Small Worlds

disappointments build character. i adored open water, but this one fell a little flat for me — on paper (buh dum ch), it felt like it should be just as good: poetic writing, significant themes, characters coming of age. but all of it felt stilted and effortful. open water unfolded naturally and gorge......more

I would read this man's grocery receipts. Exquisite.......more

I went into Small Worlds with some trepidation. Nelson's debut, Open Water, came out in 2021 and was a perfect match for that particular moment: a politically astute novella about a young Black man living in a world where police violence can upend life in an instant. I wasn't a fan of the prose in O......more

Much like the highly praised Open Water, Caleb Azumah Nelson's second novel is lyrical and poetically ambitious: Rendered in an intense, dramatic voice, we accompany our narrator and protagonist Stephen during three summers after his high school graduation, so in a transitory phase of life. And this......more

Je suis une fois de plus sous le charme de l’incroyable écriture de Caleb Azumah Nelson. Les mots sont d’une justesse, ça résonne énormément en moi. Sa façon de parler de la famille, d’amour, de trouver sa place, de faire partie d’une communauté etc. Il m’inspire énormément, c’est l’un de mes plus g......more