Staying true to the music-centric themes Caleb Azumah Nelson worked with on hit debut Open Water, followup novel Small Worlds is about 18-year-old Stephen, a second-generation immigrant who dreams of becoming a jazz musician whilst living in London.
It focuses on his rocky relationships with both his father and a childhood friend, and his broader sense of belonging, while paralleling Stephen’s own capital-city upbringing with his parents’ early life in Ghana and London. The lives of Stephen’s friends and family are also intricately detailed in Small Worlds, each contributing their stories to themes of identity, grief, faith and trauma.
Amidst these subjects, music emerges as a healing force. Like Open Water, Small Worlds almost doubles up as a playlist, with classic songs by Black artists from Miles Davis to Jay-Z referenced, but Nelson’s writing is poetic too, and it’s hard not to find a stunning quote on every page. Nelson’s style of writing uses a lot of repeated motifs, which you’ll either love or find irritating (I personally enjoyed it, my favourite being the use of “black crowns”). Even his emotive descriptions of the summertime resonated with me, leaving me craving warm weather in a city again.
Small Worlds, Caleb Azumah Nelson (Viking)
Price: £14.99/£9.99 Ebook. Info: here
words INDIA MUNDAY
Want more books?
The latest reviews, interviews, features and more, from Wales and beyond.