Caleb Azumah Nelson Books

THE TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING NOVEL SHORTLISTED FOR THE DYLAN THOMAS PRIZE 2024 Dancing is the one thing that can solve Stephen's problems. At Church with his family, the shimmer of Black hands raised in praise. With his band, making music speaking not just to their hardships, but their joys. Grooving with his best friend, so close their heads might touch. Dancing alone to his father's records, uncovering parts of a man he has never truly known. His youth, shame and sacrifice. Stephen has only ever known himself in song. But what becomes of him when the music fades? Set over the course of three summers, from South London to Ghana and back again, SMALL WORLDS is a novel about the worlds we build for ourselves. The worlds we live, dance and love within. ***** 'Caleb Azumah Nelson's stunning second novel confirms his status as a literary star' Observer 'Beautiful, unforgettable and all-consuming' Candice Carty-Williams, author of Queenie 'SMALL WORLDS is a book for everyone . . . an uplifting symphony of a summer read' Times Top 10 Sunday Times bestseller, May 2023

Two young people meet at a pub in South East London. Both are Black British, both won scholarships to private schools where they struggled to belong, both are now artists - he a photographer, she a dancer - trying to make their mark in a city that by turns celebrates and rejects them. Tentatively, tenderly, they fall in love. But two people who seem destined to be together can still be torn apart by fear and violence.