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gabi_sud's review
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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? Yes
3.5
Absolutely loved the movie and wanted to love the book just as much but unfortunately I did not.
I thought it was very beautifully written, the raw and real emotions Elio felt, I could very much relate to things he was going through. However, even putting the age gap aside, the relationship between Elio and Oliver was very predatory from both sides?? The amount of times Elio had thoughts about SA’ing Oliver? And many time he acted on those thoughts, touching him without consent. The time he thought about disabling him so he could be his master?? And obviously Oliver is no better even through we don’t know his thoughts but the peach scene alone was a good indicator of how sick in the head he is as well.
I wonder how people that view this as a beautiful love story would feel if one of them was a woman?
Also what the fuck was that bathroom scene. I get loving someone that much you want to be one with them, but looking at each others fecal matter is surely not the way to do it?
I truly don’t get Elio’s fascination with Oliver who might as well been a cardboard cutout cause he has just as much personality. Elio truly only desired Oliver because he was hot cause let’s be honest here, he didn’t even know him.
I’m not gonna say I didn’t enjoy the book at all, cause I’d be lying. There were parts I absolutely loved, could totally relate to Elio and his yearning for someone he can’t have but all the good parts were overshadowed by the weird and creepy stuff. Like there was truly no need for it.
And the foot fetish was driving me absolutely insane. Like not all of us are Quentin Tarantino.
The ending, however, absolutely crushed me , it was heart wrenching and really did things for me. Not sure how I feel about there being another book though. I feel like it defeats the whole point of this one.
I thought it was very beautifully written, the raw and real emotions Elio felt, I could very much relate to things he was going through. However, even putting the age gap aside, the relationship between Elio and Oliver was very predatory from both sides?? The amount of times Elio had thoughts about SA’ing Oliver? And many time he acted on those thoughts, touching him without consent. The time he thought about disabling him so he could be his master?? And obviously Oliver is no better even through we don’t know his thoughts but the peach scene alone was a good indicator of how sick in the head he is as well.
I wonder how people that view this as a beautiful love story would feel if one of them was a woman?
Also what the fuck was that bathroom scene. I get loving someone that much you want to be one with them, but looking at each others fecal matter is surely not the way to do it?
I truly don’t get Elio’s fascination with Oliver who might as well been a cardboard cutout cause he has just as much personality. Elio truly only desired Oliver because he was hot cause let’s be honest here, he didn’t even know him.
I’m not gonna say I didn’t enjoy the book at all, cause I’d be lying. There were parts I absolutely loved, could totally relate to Elio and his yearning for someone he can’t have but all the good parts were overshadowed by the weird and creepy stuff. Like there was truly no need for it.
And the foot fetish was driving me absolutely insane. Like not all of us are Quentin Tarantino.
The ending, however, absolutely crushed me , it was heart wrenching and really did things for me. Not sure how I feel about there being another book though. I feel like it defeats the whole point of this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Stalking
Minor: Terminal illness, Ableism, Child death, Racism, and Vomit
lio_ramon_dolor's review
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, and Pedophilia
Minor: Vomit and Excrement
tea_ana's review
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Excrement, Pedophilia, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Alcohol
macdonac's review
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Rape, and Adult/minor relationship
ollie_oops's review
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
dianadelacruisin's review
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Pedophilia, and Rape
Moderate: Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, and Sexual content
ams5x9's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
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? It's complicated
2.0
I really wanted to like this book, however despite being well written, it lacked substance.
I’m here for a timeless, devoted love story between two men that transcends age and culture set in a time period where such thing was taboo.
However, this book fell flat. The characters lacked dimension and several parts of the book felt like I was imposing on the mind of a very anxiously obsessed adolescent who throughout the novel *rapes* a peach and prizes *literal* shit.
I didn’t find it to be arduous admiration—it felt creepy.
I think other reviewers, particularly gay men who have similarly rated this two stars or lower, do a great job at describing the problematic parts of this novel, so I would defer to their sentiments and opinions for more extensive commentary that echos or matches my experience reading this novel.
I’m here for a timeless, devoted love story between two men that transcends age and culture set in a time period where such thing was taboo.
However, this book fell flat. The characters lacked dimension and several parts of the book felt like I was imposing on the mind of a very anxiously obsessed adolescent who throughout the novel *rapes* a peach and prizes *literal* shit.
I didn’t find it to be arduous admiration—it felt creepy.
I think other reviewers, particularly gay men who have similarly rated this two stars or lower, do a great job at describing the problematic parts of this novel, so I would defer to their sentiments and opinions for more extensive commentary that echos or matches my experience reading this novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Pedophilia, and Adult/minor relationship
greyreadss's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, and Adult/minor relationship
leahhmorriss's review
challenging
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
2.5
i enjoyed the movie but didn’t like the way the book was written. there was way too much of elio rambling on about how obsessed he was with oliver and not enough actual plot.
i didn’t exactly like either of the main characters. elio’s obsession was creepy and weird and uncomfortable to read. oliver was clearly a groomer, it wasn’t even the age gap that got me it was oliver’s reaction to elio regretting their time together and how he was clearly manipulating a minor because of his guilt.
for some reason, even though this book made me angry and uncomfortable multiple times, i still enjoyed the ending of them both being adults and reconnecting. i found myself wanting to read the second book even though i probably never will.
i didn’t exactly like either of the main characters. elio’s obsession was creepy and weird and uncomfortable to read. oliver was clearly a groomer, it wasn’t even the age gap that got me it was oliver’s reaction to elio regretting their time together and how he was clearly manipulating a minor because of his guilt.
for some reason, even though this book made me angry and uncomfortable multiple times, i still enjoyed the ending of them both being adults and reconnecting. i found myself wanting to read the second book even though i probably never will.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, and Toxic relationship
zamakodknjiga's review against another edition
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Kraj je bio emotivan i svideo mi se, zbog toga 3.25⭐️. Inače zaslužuje 3, osrednji je roman kada se sve sagleda. Imala sam love-hate odnos s glavnim likovima, mnogo toga mi je bilo diskutabilno, a pritom portretisano kao ljubav. Za mene je, uprkos kraju, to što su Eli i Oliver imali ništa više od privlačnosti i seksualne tenzije koju su na određeni način zadovoljili. Pritom, razlika u godinama, seksualizacija i fetišizam koju je Asiman prikazao definitivno nije u mojoj zoni komfora. Mislim da mi je na neki način ogadio breskve, to je sve što ću reći... 😵💫 Stil pisanja jeste donekle izvukao celokupnu knjigu. Ono u šta sam sigurna je da ovo definitivno nije LGBT knjiga u kojoj sam uživala, ali mi je drago da sam je pročitala jer bih mislila da sam propustila nešto. Krajem nisam ostala ravnodušna, ali je pomalo bilo prekasno da se vežem za likove. Ukoliko "možete da progutate" dozu pomalo čudnih seksualnih fantazija i okej vam je tinejdžerska dramatičnost prve ljubavi (to sam i uspela da preguram), verujem da bi vam knjiga bila u redu. Što se mene tiče, ja se s Asimanom više neću družiti, nije mi toliko legao koliko sam se nadala da hoće.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual content
Moderate: Toxic relationship