Status
Available
Call number
Series
Collection
Publication
Picador (2017), Edition: Media tie-in, 256 pages
Description
Fiction. Literature. Romance. LGBTQIA+ (Fiction.) HTML: "...Hammer's voice is brimming with such melody that, if you listen to it long enough, you can probably get drunk off it." � Vulture.com *Now a major motion picture from director Luca Guadagnino, starring Armie Hammer and Timoth�e Chalamet. Winner of the 2018 Academy Award for Adapted Screenplay* Celebrate Andr� Aciman's sensational novel with a dynamic audiobook, read by Armie Hammer A New York Times Notable Book of the Year A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year A Washington Post Best Fiction Book of the Year A New York Magazine "Future Canon" Selection A Chicago Tribune Favorite Book of the Year One of The Seattle Times' Michael Upchurch's Favorite Books of the Year Call Me by Your Name first swept across the world in 2007. It is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents' cliffside mansion on the Italian Riviera. During the restless summer weeks, unrelenting but buried currents of obsession, fascination, and desire intensify their passion as they test the charged ground between them and verge toward the one thing both already fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy. Andr� Aciman's critically acclaimed debut novel is a frank, unsentimental, heartrending elegy to human passion. More praise for Call Me By Your Name: "...Armie Hammer (who plays Oliver in the movie) steps effortlessly into Elio's interior world. The result is staggering." � BookRiot.… (more)
Media reviews
In poetic, elevated prose, André Aciman has written a powerful psychological drama of two bisexual men who share their most intimate selves, intellectually, spiritually, and physically. Elio’s thoughts and emotions are depicted in vivid detail that unashamedly highlight the infatuation, lust,
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love, and obsession that sometimes result from a first love. Show Less
User reviews
LibraryThing member lydia1879
I enjoyed the book more for the feelings that it gave me rather than the writing itself. It made me feel closeted, which is hard to do considering I’ve been out of the closet for at least 10 years and all my family knows and loves me and my spouse. But I felt Elio. Oh my god. I knew exactly what
And then, like magic, that passage turned up in the book and validated me. “Did I want to be like him? Did I want to be him? Or did I just want to have him?”
There it is. A little slice of my queer experience on the page in front of me.
What I appreciated about this book was its ability to talk about and elaborate on something which is difficult to discuss, and that is disgust. Elio is really disgusted with himself for falling in love with Oliver. He doesn’t want to be in love with him. In earlier queer relationships, there’s such a deep and vast element of shame. It is thick and undulating and unrelenting like the Italian summer, appalling in its heat.
We see Elio really struggle with this disgust for himself and for Oliver throughout half the book. He constantly tries to reinforce the fact that he doesn’t need Oliver by sleeping with women. Then, he proceeds to tell Oliver so that Oliver will picture him having sex with someone. And Oliver picturing him having sex with someone is as good as having sex with Oliver.
Elio is … afraid, he’s turbulant and in turmoil. Falling in love for him, I think, really is an active process that Aciman displays very well.
A lot of people refuse to read this book for the age gap. Elio is 17. Oliver is 24. I totally understand and accept that. That’s fine.
But I think people are missing out on a more nuanced relationship than they think. When I was 14 and 15 my family and I lived with a queer woman by the name of Valerie, whose very presence strengthened my resolve tenfold. She was in a relationship with a man, and I was never ever ever romantically interested in her (she’s like an auntie to me) but from her I learnt so much. Often in our conversations, she would interject and ask if I’d read this book / that book, watched this film?
I’d never heard of these titles before but suddenly I had someone who did know them. Knew where to find them. For my birthday, she sent me a textbook on bisexuality and an encyclopaedia of famous queer people. I poured over those books for hours.
She told me of her trips to San Francisco and where you go to find the queer community. How there are queer communities in New York, London, Paris, and how they’ve always been there. She would tell me of the first time she kissed a girl, her first female partner, how not to rely on your crushes to straight girls, how never to sabotage your heart by falling in love with someone who is merely ‘experimenting’.
(No shade on people who experiment with their sexualities, it’s all good, but I’m a monogamous romantic bean and always have been. It would not have worked out well for me.)
As a result, few people at school teased me for my sexuality (it was actually teachers of neighbouring Lutheran schools that damaged my self-esteem the most) so I was teased more for having red hair than being queer. I was aggressive in my queerness. If anyone asked me a question about it, I’d ask them accusatory questions.
“So, Lydia. Are you…gay?”
“Why? Do you wanna ask me out? Hm?”
I was 14, mad at everything and ready to fight anyone who came at me. But, if someone was actually homophobic, I felt no shame. I refused to feel shame.
She taught me not to feel shame. She taught me how to survive. She was a total mentor to me. As queer people, you learn to read between the lines, become fluent in subtext and cling to what you think might mean … and if you think it means what you think it means then…?
My point is: Valerie gave me access to something I’d never had before, in a family of otherwise straight people. She taught me queer codes, queer literature and she made queerness normal.
And this is what Oliver does for Elio in a lot of ways. Obviously, their relationship is romantic also, so it has those elements, but Oliver teaches Elio some key queer things.
In one exchange, they talk about how they tried to covertly display attraction for each other.
Oliver says: “I rubbed your shoulder and you flinched, so I assumed you weren’t interested.”
They then spend the rest of the afternoon decoding each other’s past actions. Elio’s instincts are sometimes right, sometimes wrong, but the key is that he learns from Oliver.
Do I agree with their relationship? No. I don't have to in order to gain something from the book.
Instead of feeling free and liberated at his coming out, he feels open, exposed, vulnerable. A bundle of electric wires for his nerves, balancing precariously close to water, waiting to be saved.
I'm reminded of the old donkey who’s buried in a hole alive, whose farmer throws dirt on him until he climbs out of the pit. For Elio, coming out of the pit is dirty and humiliating.
