Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman

14 reviews

lio_ramon_dolor's review

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0


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courtneykfong's review

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Waaaay too sensual for me and way too much emotional manipulation for my liking. Also the age gap gave me the ick. Couldn’t finish. 

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tea_ana's review

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Definitely not for everyone, there are some uncomfortable scenes to get through but overall a fascinating portrayal of a young man’s experience in a tumultuous and ultimately unhealthy relationship. Elio’s narration is really what kept me reading which was great because the entire book was essentially the whirlwind of Elio’s conflicting thoughts. Wonderfully written though relatively slow paced. If you watched the movie and want to read the source material I’d say go for it but don’t expect it to be as covered in a haze of romance.

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ollie_oops's review

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challenging reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book is the definition of sad passions, but it's far sadder than the movie. 

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tadiwa_e's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I cannot really express the experience I went through reading this book. Almost DNFed it 3 times… I am still processing. But I will say. What a beautifully written piece. I would not call it a romance but maybe a recollection of Elios memories. It was intimate and sometimes really intense. 

However I cannot get behind the age gap and power dynamics in the relationship. No matter how much Aciman tries to present it as something to be praised. For that I cannot give a higher rating. Some parts of this book also were disgusting… sorry… there’s no way THAT scene is going to be skipped past like it never happened. 

Overall I loved a lot of quotes in this book and it was thought provoking especially Elios Fathers speech at the end. 

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alice_hesse's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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theuncannydani's review

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dark slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Contains pedophilia, grooming, transphobia, homophobia and racism.

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sadie_bg's review

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reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

What annoyed me the most about this book is that at times Andre Aciman was so comfortabl writing about explicit and VILE scenes however when it came to the word sex he always referred to it as " love making " ???? Just say it as it is. 
I gave 2.5 stars mainly for the poetic / lyrical writing aswell as aesthetic but that's all. 
There are so many better books out there with LGBTQ+ romance and characters that dont romantacise  grooming and pedophilia.

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kaadee's review

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emotional reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

After reading other peoples reviews, I have come to a conclusion. I think it’s important that this book was made because it gives a glimpse into the the thought process of the groomed. We as readers know that it’s gross, uncomfortable and upsetting and while Elio also realizes this, his feelings are much different. Through Elio’s thoughts, we are also being groomed by Oliver to care for their relationship (see other peoples reviews calling this an amazing love story) it’s a good story, but not one about love. It’s about obsession, it’s about craving an experience but ultimately it’s about the power imbalances teenagers have with adults. How teenagers are easily taken advantage of and made to think they are in love. I honestly don’t think the writer wrote it to have this kind of meaning whatsoever which makes it worse for me. The deep dive into Elio’s sexual thoughts was disturbing. I mean, I really didn’t need to know what a 17 year old was thinking while he was going at it into a peach. I think it’s important to understand his thoughts but the amount of detail into the desires was gross. Also the writing style??? What pretentious person decided they would just add every word from the dictionary, put it into run on sentences, and then publish it? Some quotes were good but it’s too much philosophy without actually making any sense. People who praise this book for the writing and the feeling that you get while reading are weird. Honestly, the writing just made me want to finish it 10x faster just so I could be done. I love the movie compared to this. Also the fetish for Jewish people, GROSS!!! The author isn’t even Jewish which I didn’t know while reading. I was weirded out but I just went along with it because maybe he was just being expressive of his faith/background BUT NO, he just fetishized Jewish people. 

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eadaoin_'s review

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

SO MANY FEET??? WHAT IS GOING ON WHY DOES ELIO HAVE A FOOT FETISH

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