A review by serendipitysbooks
Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson

emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

 Small Worlds is another stunner of a novel by Caleb Azumah Nelson. Set in London and Ghana, it follows Stephen for three summers beginning with the break between school and university. It starts off almost in YA territory with a very tentative possible romance with his best friend, dance parties, wondering what his exam marks are going to be and whether he’s going to get the marks and scholarship to enable him to follow his music dreams. The coming-of-age storyline continues as Stephen moves from teenager to new adulthood but, bit by bit the novel adds increasing layers and depth including examinations of the realities of the migration experience, of racism, of police brutality, of lingering trauma, of lost dreams, of generational divides. The power of music and of dance, their importance in Stephen’s life - for freedom, for healing, for cultural identity, for creativity - was a strong feature of this novel and I couldn’t help but notice the parallels with Fire Rush. Music and dance are not my thing but these books really made me feel their importance to others. Food played a similarly important role for Stephen. This story is one of the more powerful and beautiful explorations of a complicated father-son relationship that I’ve read in a long time. Stylistically there’s a lot of repetition as well as a sense of rhythm which give the prose an almost musical quality. The prose itself is gorgeous and lyrical, yet hard-hitting in its truth-telling.

“I tell Mum, as another fire erupts on-screen, we’re watching a group of people who are tired of being erased, tired of being forced into where they do not fit, tired of inhabiting a restless spirit, tired of crying, tired of being murdered in the seclusion of daylight. I tell Mum, we’re watching what happens when a community feel they have nothing to lose: how they turn to protest to make their voices heard. Otherwise, what else is there to do but sit in silence? What else is there to do but wait until next time? What else is there to do but wait until it is your mother, or brother, or you?”
 
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