Aciman has a way of reminding me of queer nostalgia -- the time I went to a queer parade and was closeted so I hid it from my mother. I'd been there for a few hours with a friend who I adored, and was wearing a bright blue leather jacket. (Because, really, I was terrified, and I thought a blue leather jacket would help. It did, but only a little bit.)
I was standing in line to get my face painted and suddenly, I couldn't stand it anymore. I didn't want to be queer and lie, so I turned to leave. A drag queen just ahead of me turned around and asked if I was okay.
I think she knew. She'd probably seen it before.
So, despite the pretentiousness of the book, the constant mentioning of classic authors, texts, musicians, composers and philosophers, I was emotionally taken to a very interesting place. Of course, the book has its flaws - Aciman's diary-style writing is relentless in its lack of punctuation.
There's a section of the book 'The San Clemente Syndrome' which could've easily been cut out. I understood the point of it, but mostly despised the poet character in it, who was waxing about his trip to Bangkok. People there were so kind, they all wanted to sleep with you, they were so exotic. (Ugh). And someone has to drunkenly start raving about Nietzsche to get him to shut up, which is like, ok.
I understood the point of the scene, but I didn't care for it.
My review will be so biased, because this book conjured up so many memories, feelings and thoughts that I myself had had. Aciman writes in a genre (the queer first love / coming out genre) that has a lot of books, but this one...?
The ending in the book has a lot more closure than compared to the film -- it felt like a much queerer ending. It was validating, it was sickly sweet and sentimental and I'm so, so grateful it exists.
"When it happened, it happened not as I'd dreamed it would, but with a degree of discomfort that forced me to reveal more of myself than I cared to reveal."
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it was like! I was explaining to my friend Anya, who I was reading it with, that the struggle with queer relationships is first you don’t know if you want to be them or be with them.And then, like magic, that passage turned up in the book and validated me. “Did I want to be like him? Did I want to be him? Or did I just want to have him?”
There it is. A little slice of my queer experience on the page in front of me.
What I appreciated about this book was its ability to talk about and elaborate on something which is difficult to discuss, and that is disgust. Elio is really disgusted with himself for falling in love with Oliver. He doesn’t want to be in love with him. In earlier queer relationships, there’s such a deep and vast element of shame. It is thick and undulating and unrelenting like the Italian summer, appalling in its heat.
We see Elio really struggle with this disgust for himself and for Oliver throughout half the book. He constantly tries to reinforce the fact that he doesn’t need Oliver by sleeping with women. Then, he proceeds to tell Oliver so that Oliver will picture him having sex with someone. And Oliver picturing him having sex with someone is as good as having sex with Oliver.
Elio is … afraid, he’s turbulant and in turmoil. Falling in love for him, I think, really is an active process that Aciman displays very well.
A lot of people refuse to read this book for the age gap. Elio is 17. Oliver is 24. I totally understand and accept that. That’s fine.
But I think people are missing out on a more nuanced relationship than they think. When I was 14 and 15 my family and I lived with a queer woman by the name of Valerie, whose very presence strengthened my resolve tenfold. She was in a relationship with a man, and I was never ever ever romantically interested in her (she’s like an auntie to me) but from her I learnt so much. Often in our conversations, she would interject and ask if I’d read this book / that book, watched this film?
I’d never heard of these titles before but suddenly I had someone who did know them. Knew where to find them. For my birthday, she sent me a textbook on bisexuality and an encyclopaedia of famous queer people. I poured over those books for hours.
She told me of her trips to San Francisco and where you go to find the queer community. How there are queer communities in New York, London, Paris, and how they’ve always been there. She would tell me of the first time she kissed a girl, her first female partner, how not to rely on your crushes to straight girls, how never to sabotage your heart by falling in love with someone who is merely ‘experimenting’.
(No shade on people who experiment with their sexualities, it’s all good, but I’m a monogamous romantic bean and always have been. It would not have worked out well for me.)
As a result, few people at school teased me for my sexuality (it was actually teachers of neighbouring Lutheran schools that damaged my self-esteem the most) so I was teased more for having red hair than being queer. I was aggressive in my queerness. If anyone asked me a question about it, I’d ask them accusatory questions.
“So, Lydia. Are you…gay?”
“Why? Do you wanna ask me out? Hm?”
I was 14, mad at everything and ready to fight anyone who came at me. But, if someone was actually homophobic, I felt no shame. I refused to feel shame.
She taught me not to feel shame. She taught me how to survive. She was a total mentor to me. As queer people, you learn to read between the lines, become fluent in subtext and cling to what you think might mean … and if you think it means what you think it means then…?
My point is: Valerie gave me access to something I’d never had before, in a family of otherwise straight people. She taught me queer codes, queer literature and she made queerness normal.
And this is what Oliver does for Elio in a lot of ways. Obviously, their relationship is romantic also, so it has those elements, but Oliver teaches Elio some key queer things.
In one exchange, they talk about how they tried to covertly display attraction for each other.
Oliver says: “I rubbed your shoulder and you flinched, so I assumed you weren’t interested.”
They then spend the rest of the afternoon decoding each other’s past actions. Elio’s instincts are sometimes right, sometimes wrong, but the key is that he learns from Oliver.
Do I agree with their relationship? No. I don't have to in order to gain something from the book.
Instead of feeling free and liberated at his coming out, he feels open, exposed, vulnerable. A bundle of electric wires for his nerves, balancing precariously close to water, waiting to be saved.
I'm reminded of the old donkey who’s buried in a hole alive, whose farmer throws dirt on him until he climbs out of the pit. For Elio, coming out of the pit is dirty and humiliating.
Aciman has a way of reminding me of queer nostalgia -- the time I went to a queer parade and was closeted so I hid it from my mother. I'd been there for a few hours with a friend who I adored, and was wearing a bright blue leather jacket. (Because, really, I was terrified, and I thought a blue leather jacket would help. It did, but only a little bit.)
