Reviews

Harvard Square by André Aciman

goldenpeacee'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? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

jacolinemaes's review against another edition

medium-paced

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

0.75

There are a few observations worth reading, but this comes nowhere close to the aching coming of age and heartfelt longing that I remember from <i>Call Me By Your Name</i>. Apart from that I could absolutely not stand the protagonist and his 'friend' Kalaj. This book just oozes misogyny and it went completely wrong for me when the protagonist was thinking: "the idea of twin sisters in the same bed at the same time never failed to arouse me". And I might've been willing to let that slip eventually if it wouldn't happen again. However, a few pages later a woman is painted as a nuisance when she dares to be angry when a guy doesn't want to use protection and there is an absolutely tasteless joke about necrophilia. I really could not bring myself to care in the slightest anymore about these horrible characters.

coreyk's review against another edition

I don't know why this is tagged as LGBT/gay fiction because it clearly is not. Goodreads also gives a ton of gay novels as readalikes, probably because of Aciman's name.

This is a novel about a complicated relationship between two men, but the relationship is not romantic.

cactusclaire's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

sinelit's review against another edition

5.0

belki de aciman’ın bu romanında anlattığı şeylerin büyük bir kısmını son birkaç yıldır yaşadığım için çok bağlandım kitaba. ama çok bağlandım ya. ağlattı bile. keşke arkadaş olsaydık bile diyemiyorum, arkadaş olsak ikimiz de yabani yabani oturup sessizlikten rahatsız olurmuşuz, onu da anladım zira. ama keşke o anlatsa, ben de dinlesem. doyamıyorum.

mimosaeyes's review against another edition

4.0

Aciman's nostalgic, bottomless style is less evident here than in Call Me By Your Name. It is there, though, as is his sensitivity to complex nuances in people dynamics.

I also enjoyed this book's engagement with outsider-ness in America. I feel certain it will become a contemporary classic.

paolushon's review against another edition

5.0

Te deja el alma destrozada de la mejor manera posible.

softstarrynights's review against another edition

2.0

I hate to say it, but this was a real disappointment for me. It's a short book, only 300 ages, and follows the friendship between a Jewish grad student and a Arabian cab driver, which sounded great. However the protagonist, the grad student, was so unbearably pretentious I couldn't stand most of the things he said or thought, as the book is from his perspective. Even Kalaj, the cab driver, had a lot of annoying attributes, and that was why his "friend" treated his so poorly. I did really like the prologue and the epilogue, which is from the MC's perspective as he shows his son around, but that was about it.

Looking for more bookish content? Look no further than www.cartonmanettedarnay.wordpress.com!

zjunjunia's review against another edition

4.0

Ra-ta-ta-ta.. jumbo ersatz. I really enjoy André's style. Unapologetic and direct. To the extent that sometimes you are embarrassed about what's being said - but it's human! André was kicked out of Egypt at the age of 15 but seeing how he captured some of the Arab/North African characteristics is just amazing. Made me smile as it is exactly how I witnessed them myself; an expatriate's perspective.
The narrative is a continuous dance between the confusion and commotion in Café Algiers and the deep and introspective thoughts of the protagonist - striking yet so perfect in delivery.

'I wanted to imagine them, keep stepping back till I saw what was inside me, not what was out there. As if in order to experience this thing called the past, I needed distance, temperance, tact, an inflection of sloth and humor even - because memory, like revenge, is best served chilled.'

zelephante's review against another edition

4.0

I love the way Aciman writes, but I don’t always love the story he tells. While I wasn’t at all as angry as I was by the end of Enigma Variations, I was also not as positively touched as I was by Call Me By Your Name, either. There are a lot of beautiful moments to experience in this book, and it may require a different life experience and perspective than mine to appreciate how their strung together.