Reviews with content warning for Terminal illness - Call Me by Your Name

This book was... something else that I wasn't quite expecting. I like to go into books knowing as little as possible, the only thing I knew about this one was that there was a movie adaptation with Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer. Boy oh boy.

This entire story felt like a breeze on a hot summer night or like the waves crashing on a rocky beach. It felt like a hug and a slap. It swallowed me whole and when I finished it it was like part of me was left behind, or a part of me had been lifted out of me.

The love that is described in this novel is uncontrollable, it's beautiful and it's somewhat tragic. It's complicated and has many twists and turns, the character (Elio) is conflicted yet so completly sure. Following his train of thoughts, his attemps at understanding his universe while also having the intuition that he knows everything in advance, that the surprises are only half surprising. That's how I felt anyway... he had a way of living, a way of loving that felt empowering and magical.

In the end, what will live with me from this novel is the feeling that came with this book, the heart full and, maybe, just a little bit hurt..

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alyssadavis's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

I suddenly realised that we were on borrowed time, that time is always borrowed, and that the lending agency exacts its premium precisely when we are least prepared to pay and need to borrow more.

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char233's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

3.5

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sloanadrouny's review against another edition

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emotional reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

the prose in this book was insanely beautiful, and the story did really tug on my heartstrings at times. and THE LAST PARAGRAPH holy shit. however, there were some elements in this book that did make me quite uncomfortable, and for that i don’t think i can comfortably give this 5 stars.

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epellicci's review against another edition

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challenging slow-paced

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

1.0

Unfortunately, I could not get along with this book. The writing tried too hard to be poetic and instead came off as vague and cold. I found Elio's character unbearable - obsessive and pushy, the way he felt entitled to Oliver was creepy, not helped by the fact that almost his entire personality was written surrounding his relationship to Oliver, so he felt very two dimensional and boring. Communication between the main characters is stunted, which along with the age gap gives their relationship a decidedly toxic undercurrent. I wound up skimming most of the end.

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emmaoline's review against another edition

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challenging 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

I am left with one question after reading this book and that is how was this ever published?
Not just in terms of content but the writing seems like nonsensical drivel only found in a first draft. At times it felt like Aciman had recently purchased his first thesaurus when writing this book, but had yet to learn anything about punctuation. Whilst what is supposed to pass for plot feels more like horror than romance.

There are no likeable characters in this book. There are no people in this book, only aliens masquerading as people. Although I did enjoy the character Ada whose only purpose was to say "I am Ada," in a crowded room. If this was spoken to the main characters or not, or in the background is not really clear, which made it funnier.

But in the end, I am left reeling from the racist colonial ideology that came out of nowhere and had way too much time spent on it as if it were Shakespeare. This disgusting language was so disturbing I forgot the earlier passage where a peach was described as "bruises and damaged, like a rape victim,"[sic]

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