- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Atlantic Books (1 April 2009)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1843546531
- ISBN-13: 978-1843546535
- Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 13 x 2 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 211,752 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Call Me By Your Name
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Review
"* 'Quite simply, brilliant... An effortless and unaffected erudition; a brutal, rigorous mastery of language... This is an elegy, a celebration, a meditation on the truth of passion that is nuanced and universal. It is a tremendous debut.' Francesca Segal, Observer * 'An extraordinary debut... Evocative, poetic and deeply beautiful... will strike an exquisite chord with those falling in love for the first time (or out of love for the last time) this summer.' - Tatler * 'Call Me By Your Name is a beautiful and wise book, written with both lightness and concentrated care for the precise truth of every moment in its drama... this is a miracle.' - Colm Toibin * 'Brave, acute, elated, naked, brutal, tender, humane and beautiful... If you can't handle the violence of regret the novel will awaken in you, or the agony of remembering wanting someone more than you wanted anything in your life, or the exquisite suffering that comes with the gain, and loss, of something that neared perfect understanding, then don't read this book... Otherwise, open the cover and let Aciman pull the pin from the grenade.' - Nicole Krauss * 'An exceptionally beautiful book... A first novel that abounds in moments of emotional and physical abandon... As much a story of paradise found as it is of paradise lost... Exquisite... Extraordinary.' - Stacey D'Erasmo, New York Times * 'The most exciting new fiction writer of the 21st century. Few novels since Proust's In Search of Lost Time are this adept at capturing the nuances of human emotion.' - Diana Fuss, New York Magazine"
Diana Fuss, New York Magazine
`The most exciting new fiction writer of the 21st century. Few novels since Proust's In Search of Lost Time are this adept at capturing the nuances of human emotion.'
--This text refers to an alternate
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is one of the most remarkable, most beautiful and most harrowing books I have ever read. It should be prescribed reading for any would-be writer. No. Hold the 'would-be'. It deals with the brief, intense love affair between a seventeen year-old, highly precocious youth and a twenty five year old, fairly experienced man. In many ways it is a modern take on the Classical Greek ideal, Athens rather than Sparta. But it can't be categorised as a 'Gay' novel, any more than Cavafy is only a 'gay' poet. Homophobes will undoubtedly hate it, if only because it posits a natural state of bi-sexuality. . . and underlines that a same-sex relationship can be, is often far more, as emotionally and intellectually rewarding as a heterosexual one, albeit very different and carrying within it the seeds of its own, natural destruction. Yet the novel is not political in any sense, nor preachy. It is dramatic, will take your emotions on a ride you'll never forget. It is beautifully, beautifully written and without any of that smug, look-at-me cleverness of so many British and American novelists. I am a writer. I would give my eye-teeth to write a closing paragraph half as good as the one in this book. I have found myself reading passages aloud. Andre Aciman is some kind of genius: my kind and I so hope your as well.
33 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Set in a small town in Italy, this moving novel captures a meaningful summer in the life of Elio, a 17 year old male. Elio's homelife is relaxed; his intelligent, apparently liberal, parents have a constant flow of relatives and interesting visitors breezing in and out of their house for meals and animated conversation. The downside, as far as Elio is concerned, is that no one seeks his opinion - he is "the youngest at the table and the least likely to be listened to". Each summer, Elio's father invites a young academic to stay at their summer home on the Italian Riviera. Fearing the typical "dull house guest", Elio is immediately captivated when the confident, handsome, 24 year old Oliver strolls into his home, and his life. For the first few weeks of Oliver's stay, Elio fantasises about Oliver, and becomes involved with mind games and nuances. But are they all in his imagination, or is Oliver also involved in the game?
The novel is tautly crafted and so evocative of the environment that the reader can vividly sense the undercurrent of tense sideways glances against the backdrop of hazy heat and salt-speckled sea breeze. Undoubtedly some issues remain unresolved, such as the peculiar absence of jealousy felt by Elio ("It never bothered me to think of him [sleeping with a girl]"), or any explanation as to why Elio feels that a relationship with Oliver would be in some sense 'wrong'. Further, Elio's 'voice' often sounds younger than his stated 17 years, and the novel might have held more powerful authenticity if Elio had been, for example, 13 or 14 years old. Nevertheless, under this author's expert craftsmanship, such queries are largely insignificant and all form part of the three-dimensional nature of the characters.
