Set in London and Ghana across three summers, Small Worlds is an intimate and powerful exploration of a son-father relationship, music, and searching for meaning from the acclaimed author of Open Water.
Shortlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize 2024
Longlisted for the Jhalak Prize 2024
The one thing that can solve Stephen's problems is dancing. Dancing at Church, with his parents and brother, the shimmer of Black hands raised in praise; he might have lost his faith, but he does believe in rhythm. Dancing with his friends, somewhere in a basement with the drums about to drop, while the DJ spins garage cuts. Dancing with his band, making music which speaks not just to the hardships of their lives, but the joys too. 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.
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
ISBN: 9780241574348
Number of pages: 272
Dimensions: 202 x 138 x 23 mm
Weight: 320 g
Language: English
Nelson writes about closeness, with family, with lovers, with art, as careful, essential labour - Raven Leilani, author of Luster
A mesmerising Peckham love story - i
An affecting meditation on the migrant experience - Guardian
Caleb Azumah Nelson's writing is touching, heartfelt, and musically rich - Diana Evans
Small Worlds is an emotionally astute novel that cements this 29-year-old south London author as one of the UK's best. - New Statesman
SMALL WORLDS is a miracle of observation, of attention and attunement. Caleb Azumah Nelson writes prose that is unmatched in its musicality and sensitivity. A gorgeous, rhapsodic, wise novel - KATIE KITAMURA, author of INTIMACIES
In his beautiful new novel Nelson summons the sounds of Black Youth, love and discovery to the page. A celebration of the heart - Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, author of CHAIN-GANG ALL-STARS and FRIDAY BLACK
Caleb Azumah Nelson's Open Water was a slim masterpiece. His second novel, Small Worlds is a similarly lapidary coming-of-age story set over three years in the life of an extraordinary young man. - Observer
A gentle reflection on self-discovery - Vogue, 2023 Spring Highlights
If you haven't had a chance to read Caleb Azumah Nelson's debut, Open Water, about a gorgeous love affair in modern-day London, then please do; it'll keep you occupied until his new release is out on 11 May, which is about fathers and sons, the power of dance and how one man can create a life he loves - Stylist, Big Fiction for 2023
The Correspondent
The Artist
The Murder at World’s End
The Devils
Yesteryear
The Impossible Fortune
Heart the Lover
Taiwan Travelogue
The Divorce
The Things We Never Say
Villa Coco
The Ballad of Falling Dragons
The End of Everything
Heaven's Graveyard
The Pinnacle
Thank you to the publishers for this early review copy.
Having previously been a massive fan of his first book - Open Water this book latest book was started with the highest of expectations.
So I am pleased to...
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Stephen lives with his mum and dad (who both grew up in Ghana) and brother Ray in South London amidst a close-knit black community. Stephen has inherited his dad's love of music. He plays the trumpet in a jazz... More
With thanks to the publishers and NetGalley for my proof copy.
Another great one from Caleb!
Loved Open Water last year so was an easy choice to dive straight into his second novel.
Absolutely love his style of...
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