I was standing in line to get my face painted and suddenly, I couldn't stand it anymore. I didn't want to be queer and lie, so I turned to leave. A drag queen just ahead of me turned around and asked if I was okay.
I think she knew. She'd probably seen it before.
So, despite the pretentiousness of the book, the constant mentioning of classic authors, texts, musicians, composers and philosophers, I was emotionally taken to a very interesting place. Of course, the book has its flaws - Aciman's diary-style writing is relentless in its lack of punctuation.
There's a section of the book 'The San Clemente Syndrome' which could've easily been cut out. I understood the point of it, but mostly despised the poet character in it, who was waxing about his trip to Bangkok. People there were so kind, they all wanted to sleep with you, they were so exotic. (Ugh). And someone has to drunkenly start raving about Nietzsche to get him to shut up, which is like, ok.
I understood the point of the scene, but I didn't care for it.
My review will be so biased, because this book conjured up so many memories, feelings and thoughts that I myself had had. Aciman writes in a genre (the queer first love / coming out genre) that has a lot of books, but this one...?
The ending in the book has a lot more closure than compared to the film -- it felt like a much queerer ending. It was validating, it was sickly sweet and sentimental and I'm so, so grateful it exists.
"When it happened, it happened not as I'd dreamed it would, but with a degree of discomfort that forced me to reveal more of myself than I cared to reveal."
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LibraryThing member seidchen
I went to a reading by Andre Aciman the other day. I had enjoyed a couple of his essays but hadn't known he also wrote fiction. The day my husband checked out this book from the library, I stole a look at the first few pages before, then stole the book. I'm amazed to see this depth of interiority
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so well sustained. 'Call Me By Your Name' is by turns gripping, seductive, and unbearably tender. It's even a little maddening--as it should be. After all, it is a story of intimacy. Show Less
LibraryThing member jwhenderson
What is the difference between the lover and beloved, the watcher and the one watched? In his story of Eros and education Andre Aciman considers these questions and demonstrates the answers. With emphasis on the erotic, he has created a seeming Proustian meditation on time and desire, a love
This book constantly reminded me that it was fiction - the product of an imagination able to create an unreal dream world - yet I did not mind because it was simply, joyously readable. I was both entranced and intrigued by the narrator, whose name is withheld for much of the novel, but this is because, as the title implies, he is entranced and intrigued himself by his family's summer guest, Oliver, who seems to be nothing less than a Greek god. The subtle allusions to poetry and philosophy, the music of the senses, add to the magnificence of this short novel. Perhaps it will not effect everyone the same as it did me, but for those who appreciate the classical source of beauty this is a novel that ranks with Mann and Gide in its glistening presence.
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letter, an invocation in words that one must call simply "beautiful". His novel, Call Me by Your Name, is a wonderful tale whose dream-like qualities continually evoke the narrator's obscure object of desire which is, by definition, inexpiable, and indeterminate. For the details of the story I recommend you read the book, not because it is banal but rather because it is too beautiful to risk spoiling.This book constantly reminded me that it was fiction - the product of an imagination able to create an unreal dream world - yet I did not mind because it was simply, joyously readable. I was both entranced and intrigued by the narrator, whose name is withheld for much of the novel, but this is because, as the title implies, he is entranced and intrigued himself by his family's summer guest, Oliver, who seems to be nothing less than a Greek god. The subtle allusions to poetry and philosophy, the music of the senses, add to the magnificence of this short novel. Perhaps it will not effect everyone the same as it did me, but for those who appreciate the classical source of beauty this is a novel that ranks with Mann and Gide in its glistening presence.
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LibraryThing member jimrgill
After recovering from the emotional wallop of reading Aciman’s breathtakingly beautiful and heart-wrenching novel, it’s nearly impossible to identify the source of its power. Perhaps it’s the remarkable accuracy with which he captures the relentless ardor and the disorienting chaos of young
Set in central Italy during one summer in the mid-1980s, this masterpiece of prose narrative tells the story of Elio, the precocious 17-year-old son of a college professor, and his sexual and romantic awakening upon meeting Oliver, a 24-year-old graduate student who apprentices with Elio’s father for a few weeks. Their time together—an intense, complex, ambiguous, and scorchingly passionate courtship—reverberates throughout the rest of their lives and represents the undeniable persistence of memory and its power to affect our every emotion.
Among the many beautiful scenes in this novel, perhaps the most poignant is the one in which Elio’s father imparts to him wisdom in the form of compassion:
“We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster then we should that we go bankrupt by the age of thirty and have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to feel nothing so as not to feel anything—what a waste!” (p. 224)
If you have ever felt the torturously exquisite power of intense adolescent desire (and who among us hasn’t?), if you want to be reminded of both the joy and the anguish of discovering love, read this novel.
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lust as it transforms into obsession before blossoming into inexpressible love. Perhaps it’s his uncanny ability to evoke the genuine yet ephemeral sensation of intense passion that feels timeless even as it fades away. Or perhaps it’s his talent for using language with the precision of a sniper as he pierces the unfathomable depths of the human soul.Set in central Italy during one summer in the mid-1980s, this masterpiece of prose narrative tells the story of Elio, the precocious 17-year-old son of a college professor, and his sexual and romantic awakening upon meeting Oliver, a 24-year-old graduate student who apprentices with Elio’s father for a few weeks. Their time together—an intense, complex, ambiguous, and scorchingly passionate courtship—reverberates throughout the rest of their lives and represents the undeniable persistence of memory and its power to affect our every emotion.
Among the many beautiful scenes in this novel, perhaps the most poignant is the one in which Elio’s father imparts to him wisdom in the form of compassion:
“We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster then we should that we go bankrupt by the age of thirty and have less to offer each time we start with someone new. But to feel nothing so as not to feel anything—what a waste!” (p. 224)
If you have ever felt the torturously exquisite power of intense adolescent desire (and who among us hasn’t?), if you want to be reminded of both the joy and the anguish of discovering love, read this novel.
