Harare Review of Books

272 pages.

First published on May 11, 2023 (Viking); expected US publication date July 18, 2023 (Grove Atlantic)

Fiction.

If you’ve read Open Water, you won’t be surprised by the easy lyricism of Caleb Azumah Nelson’s second novel, Small Worlds. In some ways, it’s the same story—also about love, between a man and a woman, the love of a son for his father, Black love, community, and the love of migrants for their homeland.

Nelson’s style is much more refined and triumphant in this second book. Using music as a vehicle, he explores resonances and echoes through repeated phrases and ideas—”small worlds … rhythm … dust … summer … black crowns.” It works; it never really feels repetitive—and, happily, there’s no repeat of that lyricism fatigue I experienced when I read Nelson’s first book.

I appreciate, too, that this time there’s a plot for one to follow—an arc for the characters, grounded in callbacks to the past in Ghana and 1980s London. All of the flashbacks are beautifully and tenderly done, and Nelson is a master of atmosphere.

While I think this novel will mean the most for those who are familiar with its settings, I am once again impressed by Nelson’s singular talent and his authorial voice. Again, as with Open Water: read for the love letter to Blackness, for beautiful portrayals of Black life, and for the stories of Black pain; in addition, for the stories of African migrants, and the generations that proceed from them. After Open Water and Small Worlds, I feel I know what to expect from Nelson: beautiful and atmospheric writing.

Thank you very much to Grove Atlantic and to NetGalley for the review copy.

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