A review by jacolinemaes
Harvard Square by André Aciman

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.