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lodisparate's review
5.0
what a journey it is. i am still reeling from the powerful last chapter and the conversation between Elio and his father.
i am a sobbing mess by the end and i think this is probably the only book that i literally clutched my own hand and heart while reading.
deeply in love with Aciman's beautiful prose that i keep re reading and making notes of and will keep on going back to remember them probably years later or perhaps tonight, before i go to sleep.
reading this was all consuming and crushing at the same time but also so beguiling that you can't help to continue although you know when you reach the finishing line that your heart will break to tiny little pieces and i did.
+ re the film adaptation that will be coming our way soon! YEAY!! i know that Timothee Chalamet will do Elio justice and yes my heart will break again and again.
i am a sobbing mess by the end and i think this is probably the only book that i literally clutched my own hand and heart while reading.
deeply in love with Aciman's beautiful prose that i keep re reading and making notes of and will keep on going back to remember them probably years later or perhaps tonight, before i go to sleep.
reading this was all consuming and crushing at the same time but also so beguiling that you can't help to continue although you know when you reach the finishing line that your heart will break to tiny little pieces and i did.
+ re the film adaptation that will be coming our way soon! YEAY!! i know that Timothee Chalamet will do Elio justice and yes my heart will break again and again.
kates's review
3.0
Everyone in this book is (Jean-Ralphio voice) The Woooooooooorst. Except for Mafalda, and we only get to know Mafalda as well as Elio does, which is not very well at all. What interiority could the woman who starches your sheets and makes your lemonade possibly have? For Elio et al., there are people and then there are the help. This cute little scene is representative:
The waiter told us that we could either have wine or beer; the bartender had left earlier that evening, on account of because his mother was taken gravely ill to the hospital where she had to be taken. Everyone smothered a laugh at the waiter's garbled speech. Oliver asked what they charged for martinis. The waiter yelled the question to the girl at the cash register. She told him how much. "Well, what if I make the drinks and you charge us your price on account of because we can mix the drinks we are mixing?"I am still going to see the film version, though, because 1. I'm hopeful that the characters will be more bearable without Aciman's "I AM SO SMORT, HEIDEGGER NIETZSCHE PAUL CELAN" writing on top, and 2. Armie Hammer.
thebookishbabbler's review
4.0
Actual rating 4.75
So, best closing line to a book ever? Devastating. That aside, as much as I love this story and Ellio the bicon I did find some of the pacing to be off which made me not able to fully fully love this to five star levels. That aside the writing is gorgeous the characters are gorgeous and Armie Hammer as the narrator really was a treat. I highly recommend this if you want a deeply gorgeous, yet flawed book about coming of age, the exploration of internalized homophobia, and the strength of one person's impact on a life. Highly highly recommend!
So, best closing line to a book ever? Devastating. That aside, as much as I love this story and Ellio the bicon I did find some of the pacing to be off which made me not able to fully fully love this to five star levels. That aside the writing is gorgeous the characters are gorgeous and Armie Hammer as the narrator really was a treat. I highly recommend this if you want a deeply gorgeous, yet flawed book about coming of age, the exploration of internalized homophobia, and the strength of one person's impact on a life. Highly highly recommend!
missmarauder2's review
4.0
This was such an odd book. I thought it was great, it was very poetic and in some ways very adept at describing emotions. It was especially good at describing the complicated emotions that come with having a crush on someone you shouldn't have a crush on.
And this poetry that was present in every single line, sentence, paragraph, the sensuality of the prose and the descriptions of Italy, was juxtaposed by how utterly crassly and bluntly the sexual encounters are described. And even though it definitely doesn't end with them living happily ever after, it was a very satisfying read.
And this poetry that was present in every single line, sentence, paragraph, the sensuality of the prose and the descriptions of Italy, was juxtaposed by how utterly crassly and bluntly the sexual encounters are described. And even though it definitely doesn't end with them living happily ever after, it was a very satisfying read.
katereadingthroughinfinity's review
3.0
I'd been curious about picking this up for a while, and when I heard that Armie Hammer was the audiobook narrator, I knew I definitely wanted to read it on audiobook. His narration certain didn't disappoint, but the rest of the book wasn't quite what I expected. It's a lot more sexual than I thought (I don't think I'll ever be able to look at a peach in the same way), but the narrative is also a lot more languid. It's a character-driven novel, so I wasn't expecting a fast pace, but the slow-building descriptions of the characters and setting left me feeling a little detached from it all. I didn't connect with Ellio or Oliver, and although I enjoyed their adventures together, I ended up not feeling too invested in what happened to them. The ending was pretty melancholic, but it was also an accurate reflection of the way life can take turns we don't expect.
retnolaras's review
4.0
I love it. It's all from Elio perspective, and Elio is very poetic in wording. The way he says things is always, as Oliver's said, "in a way". Italy is very beautiful and I can truly imagined how these are all happened on Summer in Italy.