Overall, 'Call Me By Your Name' is a enthralling novel of adolescent insecurity, lust, obsession and intensely passionate emotions ("to be who I am because of you"). André Aciman writes with easy fluidity, creating beguiling characters, page-turning suspense, intense eroticism and nostalgic poignancy. Highly recommended.
The novel is tautly crafted and so evocative of the environment that the reader can vividly sense the undercurrent of tense sideways glances against the backdrop of hazy heat and salt-speckled sea breeze. Undoubtedly some issues remain unresolved, such as the peculiar absence of jealousy felt by Elio ("It never bothered me to think of him [sleeping with a girl]"), or any explanation as to why Elio feels that a relationship with Oliver would be in some sense 'wrong'. Further, Elio's 'voice' often sounds younger than his stated 17 years, and the novel might have held more powerful authenticity if Elio had been, for example, 13 or 14 years old. Nevertheless, under this author's expert craftsmanship, such queries are largely insignificant and all form part of the three-dimensional nature of the characters.
Overall, 'Call Me By Your Name' is a enthralling novel of adolescent insecurity, lust, obsession and intensely passionate emotions ("to be who I am because of you"). André Aciman writes with easy fluidity, creating beguiling characters, page-turning suspense, intense eroticism and nostalgic poignancy. Highly recommended.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Andre Aciman, a noted essayist and City University of New York professor of comparative literature, has written one of the most memorable debut novels published this year, "Call Me by Your Name", ranking alongside Eugene Drucker's "The Savior" for its emotional intensity, as well as its high literary quality. It's a truly memorable coming-of-age story about an adolescent Italian Jewish man, Elio, who learns a lot about love and total intimacy from a visiting American professor, Oliver, during a brief six week period one summer, set, sometime, in Italy, back in the 1970s or 1980s. Aciman offers us an honest, unflinching portrait of total intimacy, showing how these two men gradually move from mere friendship to an all too brief, but intense, romantic encounter, in a small town on the Italian Riviera, and then later, one night, in Rome, shortly before Oliver flies back home. It is an encounter that will truly haunt both men for the rest of their lives, as depicted in occasional scenes that jump forward to the present day. Aciman's portrait is truly compelling, and one that I found impossible to put down (No wonder why it has been considered for prominent literary awards, such as the American Academy of Arts and Letters' Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction.); Aciman is not only a fine literary stylist, but a compelling storyteller too. Without question, his fine novel deserves ample consideration, not only from those familiar with his excellent nonfiction prose, but also from others, such as yours truly, who are not fully acquainted with his work.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A beautifully written piece of fiction- a wonderful coming of age tale
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... Read more
Published 7 months ago by Nicola F (Nic)
Leaden
Sorry, but I really could not get on with this. I bought it as a light holiday read, but found this tale of fantastically talented, gifted, erudite, attractive utterly... Read more
Published 7 months ago by mindleftbody
Stunning
First let me say that I share some of the criticisms of earlier reviewers. For example the over emphasis on intellectual thoughts and conversation. Read more
Published 11 months ago by Coffee Lover
great
very beautiful story. there is sex, and as some times it might be construed as being graphic, but I would argue against that. very wonderful purchase
Published 15 months ago by knnth
Patronising.
I was really looking forward to reading this book and one one level, that of prose and the evocation of atmosphere, was highly satisfied. Read more
Published 16 months ago by D. B. Train
Over again
Never in my six decades have I finished a book only to start reading it again immediately from page one. Until this one. Read more
Published 16 months ago by R. Scrivener
Tender and mature
This is a beautiful novel about a charming story, it is tender and moving and handles the subject with sensitivity and maturity. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Mr. M. J. Farren
A book for readers who still 'count' their pause lengths.
If that title on a Five-star review intrigued you, please read on.
If not, please don't,
...because I am going to talk about punctuation. Read more
If not, please don't,
...because I am going to talk about punctuation. Read more
Published 17 months ago by VCBF (Val)
call me by your name
Other reviewers have delineated the plot, so I will not waste time repeating it. Suffice to say that this is a strange book and one not easy to review. Read more
Published 18 months ago by J. C. Russell
cor cordium...heart of hearts
This book broke my heart! I feel it's important to say that before anything else, because I don't want to give you the wrong impression; that this is some kind of fluffy tale of a... Read more
Published 18 months ago by S. Samraoui
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