Reading Queer Stories by Queer Authors Book Club | Small Joys by Elvin James Mensah
Schedule
Sun, 21 Jun, 2026 at 02:00 pm
UTC-05:00Location
1310 1/2 Melrose Avenue, Iowa City, IA, United States, Iowa 52246 | Iowa City, IA
We are so excited to host the new monthly book club Reading Queer Stories by Queer Authors hosted by Patty.Join us on Sunday, June 21st, at 2 pm to chat about Small Joys by Elvin James Mensah.
This is a new reoccuring book club! Stop in and grab your copy!
About the book:
Could I one day inspire happiness in others, the same way he seemed to do in me?
Harley is a young queer black man struggling to find his way in nineties Britain. Returning home, having just dropped out of college, he is racked by feelings of failure and inadequacy. Standing in the woods one day, on the verge of doing something drastic and irreversible, Harley is held back by a stranger: a tall, husky guy who emerges from the bushes holding a pair of binoculars.
Muddy is an ebullient bird-watcher whose lust for his own life makes others feel better by association. A rugby fanatic and Oasis obsessive, he quickly becomes a devoted and loyal friend to Harley, who finds his enthusiasm infectious and his dimples irresistible. In no time, they become inseparable. Harley starts to think that life may be worth living after all, while Muddy discovers things about himself that the lads down at the rugby club would struggle to understand.
But when figures from the past threaten to plunge Harley back into the depths of depression, his only hope of survival is through Muddy and the small joys that they create together. Moving, funny, and tender, Small Joys is an epic novel about ordinary lives that introduces the world to an unforgettable cast of characters and a major new literary talent.
Where is it happening?
1310 1/2 Melrose Avenue, Iowa City, IA, United States, Iowa 52246
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