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LibraryThing member markprobst
(This was my Amazon review and the references are to reviewers there, not here.)
You know, I could go on and on about the beautiful poetry of the language and the painful yearning, steeped in truth, that resonates with memories that we all have buried deep within our psyche, but dozens of other
You know, I could go on and on about the beautiful poetry of the language and the painful yearning, steeped in truth, that resonates with memories that we all have buried deep within our psyche, but dozens of other
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reviewers have already said much the same thing and in better words than I could. Instead, I'd like to address my review to the fellow who gave up on page 34, disgustedly tossed it into the garbage and proceeded to slap the book with a one-star review. Okay, okay. I'll grant you it is slow out of the starting gate, but guess what? It's building up to something, and the restraint Andre Aciman puts into the language it a direct reflection of the tremendous restraint Elio and Oliver exhibit toward each other. The payoff comes in the second section, and it is very rewarding. If the one-star reviewer had just stuck it out, he may have been pleasantly surprised. On second thought, maybe not. Unfortunately he probably still would have been bored by this low-key, reflective, nostalgic confession. Modern literature has evolved (or de-evolved?) to the point where to be a best-seller, a book must hook you from the first line, take you on a roller-coaster ride, and never let up until the last sentence. It has sadly created a whole generation of A.D.D. readers who can't appreciate a book that takes its time to unfold, and let the reader really get inside a character and know him. "Call Me by Your Name" is not an easy read. It takes some effort, but things in life that are hard to do are often the most rewarding. Show Less
LibraryThing member babydraco
Egyptian author Andre Aciman tells the story of 17 year old Elio, the son of two Italian academics and his six week love affair with Oliver, a 25 year old guest in his parent's villa.
The culture clash is interesting. Elio at first percieves Oliver as "rude" and is amazed at how open and proud
The sex is pretty hot, and Aciman writes "desperately in love and horny bisexual 17 year old boy" really well.
And it definitely disproves that stupid theory that men write porn and women write romance and even if men wrote romance it'd be different from what women write. The main characters act like boys, and not like a boy and a girl, but maybe people should try redefining what they think it means to "act like a boy". Stop writing gender roles (that goes for you too, slashers!) and start writing people.
What I mean by this is that the sex and relationships are realistic. Elio learns that his fantasies don't quite correspond to reality. His first time leaves him feeling guilty, ashamed and sore, even though he wants to do it again.
The reactions of the characters aren't the reactions of any gender stereotype, it's very easy to be female and yet identify with Elio, without the character being "feminized".
But Elio doesn't just want Oliver, he also speaks enviously of Oliver's muscles.
The line between wanting someone and wanting to be them can be very thin. It can be confusing, but it can also be a lot of fun when it comes to same gender attraction. To be looking at a picture of a beautiful naked woman and be thinking "she's so hot, but I wonder if that hairstyle would look good on me?"
If a genie appeared and said "you can have that, or you can be that", I think it'd be a difficult choice.
And I know I'm not weird to say that it happens with het attraction too. At least for probably more girls than will admit it. After all, we live in a world where for most of history the male characters in mainstream movies, books, plays, religion and comics were usually more interesting or more powerful or lead more exciting lives than the female characters. It's not a sign of major gender identity issues, it's a reaction to reality. There are a lot of admirable men, fictional and non, that I don't want to sleep with really- but if it were possible for me to kill them and steal their identity, I would.
Also, if you've ever been asked to "play the boy" (and I mean that in every way you're thinking of it), it's pretty normal to think that way.
I also tagged this under "david and jonathan" because it reminded me of that couple. Without the military aspect or the crazy father or the death. The characters are both Jewish, and the same ages that David and Jonathan were when they fell in love. The narrator of the story is also an accomplished musician and his attitude towards the girls he uses while waiting for his true love to come around are...familiar.
Favorite quote (Elio's fantasy of Oliver): "he'd step into my room after everyone had gone to bed , slip under my covers, undress me without asking and after making me want him more than I thought I could ever want another living soul,gently, softly, and, with the kindness one Jew extends to another, work his way into my body, gently, softly, after heeding the words I'd been rehearsing for days now, Please, don't hurt me, which meant, Hurt me all you want"
It only gets four stars for two reasons. One, there are a couple of moments, such as an "American Pie" style bisexual fantasy involving a piece of fruit, that made me go "WTF?" (but I suppose people who are in love do all kinds of stuff that makes no sense to the rest of us) And two, the ending sort of runs out of steam. But I honestly can't see any way this story could end that would make readers happy, so what can you do?
The culture clash is interesting. Elio at first percieves Oliver as "rude" and is amazed at how open and proud
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Oliver is of his Jewishness, when Elio's family still feels the need to be discreet and ashamed of it. They see it as a liability, while Oliver sees it as an asset. But Elio's family, because they are European academics, allow him to do a lot of things American parents never would.The sex is pretty hot, and Aciman writes "desperately in love and horny bisexual 17 year old boy" really well.
And it definitely disproves that stupid theory that men write porn and women write romance and even if men wrote romance it'd be different from what women write. The main characters act like boys, and not like a boy and a girl, but maybe people should try redefining what they think it means to "act like a boy". Stop writing gender roles (that goes for you too, slashers!) and start writing people.
What I mean by this is that the sex and relationships are realistic. Elio learns that his fantasies don't quite correspond to reality. His first time leaves him feeling guilty, ashamed and sore, even though he wants to do it again.
The reactions of the characters aren't the reactions of any gender stereotype, it's very easy to be female and yet identify with Elio, without the character being "feminized".
But Elio doesn't just want Oliver, he also speaks enviously of Oliver's muscles.
