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gsheffy's review against another edition
i am fascinated by aciman’s language—as always. i’m not sure exactly how i feel. i devoured the first 2/3 of the book, but felt a little apathetic towards the end. aciman always has a way of
making me feel like i’ve never felt true desire in my life.
making me feel like i’ve never felt true desire in my life.
addanumlaut's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
did not think i was going to like this book, but i was pleasantly surprised by it. the prose is beautiful and i found elio to be relatable which definitely helped with the immersion of the story.
jashegerova's review against another edition
5.0
haven't inhaled a book this quickly in a while. lovely lovely tender fragile beautiful. aciman is a darling as always and truly a magician at capturing the essence of longing and spinning soft bittersweet webs of it.
ahhh. lots of sighs. go read go cry go think of someone go yearn go go go feel.
TAKE 2: read this after over a year. Wanted to cry less, highlighted more. Grateful to have read this pre-movie. Really want a tan now.
ahhh. lots of sighs. go read go cry go think of someone go yearn go go go feel.
TAKE 2: read this after over a year. Wanted to cry less, highlighted more. Grateful to have read this pre-movie. Really want a tan now.
keitacolada's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
marsyyy's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Great vibe
bernou's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
nicreads420's review against another edition
3.0
I almost want to rate it 2 stars. To say I'm disappointment is an extreme understatement. Don't get me wrong, this was beautifully written, & as a queer person, I could relate in some ways. But.. UGH. I was bored. And I just could not get into it. I never wanted to pick it up, because it didn't capture my attention. I can see, however, why people would love this. But it's just not my cup of tea, I suppose.
blackjessamine's review against another edition
5.0
"Vent'anni sono ieri, e ieri è stamattina presto, e stamattina sembra lontano anni luce".
Sto provando a mettere insieme qualche riflessione sensata su questo romanzo, ma proprio non ce la faccio. È solo uno scavare, intenso e dolorosissimo, in una storia che nasce già distante, già fatta a pezzi e assorbita – divorata, incarnata, dove l'alterità viene perduta in favore di un'unità inscindibile – già ripercorsa da una narrazione fatta di consapevolezze date dal tempo trascorso.
Si torna sempre a ripercorrere gli stessi passi, gli stessi dettagli, gli stessi elementi minuscoli e totalizzanti, e c'è un'intensità che non riesco davvero a descrivere.
Che dolore. Che meraviglioso dolore.
Sto provando a mettere insieme qualche riflessione sensata su questo romanzo, ma proprio non ce la faccio. È solo uno scavare, intenso e dolorosissimo, in una storia che nasce già distante, già fatta a pezzi e assorbita – divorata, incarnata, dove l'alterità viene perduta in favore di un'unità inscindibile – già ripercorsa da una narrazione fatta di consapevolezze date dal tempo trascorso.
Si torna sempre a ripercorrere gli stessi passi, gli stessi dettagli, gli stessi elementi minuscoli e totalizzanti, e c'è un'intensità che non riesco davvero a descrivere.
Che dolore. Che meraviglioso dolore.
claudialouisemuller's review against another edition
5.0
“Fire like a pleading that says, Please, please, tell me I’m wrong, tell me I’ve imagined all this, because it can’t possibly be true for you as well, and if it’s true for you too, then you’re the cruelest man alive.”
•
I can’t begin to explain how heart-wrenching this book is. I needed some time to process, but I already know it will be my best book this year. I picked this up after reading André Aciman’s Gentleman from Peru, which I also highly recommend. Call Me by Your Name was poignant, bittersweet, and so tough to face. There were so many notes throughout on desire and relationships that I know I’ll think about for years to come. Some of my absolute favourites below - but I’m off to go stare at a wall and think about my choices, now. (5⭐️)
•
“I was exaggerating when I said I thought you hated the piece. What I meant to say was: I thought you hated me. I was hoping you’d persuade me of the opposite—and you did, for a while. Why won’t I believe it tomorrow morning?”
“P.S. We are not written for one instrument alone; I am not, neither are you.”
“…this little Ping-Pong game going: not knowing, not-not knowing, not-notnot knowing? Just be quiet, say nothing, and if you can’t say “yes,” don’t say “no,” say “later.” Is this why people say “maybe” when they mean “yes,” but hope you’ll think it’s “no” when all they really mean is, Please, just ask me once more, and once more after that?”
