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
The one thing that can solve Stephen’s problems is dancing. Dancing with his best friend Adeline, two-stepping around the living room, crooning and grooving, so close their heads might touch. Dancing alone, at home, to his father’s records, uncovering parts of a man he has never truly known.
Stephen has only ever known himself in song. But what becomes of him when the music fades? When his father begins to speak of shame and sacrifice, when his home is no longer his own? How will he find space for himself- a place where he can feel beautiful, a place he might feel free?
Set over the course of three summers in Stephen’s life, from London to Ghana and back again, Small Worlds is an exhilarating and expansive novel about the worlds we build for ourselves, the worlds we live, dance and love within.
Format: Paperback
Pages: 272
Imprint: Penguin Books Ltd
Publication date: 20/08/2024
Small Worlds
by Caleb Azumah Nelson
Review by Ray
If you seek out novels for their deep dives into character and emotion, you’ll find a lot to love about this gorgeous, heavy, rhythmic book. Set across three summers in London, we follow Stephen as he sets out to work out his next steps post-high school. Love, identity, grief, immigration and belonging are explored tenderly. I loved the music that was woven through the writing – the repetition and beat made me want to read it aloud.
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