The line between wanting someone and wanting to be them can be very thin. It can be confusing, but it can also be a lot of fun when it comes to same gender attraction. To be looking at a picture of a beautiful naked woman and be thinking "she's so hot, but I wonder if that hairstyle would look good on me?"
If a genie appeared and said "you can have that, or you can be that", I think it'd be a difficult choice.
And I know I'm not weird to say that it happens with het attraction too. At least for probably more girls than will admit it. After all, we live in a world where for most of history the male characters in mainstream movies, books, plays, religion and comics were usually more interesting or more powerful or lead more exciting lives than the female characters. It's not a sign of major gender identity issues, it's a reaction to reality. There are a lot of admirable men, fictional and non, that I don't want to sleep with really- but if it were possible for me to kill them and steal their identity, I would.
Also, if you've ever been asked to "play the boy" (and I mean that in every way you're thinking of it), it's pretty normal to think that way.
I also tagged this under "david and jonathan" because it reminded me of that couple. Without the military aspect or the crazy father or the death. The characters are both Jewish, and the same ages that David and Jonathan were when they fell in love. The narrator of the story is also an accomplished musician and his attitude towards the girls he uses while waiting for his true love to come around are...familiar.
Favorite quote (Elio's fantasy of Oliver): "he'd step into my room after everyone had gone to bed , slip under my covers, undress me without asking and after making me want him more than I thought I could ever want another living soul,gently, softly, and, with the kindness one Jew extends to another, work his way into my body, gently, softly, after heeding the words I'd been rehearsing for days now, Please, don't hurt me, which meant, Hurt me all you want"
It only gets four stars for two reasons. One, there are a couple of moments, such as an "American Pie" style bisexual fantasy involving a piece of fruit, that made me go "WTF?" (but I suppose people who are in love do all kinds of stuff that makes no sense to the rest of us) And two, the ending sort of runs out of steam. But I honestly can't see any way this story could end that would make readers happy, so what can you do?
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LibraryThing member ofstoneandice
I'm a big fan of prose, but Aciman's style is not without fault. There were perhaps one or two moments when I had to double back a couple lines to be clear on who said what. His descriptions of emotion were eloquent if somewhat detached, like he was watching himself in a film. However, that is
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quite forgivable since the story is told as a recollection. Show Less
LibraryThing member satyridae
Matter-of-fact, powerfully written story of first true love and how the repercussions of it can echo down all the days of a life. Very well-done. The story haunts me.
LibraryThing member presto
Seventeen year old Elio lives on the Italian Riviera where his parents have a villa. Each summer his father invites a student to live in and assist him in his work, this year that student is a Canadian in his early twenties, Oliver, charming, handsome and, to Elio among others, very attractive.
Elio
This is delightful story, Elio seems unaware of the good fortune of the circumstances of his life, and is unspoilt and unassuming. The seemingly on-off relationship between Elio and Oliver is charmingly and convincingly portrayed; it all adds up to a most rewarding read.
Elio
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recounts the events of that summer from his first impressions of Oliver, through the weeks their of courtship manoeuvring, to the final consummation of their affair and their few days together in Rome. Elio concludes his account relating his meeting with Oliver at a latter date. This is delightful story, Elio seems unaware of the good fortune of the circumstances of his life, and is unspoilt and unassuming. The seemingly on-off relationship between Elio and Oliver is charmingly and convincingly portrayed; it all adds up to a most rewarding read.
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LibraryThing member CookieDemon
The fact that this novel is set in Italy, my favourite country, was enough to ensure that I would be sure to enjoy the settings evoked by this authors prose, but if you add in the fact that it is a bittersweet romance with bold characters you cannot help but care about, then you are guaranteed a
I won't summarise the plot as that has already been done, but I wanted to add in my two-pence worth at least and agree that this is a really beautiful novel. I read a lot of gay fiction, some of which is erotic and overly done, but this was a truly tender romance and I really found myself aching for the two men and their longing for one another. Their self doubts and insecurities and the will they/won't they scenario was carefully paced and tied in so well with the laid back summer setting in which the story was based. It had a very dreamlike quality to it which I really admired.
The writing style is wonderful, evocative and rich with the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Italy. You can virtually feel the hot summer seeping through the pages and imagine yourself in the sun-drenched Meditteranean. The characters are very well drawn, though at first I did feel that Elio seemed to be far too intelligent for his age, but hey-ho. I fell in love with Oliver who initially seemed to be a bit of a play boy, until eventually his realness shone through.
I loved this book, though for me it does lose one star merely because I did find it difficult to follow Elio's narrative voice on occaision- particularly with his high-brow interests which for me just didn't seem that true and became a bit pretentious at times. Nevertheless, if you can get past this then you are in for a real treat of a book which deals with the issue of male/male relationships in a sensitive manner.
I will definitely read more books by Aciman in future.
*This review also appears on Amazon.co.uk*
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winner.I won't summarise the plot as that has already been done, but I wanted to add in my two-pence worth at least and agree that this is a really beautiful novel. I read a lot of gay fiction, some of which is erotic and overly done, but this was a truly tender romance and I really found myself aching for the two men and their longing for one another. Their self doubts and insecurities and the will they/won't they scenario was carefully paced and tied in so well with the laid back summer setting in which the story was based. It had a very dreamlike quality to it which I really admired.
The writing style is wonderful, evocative and rich with the sights, sounds, smells and tastes of Italy. You can virtually feel the hot summer seeping through the pages and imagine yourself in the sun-drenched Meditteranean. The characters are very well drawn, though at first I did feel that Elio seemed to be far too intelligent for his age, but hey-ho. I fell in love with Oliver who initially seemed to be a bit of a play boy, until eventually his realness shone through.
