Small Joys

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CWs: homophobia, suicidal ideation, self harm, racism, homophobic & racist violence, past sexual assault, attempted suicide EJM: When I was 20/21 I knew that this was exactly what I want to do. Writing was the only thing I was good at, and the only thing I saw myself excelling in, so I had no doubt in my mind that I was going to do everything I possibly could to try and make this work. I was ignoring friends for weeks at a time, and even as I was going to my cinema job, the only thing that kept me going was the thought that I’d be able to go home and write another 5000 words. I’d come home, write, eat, sleep and then start the day again. I knew exactly where I wanted to be and I was just determined to get there.

We find Harley at a particularly low point, out in the woods, alone and about to do something drastic. This is when Muddy enters his life, introduces himself as Harley’s new flat mate and begins to change his life and outlook. Elvin James Mensah's Small Joys is breathtaking and heartrending, by turns hilarious and devastating and surprising and wild. Mensah's prose makes the intangible deft and tremendous — from the balm of friendship, to the beauty of queerness, and the all-encompassing elixir of community. Tender, thrilling, and honest; Small Joys is a beam of light.' Bryan Washington, author of Memorial Small Joys isa wonderful bookfullof music, life, and a great deal of heart. . . . Anextremely BIG joy!” —Matson Taylor,author of The Miseducation of Evie Epworth One of the story’s strongest points is Mensah’s exploration of mental health and its impact on our relationships. Through Harley’s journey, Mensah deftly portrays the struggles that individuals with anxiety and depression often face. Harley’s attempt on his own life is a stark reminder of the devastating impact of these conditions, and Mensah handles the subject matter with sensitivity and care. He explores the nuances of mental illness and the difficulties that can arise when those around us don’t understand what we’re going through. This is an incredible story about caring for others and finding a place where you are wholly accepted. Harley's internal dialogue was familiar to me, and that definitely helped my enjoyment.

Small Joys

I asked her where they were going and she said ATIK, a nightclub in town near Dartford station. Just then, the guy in the cap shouted: “Chels, be a babe and get us a couple more beers, would you?” Small Joys explores the complexities of human relationships, portraying them with depth and nuance. The novel centers around the friendship between Harley and Muddy, two individuals who couldn’t be more different on the surface but develop a deep bond over time. Their relationship is a powerful reminder of the importance of chosen family, the people we surround ourselves with who offer us support, love, and acceptance when we need it most.

So Small Joys is about finding happiness - it’s about finding that thing in life that just keeps you going. And it's also about prioritising kindness and compassion above everything else. Because, again, that's what I needed at the time, so that's what I wanted this character to have. NA: A warm hug – that’s beautiful. Thank you so much for that. You mentioned being drawn to writing about a depressed Ghanaian man and I'm really interested to know if and how your Ghanaian identity impacted your writing. What was the response to your decision to pursue writing? She drummed her nails gently on my forehead. “They’re cute,” I said. “What made you finally change things up?” In my teenage years, I’d thought self-assurance would come with age. I’d staked so many of my future glories on my twenties signaling something, as if the ground beneath my feet would feel different somehow or that life would take on this beautiful, previously undiscovered shape, into which I’d slot with a sigh of relief; I’d made it, I’d say. Of course, it didn’t signal a thing and all the anxieties simply evolved into new and fun shapes, and came at me from all these imaginative angles. At twenty-one, self-assurance hadn’t come at all. Elvin James Mensah, Small Joys There was something really charming and uplifting about this gentle novel, despite the (at times) very heavy subject matter.