“It would have to come from him first. Then possibly from me. There is a law somewhere that says that when one person is thoroughly smitten with the other, the other must unavoidably be smitten as well. Amor ch’a null’amato amar perdona. Love, which exempts no one who’s loved from loving, Francesca’s words in the Inferno. Just wait and be hopeful. I was hopeful, though perhaps this was what I had wanted all along. To wait forever.”
“She was after him, that much was clear, while all I really wanted was one night with him, just one night—one hour, even—if only to determine whether I wanted him for another night after that. What I didn’t realize was that wanting to test desire is nothing more than a ruse to get what we want without admitting that we want it.”
“I did not want passion, I did not want pleasure. Perhaps I didn’t even want proof. And I did not want words, small talk, big talk, bike talk, book talk, any of it. Just the sun, the grass, the occasional sea breeze, and the smell of his body fresh from his chest, from his neck and his armpits. Just take me and molt me and turn me inside out, till, like a character in Ovid, I become one with your lust, that’s what I wanted. Give me a blindfold, hold my hand, and don’t ask me to think—will you do that for me?”
“Perhaps we were friends first and lovers second. But then perhaps this is what lovers are.”
“I loved watching all these lightly dressed people standing so close to me, all of them sharing the same basic thing: love for the night, love for the city, love for its people, and an ardent desire to couple—with anyone.”
“We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster than 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!”
“But remember, our hearts and our bodies are given to us only once. Most of us can’t help but live as though we’ve got two lives to live, one is the mockup, the other the finished version, and then there are all those versions in between. But there’s only one, and before you know it, your heart is worn out, and, as for your body, there comes a point when no one looks at it, much less wants to come near it.”
“Time makes us sentimental. Perhaps, in the end, it is because of time that we suffer.”
•
I can’t begin to explain how heart-wrenching this book is. I needed some time to process, but I already know it will be my best book this year. I picked this up after reading André Aciman’s Gentleman from Peru, which I also highly recommend. Call Me by Your Name was poignant, bittersweet, and so tough to face. There were so many notes throughout on desire and relationships that I know I’ll think about for years to come. Some of my absolute favourites below - but I’m off to go stare at a wall and think about my choices, now. (5⭐️)
•
“I was exaggerating when I said I thought you hated the piece. What I meant to say was: I thought you hated me. I was hoping you’d persuade me of the opposite—and you did, for a while. Why won’t I believe it tomorrow morning?”
“P.S. We are not written for one instrument alone; I am not, neither are you.”
“…this little Ping-Pong game going: not knowing, not-not knowing, not-notnot knowing? Just be quiet, say nothing, and if you can’t say “yes,” don’t say “no,” say “later.” Is this why people say “maybe” when they mean “yes,” but hope you’ll think it’s “no” when all they really mean is, Please, just ask me once more, and once more after that?”
“It would have to come from him first. Then possibly from me. There is a law somewhere that says that when one person is thoroughly smitten with the other, the other must unavoidably be smitten as well. Amor ch’a null’amato amar perdona. Love, which exempts no one who’s loved from loving, Francesca’s words in the Inferno. Just wait and be hopeful. I was hopeful, though perhaps this was what I had wanted all along. To wait forever.”
“She was after him, that much was clear, while all I really wanted was one night with him, just one night—one hour, even—if only to determine whether I wanted him for another night after that. What I didn’t realize was that wanting to test desire is nothing more than a ruse to get what we want without admitting that we want it.”
“I did not want passion, I did not want pleasure. Perhaps I didn’t even want proof. And I did not want words, small talk, big talk, bike talk, book talk, any of it. Just the sun, the grass, the occasional sea breeze, and the smell of his body fresh from his chest, from his neck and his armpits. Just take me and molt me and turn me inside out, till, like a character in Ovid, I become one with your lust, that’s what I wanted. Give me a blindfold, hold my hand, and don’t ask me to think—will you do that for me?”
“Perhaps we were friends first and lovers second. But then perhaps this is what lovers are.”
“I loved watching all these lightly dressed people standing so close to me, all of them sharing the same basic thing: love for the night, love for the city, love for its people, and an ardent desire to couple—with anyone.”
“We rip out so much of ourselves to be cured of things faster than 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!”
“But remember, our hearts and our bodies are given to us only once. Most of us can’t help but live as though we’ve got two lives to live, one is the mockup, the other the finished version, and then there are all those versions in between. But there’s only one, and before you know it, your heart is worn out, and, as for your body, there comes a point when no one looks at it, much less wants to come near it.”
“Time makes us sentimental. Perhaps, in the end, it is because of time that we suffer.”