I loved this book, though for me it does lose one star merely because I did find it difficult to follow Elio's narrative voice on occaision- particularly with his high-brow interests which for me just didn't seem that true and became a bit pretentious at times. Nevertheless, if you can get past this then you are in for a real treat of a book which deals with the issue of male/male relationships in a sensitive manner.
I will definitely read more books by Aciman in future.
*This review also appears on Amazon.co.uk*
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LibraryThing member paperhouses
Ahhh, l'amour, l'amour. What a beautiful mid-winter's read, set in the Italian mediterranean. Bittersweet, bittersweet, that I'll never be so young, sensate and callous again. Well done.
LibraryThing member callmecayce
André Aciman's novel is an exquisite work of fiction. While the book is about a seventeen year old boy (Elio), it is far from a young adult novel. That doesn't mean that young adults shouldn't read it, because they should (in fact everyone should). It's a beautiful book, mixing the angst of Elio
We follow Elio's life one summer, living with his family and their annual summer guest. This year it's a young (24, I believe) American named Oliver. Everyone likes Oliver, but Elio finds that his feelings run much deeper. Eventually the boys figure out their feelings and what we're given is a treat. Aciman captures what it means to be young, in love and running out of time. But instead of ending the novel with Oliver's return to American, Aciman gives us a glimpse of Elio's future. It's a gamble and it pays off, because the satisfaction (of a sort) that you feel at th end of the novel is worth all the, well, things that happen before.
The plot is strong, but what makes this novel so good is the writing. Aciman pulls you into the story with his writing and then keeps you there, your hopes pinned to Oliver just as Elio. the book is beautiful, heartbreakingly so and one of the best I've read this year, mostly because of the way Aciman creates and cultivates this ache inside you, the one Elio has for Oliver, as well as one that you have for Elio himself.
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with the beauty of Italy as well as the boy Elio falls in love with. We follow Elio's life one summer, living with his family and their annual summer guest. This year it's a young (24, I believe) American named Oliver. Everyone likes Oliver, but Elio finds that his feelings run much deeper. Eventually the boys figure out their feelings and what we're given is a treat. Aciman captures what it means to be young, in love and running out of time. But instead of ending the novel with Oliver's return to American, Aciman gives us a glimpse of Elio's future. It's a gamble and it pays off, because the satisfaction (of a sort) that you feel at th end of the novel is worth all the, well, things that happen before.
The plot is strong, but what makes this novel so good is the writing. Aciman pulls you into the story with his writing and then keeps you there, your hopes pinned to Oliver just as Elio. the book is beautiful, heartbreakingly so and one of the best I've read this year, mostly because of the way Aciman creates and cultivates this ache inside you, the one Elio has for Oliver, as well as one that you have for Elio himself.
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LibraryThing member kougogo
A love story equal parts passion (of the most immediate, knee-knocking variety) and elegy. Fruits having sex and fruit (a peach!) used in sex. I thought the novel could have done without the extended coda, but i was still very moved by it.
LibraryThing member cestovatela
Call Me By Your Name tells the story of Oliver and Elio, who tumble into a surprising love affair during a charmed summer in the Italian country side. Elio, a hyper-intellectual 17-year-old, spends the first fifty pages of the novel describing his longing for Oliver, the 24-year-old research
"We'll speak about two young men who found much happiness for a few weeks and lived the remainder of their lives dipping cotton swabs into that bowl of happiness, fearing they'd use it up without daring to drink more than a thimbleful on ritual anniversaries...But what never was still beckons...They can never undo it, never unwrite it, never unlive it, or relive it -- it's just stuck there like a vision of fireflies on a summer field toward evening..."
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assistant who is the family's annual summer house guest. This longing so thoroughly pervaded part I of the book that I nearly quit reading: as realistic as it is for a teenager, 50 pages of it was tough to take, especially in Elio's long, tangled sentences. A dramatic confrontation at the beginning of part II thankfully got the plot moving, but I continued only because of a reluctant desire to find out how the boys' relationship would progress. At this point, the plot still felt like an elaborate rendition of "he loves me, he loves me not" punctuated by impenetrable references to obscure literary and historical figures. These allusions, coupled with Elio's overly philosophical thoughts, often seemed like the author's excuse to scream "look how smart and well-educated I am!" However, 75 or 100 pages from the end, a miracle happened: the book redeemed itself so completely that recalling my criticisms part I and II was an almost impossible task. Saying very much would spoil the book's honest, deeply human ending, so I will only reveal that it was worth waiting for. I dog-eared several passages so I could return and read them later. I can't offer a definitive recommendation for this novel; you'll have to decide for yourself whether 150 pages of mediocrity is worth a deeply rewarding ending. Here is one of my favorite passages to help you choose:"We'll speak about two young men who found much happiness for a few weeks and lived the remainder of their lives dipping cotton swabs into that bowl of happiness, fearing they'd use it up without daring to drink more than a thimbleful on ritual anniversaries...But what never was still beckons...They can never undo it, never unwrite it, never unlive it, or relive it -- it's just stuck there like a vision of fireflies on a summer field toward evening..."
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LibraryThing member nansilverrod
Seventeen year old Elio falls in love with his father's summer graduate student assistant, Oliver, while occasionally sleeping with neighbor girl Marzia. Oliver is hot and cold with him by turns, and Elio is left anguished and unable to express his feelings.
At least half the book is taken up with
Older teens may have the patience for the slow action.
At least half the book is taken up with
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Elio's frustration, and while it brings back memories of being a tongue-tied teen, it gets tedious at times. Finally, three weeks before Oliver is due to leave, the two confess their feelings for each other and the action picks up.Older teens may have the patience for the slow action.