BOOKS READ, LOVED, AND WOULD NOW RECOMMEND

Breathtaking and heartrending, by turns hilarious and devastating and surprising and wild. . . Elvin James Mensah’s prosemakes the intangible deft and tremendous—from the balm of friendship to the beauty of queerness to the all-encompassing elixir of community. Tender, thrilling, and honest, Small Joys is a beam of light.” —Bryan Washington,author of Memorial Muddy is my favorite of all the characters. Because this individual is both kind and charming, I believe that a lot of readers will find themselves falling in love with him. He injects an incredible amount of vibrancy and coziness into the narrative. In addition to this, he ends up becoming the main character's pillar of support for all the right reasons. If you take pleasure in reading books that center on relationships and friendships that are characterized by positivity and support for one another, then you are going to take a lot of pleasure out of this one, just like I did.

Corina Diez from Random House Publishing Group offered me an eARC of this book, and I’m so happy that she did because I’m not sure if I would have requested this book on NetGalley. I loved Elvin James Mensah’s descriptive and lyrical writing, and the story felt really personal to me. I am eagerly looking out for Elvin’s next novel! It’s difficult to express just how much I loved this book but the one thing that I constantly tell people is that reading it felt like being enveloped in a hug. A largehearted look at the importance of found family, Mensah’s first novel focuses on the lifesaving friendship between a cast-off son . . . and the easygoing new roommate whose affection becomes a balm. Small Joys dwells in the sometimes-fleeting moments of pleasure and happiness that stave off the iniquities of the world.” — Electric Literature Muddy was another character I loved, the way he spoke about birds and his granddad (especially his dementia) really tugged at my heartstrings as my eighty-year-old mother loves watching the birds at her feeders in her yard. This is the type of book you think about long after you finish reading it. What a beautiful debut. Small Joys was a big joy to read.Be aware that this is not a romance. Small Joys is a story of anxiety and depression, followed by healing and growth, and above all it’s a story about a beautiful friendship. The characters in this story are fully fleshed out, and I loved the interactions between the friend group, especially those between Harley and Muddy. Muddy was such a great guy and so sweet and kindhearted with his own stuff to deal with. My heart ached and was full of love simultaneously, and sometimes tears sprang into my eyes. I guess I was willing to go along with this just being unlabeled except there is a very strange scene toward the end of the book with a totally out of character proposition to which we never got a response. That annoyed me.

For a book that started out so heavy and dark it was quite beautiful in its own way. This is a book about friendship, family and not fitting into your parent's expectations. I loved Harley's friends, he is one very fortunate young man to have them. I especially liked his new friendship with Muddy, everyone should have a friend like that in their corner. The book was uplifting in the way that I was cheering Harley on throughout. There are many serious topics covered like suicide, homophobia, racism and mental health issues but the author did it in an informative and sensitive manner and did not use them in a gratuitous way. I was thrilled to have a story focused on a queer character but not on romance. Even without romance, this story was overflowing with love, tenderness, and affection. Muddy and Harley's friendship was moving in every way. Muddy was an incredible character who flipped the heteronormative male friendship trope into something incredible. Many issues are covered in this book, including race, sexuality, mental health and suicidal thoughts but all are dealt with delicately and with a tenderness that really sets it apart from other books. Elvin James Mensah is a name that we will be hearing a lot of in the future and I can't wait to hear him discuss his work and writing process at this year's festival. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed Small Joys. It is Elvin James Mensah's debut novel. This is a story about the loving friendship between Harley and Muddy. The story is raw, touching, and heartfelt. Despite each character's unique traits, they come together in meaningful scenes. This beautiful story of imperfect friendship left a lasting impression on me as a reader. It is a wonderful debut and I look forward to reading more. There’s really nothing about this book I didn’t love. The characters felt like multidimensional beings, with their own individual flaws and issues at stake, and all of them had such natural chemistry that nothing felt too forced for the sake of the plot. The friendship between Muddy and Harley felt real, despite the idea of a straight man being so unabashedly comfortable with masculinity and homosexuality could’ve came across as pure wish fulfillment.Impressive and perfect, Mensah’s debut is a novel that builds empathy for fellow humans. It reminds us that even though we may not see it, people are struggling, and one moment of kindness may be just what they need. I feel like Small Joys will stay with me a long time, and I hope this is a book that gets the attention it deserves.