A review by afi_whatafireads
Small Worlds by Caleb Azumah Nelson

emotional reflective fast-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

5.0

i just feel so much. so so much. its just amazing.
infinite feeling.


"You'll remember me right?"

"How could I forget."


A story of a community, of finding yourself in a song, through a medium that can only be understood and recognized by your own soul, a story of family relationships and male vulnerability and a story of love in different forms.


"- we build each other our small world, our solos swelling, rising like a chorus, forward as he goes back, back as he goes forward, our hands to our chest in reverence, building a church with our rhythm, a place we don't have to explain, a place where we can be honest and true; Godlike, even. A place we can both surrender."


I love how stories can transcend and transport you to a place that can seem far and unknown. Told in short and concise chapters, we follow Stephen, his aspirations and how he navigates through his community. Born as a black man to immigrant parents, is the story of his youth, his self-searching through a series of trials, the support of a community and mostly of how dancing and music plays a big role in his playing part in the adult world. The exploration of complex relationship between immigrant parents and children, following through a world of different culture and a story of youth that was taken and built again through love and hope.

Honestly, I don't know if my words are enough to describe how I feel about the book. There's so much feeling that I don't know how to translate it into words.

One of the things that I loved about this book was how it was written in an almost song-like form. I loved that everything is revolved with music. How each of our characters in here communicates through the same medium that they love; a universal language that can be understood by all - music. It felt almost like going through a piano recital - from the chapters divided into three different parts, where the opening recital started with a steady crescendo - in the height of Stephen's youth - to a slow descend of diminuendo as the music slowly notes down to a soft steady note - during Stephen's low period - to be increased again in staccato, as Stephen goes through his life bit by bit, and slowly ending the recital with a piannisimo as the show ends through the ending of the story.

Nelson is definitely in a league of his own. There's a nuance to his writing and stories that make us fully absorbed into it. Small worlds is a form of art on its own, a piece that was written for the youths who are searching for what they want in life, for the males to explore vulnerability without seeing as someone weak, for the generations of immigrant parents who had worked hard to provide a better life for their family and mostly, for the small community which had been built by the love and trust that they had for one another, bonded as one. Its a celebration of life in its hard and mundane ways and definitely one that leads us to believe, that we too deserve our own small world, filled with the people that we love and cherish. I strive to believe in that.

Infinite feelings for this book. Much much love.

Thank you so much to Times Reads for this copy! I'm forever thankful.