Call Me By Your Name

Author: André Aciman

Rating: 5/5

Pages: 248

Year Published:

Synopsis (From Goodreads): “Call Me by Your Name is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents' cliff-side mansion on the Italian Riviera. Unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, at first each feigns indifference. But during the restless summer weeks that follow, unrelenting buried currents of obsession and fear, fascination and desire, intensify their passion as they test the charged ground between them. What grows from the depths of their spirits is a romance of scarcely six weeks' duration and an experience that marks them for a lifetime. For what the two discover on the Riviera and during a sultry evening in Rome is the one thing both already fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy.”

(Spoiler Warning)

“And as you did back then, look me in the face, hold my gaze and call me by your name.” That’s the final sentence in the book, and “later", even months after I finished it, the book (just like All The Bright Places) stayed with me. Days after I had read it I still thought about it, analyzing it, wanting to read it again, because I just couldn’t let go off this book and its story.

Just as it was beautiful, it was cruel too. The language was rich and beautiful but the ending tragic because I so badly wanted them to end up together. Elio’s love for Oliver was so strong that I couldn’t help but fall in love with Oliver too. Aciman really knows how to write and tell a story. I haven’t read a book with such a beautiful language in my whole life. It inspired me to write, to practice and become a better writer myself. To play with words, and metaphors and to really work with my writing style.

Like I said, you just can’t help but fall in love with Oliver, even though he breaks Elio’s heart in the end. Oliver is this mystical person that, Elio keeps putting on a pedestal, but he keeps looking down on himself. Throughout the book he struggles with inner conflicts and his feelings for Oliver– “If it’s better to speak, or die”. Aciman brings the characters to life by giving them their own characteristics, voice and way to act.

My only problem with the story is that it ends too fast, and also that Oliver and Elio don’t get each other in the end. My heart broke when I read the final chapter and realized that this was it. The story is written from Elio’s perspective in a first person point of view, and takes place mostly in a village in Italy during the 80’s. It is a honest story about how painful it can be to fall in love but also how raw those feelings can be.

The movie isn’t as good as the book, even though I love the actors in it! It really helps if you’ve already read the book before you watch the movie in order to get a better understanding of the movie as I found some parts of it unclear.

Later!