this book justice.

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When I wrote my review of Open Water, I said it was like listening to a song and feeling all kinds of emotions without hearing the words. And precisely the same happened to me while reading Small Worlds. Music is a significant theme in this story, and the words and sentences in Small Worlds dance together in a harmonious rhythm in highs and lows. I love this kind of writing, and I can completely drown in it, but to be honest, I need a little bit more to love a story fully. In this case, I found the pacing too slow, and too little happened on my journey through Stephen’s life while, at the same time, I gobbled up those beautiful sentences. Reading this felt like a gift because I’ve felt so many of Stephen feelings before, and I’ve been where he has been and would never be able to put it into words. Stephen might only know himself in song, but Caleb certainly knows in words. Intergenerational trauma is characterised by the estrangement of fathers and sons, stemming from paternal disappointment and rejection, following the sacrifices that come with migration. Towards the conclusion it becomes a governing theme, and although it works well as a coda it would have been more impactful had it been signposted earlier. What I loved most about Caleb Azumah Nelson’s debut Open Water was the lyrical prose, and that’s exactly what I like about his sophomore book the most too. 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.