Small World

Small World follows Joyce and Lydia, sisters who grew up in the shadow of their disabled sister, Eleanor, and a mother, Louise, whose life was devoted to advocacy. Decades later, both divorced, they share an apartment in Cambridge and try to make sense of who they became. Joyce hides in the neighborhood app, turning posts into prose poems; Lydia rearranges furniture and guards against closeness. Then new upstairs neighbors open a secret yoga studio with ropes, pulleys, and constant foot traffic, stirring old anger and fresh longing. As the past reappears—through an old camp director’s son, a box of photos, and a truth about their mother—the sisters face what really shaped them. The final turn reveals Lydia’s diagnosis and a gentler path forward. This is a warm, funny, and deeply human story about grief, loyalty, and choosing one another—now.

• Readers who love character-driven fiction about sisters and complicated families
• Anyone who appreciates quiet humor, grief explored with kindness, and second chances
• Listeners who like contemporary stories set in real neighborhoods with rich, lived-in details

Laura Zigman is the author of Separation Anxiety, Animal Husbandry, Dating Big Bird, Piece of Work, and Her. She has been a contributor to the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Huffington Post. She lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.