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LibraryThing member lxydis
A fantastic book that totally takes you back into the teen-longing-first-love. Aciman delves minutely and poetically into the narrator's feelings, in a riveting, sensual, beautifully written story about a hot and lazy mediterranean summer. What's also great is that the book's happy ending (with the
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mature vision of looking back on youth as adults) is an antidote both to the gay-coming-of-age novels/movies where whatever you're feeling must be evil (and the beauty of this book is that we can all relate to feeling different or alone in our unexpressed desires) and to the abstinence morality of fun teen trash like Twilight. Show Less
LibraryThing member shiunji
It was the little, though not very subtle nuances in this book which in my eyes made it shine. I think Andre captured the essence of obsession very well - and though I had been a rather mentally boring teenager in way of love, I found myself identifying with Ellio's keen eye for detail for things
That is what I enjoyed the most - the theme of time & youth as a fleeting commodity that so many people waste by allowing it to fester way past it's due by date.
The wound that hurt the most from the book was the public defamation of Calvino. (I jest, so that I shall not ruin the book for you) Thanks to Wei for reccomending a book I would otherwise have not found (& devoured so quickly thanks to a visiting dateline)!
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he loved, & the manner in which he approached life as a supermarket of events that he needs to select to commit to memory the best. That is what I enjoyed the most - the theme of time & youth as a fleeting commodity that so many people waste by allowing it to fester way past it's due by date.
The wound that hurt the most from the book was the public defamation of Calvino. (I jest, so that I shall not ruin the book for you) Thanks to Wei for reccomending a book I would otherwise have not found (& devoured so quickly thanks to a visiting dateline)!
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LibraryThing member crazy4novels
Call Me by Your Name
by Andre Aciman
This book is a beautifully written coming of age novel with several strong points worth mentioning:
1. The story's setting. A drowsy, hot summer; an Italian seaside villa with a swimming pool and lush gardens; long, delicious meals at the family table; evenings
2. The author's powerful depiction of psychological attraction and raw physical desire. Although this book depicts a love affair between two young men, anyone who has ever participated in the tortuous (and yet delicious!) approach/avoidance dance of mutual attraction will recognize themselves in this book.
3. The last 40 pages of the book (Part 4). If you aren't left in tears, you don't have a heart or you are still very, very young. The author's bittersweet depiction of the main protagonist's struggle to resign himself to the loss of his once-in-a-lifetime love will deeply affect anyone who has encountered the rapture of true intimacy, only to watched it ebb away due to the loss of the beloved or (sadly) due to the beloved's everyday presence over the deadening tedium of time.
by Andre Aciman
This book is a beautifully written coming of age novel with several strong points worth mentioning:
1. The story's setting. A drowsy, hot summer; an Italian seaside villa with a swimming pool and lush gardens; long, delicious meals at the family table; evenings
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spent wandering the piazzas of a local Italian village, book signings and impromptu parties attended by international bohemians; bicycle trips on country lanes -- what more could you ask for??2. The author's powerful depiction of psychological attraction and raw physical desire. Although this book depicts a love affair between two young men, anyone who has ever participated in the tortuous (and yet delicious!) approach/avoidance dance of mutual attraction will recognize themselves in this book.
3. The last 40 pages of the book (Part 4). If you aren't left in tears, you don't have a heart or you are still very, very young. The author's bittersweet depiction of the main protagonist's struggle to resign himself to the loss of his once-in-a-lifetime love will deeply affect anyone who has encountered the rapture of true intimacy, only to watched it ebb away due to the loss of the beloved or (sadly) due to the beloved's everyday presence over the deadening tedium of time.
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LibraryThing member shojo_a
I took it out from the library, on a friend's recommendation, and ended up buying a copy so I could have it.
A beautiful, beautiful book. Heartbreaking and thought provoking - I literally sat for about a half an hour after I finished it, just thinking about it.
A beautiful, beautiful book. Heartbreaking and thought provoking - I literally sat for about a half an hour after I finished it, just thinking about it.
LibraryThing member lycomayflower
From years later, first-person narrator Elio remembers the intense love affair he shared as a teenager with a young graduate student who stayed with Elio's family for a summer. The ratio of interiority to event in the novel is probably about 70/30, which might make for a tedious narrative, but
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Aciman handles it well. Elio's confusion and delight at falling in love with Oliver, as well as the agony he experiences in not knowing if Oliver feels the same way, are depicted with an intensity that prevents the story from bogging down in Elio's adolescent navel-gazing. Unlike Aciman's Eight White Nights, which despite possessing a certain kind of beauty never managed to be anything but a slog, Call Me By Your Name reads like a perfectly paced, elegantly brief exploration of the pleasurable chaos of early love. Show Less
LibraryThing member Kiddboyblue
I am left somewhat speechless by this novel. I was so mesmerized by the prose I sat and read it cover to cover without pause.
I cannot think of any other work that has captured desire and lust so accurately and more than that, so beautifully. The way Aciman wrote Elio's thoughts and desires just
It never felt cliche, or trite or pretentious to me, the way so many books of this topic can be. It felt nuanced and real, and visceral. It felt like I was there, feeling all over again that ache of obsession that turns into feelings that turns into love. Love that doesn't need to be called that to know that it is that.
One of my favorite parts of the whole novel however does not take place between Elio and Oliver, but rather between Elio and his father. It is one of the most beautiful parts of the entire novel, in my opinion, and my heart nearly leapt from my chest. Aciman is a masterful writer.
This book was moving and wonderful and beautiful. There were so many passages that felt like poetry to me, down to the very last passage of the book.
I loved every minute, every page, every word.
I cannot think of any other work that has captured desire and lust so accurately and more than that, so beautifully. The way Aciman wrote Elio's thoughts and desires just
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felt so pure and perfect. The confusion about his feelings, and the shame later, and everything in between, I was right there with him, feeling them all. It took me to a time when I remember being scared of my thoughts and feelings and desires, and not knowing what any of them meant. It never felt cliche, or trite or pretentious to me, the way so many books of this topic can be. It felt nuanced and real, and visceral. It felt like I was there, feeling all over again that ache of obsession that turns into feelings that turns into love. Love that doesn't need to be called that to know that it is that.
