Small Joys – Elvin James Mensah
Expectation: A dramedy about self-discovery and queer acceptance.
Reality: Terrible dialogue ruined the few bright spots in an otherwise undercooked story.
My Take:
I checked two different platforms to see if “Small Joys” was categorized as young adult to give debut author Elvin James Mensah the benefit of the doubt, but it wasn’t so I’m not going to mince my words.
If Hanya Yanagihara's “A Little Life” and Alice Oseman’s “Heartstopper” series had a baby, it would be something like “Small Joys,” but that’s giving the novel far more praise than it deserves.
While there are relatable and intriguing explorations of depression, social anxiety and coming out, the strongest parts of the novel are overshadowed by absolutely dreadful dialogue and hackneyed characterizations.
Centered around a working class friend group of early-20s Englanders, the reader follows them through a transformative summer of personal and professional growth. Harley, a gay, recent uni dropout estranged from his hyper-religious African father, is our main protagonist, with his found family Chelsea, Noria, Mud and Finley rounding out the cast.
The book starts with a gentle intimacy between Harley and Mud that is never replicated organically. Instead the “plot” is a group of friends confiding secrets to one person, only to have that person tell those secrets to the rest of the group, which naturally causes problems but all is forgiven after a drunken night out or group dinner. Again, how is this not YA?
Big themes — specifically suicide and homophobia — take a backseat to hijinks, and the moments where our characters go below the surface are ruined by horrendously immature conversations and nicknames.
I get why people like this novel. It’s a simple story that leaves the reader with hope of brighter days ahead. But you simply cannot deny the execution, by objective measures, is lacking. Mensah shows promise in a few areas, but this novel was not ready for primetime.
Read this if you are not bothered by:
Terrible dialogue
Manufactured drama
Weird 2005 setting (this isn’t historical fiction)
Only one character with depth
Scattershot and cringey plots
Hard to follow descriptions of events (not sure if it is because of the British slang or inexperience by the writer)
Inconsistent tone
Unresolved ending
While I considered DNFing this regularly, I will give credit to Mensah for keeping me through the end. This is primarily because I developed a literary crush on Mud, who is basically a bird-obsessed Golden Retriever boyfriend (although he may not be gay).
While the will they/won't they romance between Harley and Mud kept me intrigued, I was more impressed with the celebration of straight/gay male friendships, specifically between Harley and Finley, and how Mensah addressed toxic masculinity.
This won’t make it on any of my recommendations lists, but if your heart isn’t as cold as mine, you might find more to like here than I did.
Rating (story): 2/5 stars
Rating (narration): N/A
Format: eBook (library loan)
Dates read: January 13 – January 20, 2024
Multi-tasking: N/A