One of my favorite parts of the whole novel however does not take place between Elio and Oliver, but rather between Elio and his father. It is one of the most beautiful parts of the entire novel, in my opinion, and my heart nearly leapt from my chest. Aciman is a masterful writer.
This book was moving and wonderful and beautiful. There were so many passages that felt like poetry to me, down to the very last passage of the book.
I loved every minute, every page, every word.
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LibraryThing member vplprl
This touching story is about a gay, Italian teenager named Elio who becomes infatuated with a slightly older academic named Oliver. The Italian Riviera setting becomes a world apart for the two potential lovers to test each other’s interest. Highlights of the book are a weekend in Rome with the
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literati and the final meeting many years later where memory and regret come to embody the emotional core of their relationship. Show Less
LibraryThing member Saretta.L
Gli uomini possono vivere molte passioni e conoscere molti amori, nella vita però forse uno solo di questi è qualcosa di veramente unico e speciale, un sentimento ricco di gioia e dolore da rimanere impresso anche con lo scorrere degli anni e questo romanzo tratta proprio di un Amore e di una
Elio, figlio di un professore, passa l'estate con i genitori nella villa in Liguria che come ogni anno ospita un futuro brillante scrittore / ricercatore occupato nella stesura di tesi o articoli.
Il visitatore annuale è Oliver, americano, e tra lui e Elio scatta subito qualcosa di indefinito che si concretizza prima in un flirt e poi in una storia d'amore vera e propria.
Il punto di vista è sempre quello di Elio che dà voce alle sue tormentate insicurezze e ai desideri che pensa essere non ricambiati; Oliver è sempre descritto dagli occhi di Elio e non si ha la possibilità di seguirne le emozioni.
E' la storia di un amore profondo e il chiamarsi con il nome dell'altro è sintomo della fusione dei sogni, delle emozioni e delle persone stesse.
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Humans may experience different passions and meet different lovers, maybe only one of these is the most unique and special, an emotion full of joy and sorrow to be preserved in memory as the years go by. This novel is about this kind of Love and Passion.
Elio, son of a professor, spends the summer with his parents in their Liguria house and, as every summer, they host a young and brilliant researcher / writer editing his thesys.
The host is Oliver and between him and Elio something undefined starts sooner as a flirt and later as a love story.
The point of view is Elio's who express his tormented uncertainties about love and being reciprocated; Oliver is always presented by Elio's eyes and it's impossible to know hos thinking.
It's the story of a deep love and calling one by the other's name it's a manifestation of the fusion of dreams, emotions and souls.
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Passione indimenticabili.Elio, figlio di un professore, passa l'estate con i genitori nella villa in Liguria che come ogni anno ospita un futuro brillante scrittore / ricercatore occupato nella stesura di tesi o articoli.
Il visitatore annuale è Oliver, americano, e tra lui e Elio scatta subito qualcosa di indefinito che si concretizza prima in un flirt e poi in una storia d'amore vera e propria.
Il punto di vista è sempre quello di Elio che dà voce alle sue tormentate insicurezze e ai desideri che pensa essere non ricambiati; Oliver è sempre descritto dagli occhi di Elio e non si ha la possibilità di seguirne le emozioni.
E' la storia di un amore profondo e il chiamarsi con il nome dell'altro è sintomo della fusione dei sogni, delle emozioni e delle persone stesse.
---
Humans may experience different passions and meet different lovers, maybe only one of these is the most unique and special, an emotion full of joy and sorrow to be preserved in memory as the years go by. This novel is about this kind of Love and Passion.
Elio, son of a professor, spends the summer with his parents in their Liguria house and, as every summer, they host a young and brilliant researcher / writer editing his thesys.
The host is Oliver and between him and Elio something undefined starts sooner as a flirt and later as a love story.
The point of view is Elio's who express his tormented uncertainties about love and being reciprocated; Oliver is always presented by Elio's eyes and it's impossible to know hos thinking.
It's the story of a deep love and calling one by the other's name it's a manifestation of the fusion of dreams, emotions and souls.
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LibraryThing member AKLibGirl
I loved this book! While some may feel a bit betrayed when they discover that this is a book about a deeply passionate relationship between two men, I didn't. Aciman writes quite intimately about a powerful and gut-wrenching love between two people. I was so moved by the hearthfelt emotion, love
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and destroying loss that is felt by the main characters in this book. My heart ached for them as they moved through their lives, never quite getting the love they desired to deeply. A true love story for the truly romantic at heart. A must read for anyone with an open mind in what they read. Show Less
LibraryThing member aulsmith
I'm not a fan of lyrical romances, gay or otherwise , so I wasn't going to like this book no matter what. However, it was the first book for our local glbt book club, so I gave it a try. I hated the constant repetition of scenes, told slightly differently, until you had no idea what was really
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going on. (Of course, if you're a postmodernist, there's no reality outside the subjective remembering of the moment, which I'm sure is the author's point) Late in the book the lovers get out of the (to me) stifling Italian villa and go to Rome. That was a little more interesting. The best part for me was when they attended an author's reading at a bookstore. The author discussed the archeological layers of a church I actually visited in Rome. However except for providing a justification for the layering of the narrative, I didn't think it had much to do with the rest of the book. Show Less
Awards
Dublin Literary Award (Longlist — 2009)
Lambda Literary Award (Winner — 2007)
Publishing Triangle Awards (Finalist — 2008)
Publishers Weekly's Best Books of the Year (Fiction — 2007)
The New York Times Notable Books of the Year (Fiction & Poetry — 2007)
San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year (Fiction — 2007)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2007
Physical description
256 p.; 8.26 inches
ISBN
9781250169440
Other editions
Call Me by Your Name: A Novel by Andre Aciman (Paperback)
Call Me by Your Name: A Novel by André Aciman (Paperback)