Call Me by Your Name: A Novel

André Aciman

Jan 2008 · Sold by Farrar, Straus and Giroux

About this ebook

Now a Major Motion Picture from Director Luca Guadagnino, Starring Armie Hammer and Timothée Chalamet, and Written by Three-Time OscarTM Nominee James Ivory

The Basis of the Oscar-Winning Best Adapted Screenplay

A New York Times Bestseller
A USA Today Bestseller
A Los Angeles Times Bestseller
A Vulture Book Club Pick

An Instant Classic and One of the Great Love Stories of Our Time

Andre Aciman's Call Me by Your Name is the story of a sudden and powerful romance that blossoms between an adolescent boy and a summer guest at his parents’ cliffside mansion on the Italian Riviera. Each is unprepared for the consequences of their attraction, when, during the restless summer weeks, unrelenting currents of obsession, fascination, and desire intensify their passion and test the charged ground between them. Recklessly, the two verge toward the one thing both fear they may never truly find again: total intimacy. It is an instant classic and one of the great love stories of our time.

Winner of the Lambda Literary Award for Ficition

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year • A Publishers Weekly and The Washington Post Best Book of the Year • A New York Magazine "Future Canon" Selection • A Chicago Tribune and Seattle Times (Michael Upchurch's) Favorite Favorite Book of the Year

Ratings and reviews

Nice book, kinda confusing for some parts (English is not my first language). Elio's desire, fear, and feelings really make me love him because he's only a teenager at that time. I do envy him. To be able to feel such love for a person.... And Oliver? I understand why he did that at the end. He's just too soft, I guess and I love him for that too ♥️ Probably gonna buy the second book!

A lovely and oh-so-tender coming-of-age story about a teenager who encounters his true soulmate very early in life and must, as a result, handle intense and complex adult emotions, perhaps before he's fully ready. And it feels like a novel written by someone who has known a love much more intimate than many of us ever experience. 17-year-old Elio, living in a small town in Northern Italy, is accustomed to his professor-father hiring a different assistant each summer, to live with the family in exchange for help organizing academic work. In 1983, however, the assistant who arrives is Oliver, 7 years Elio's senior and just beginning a promising academic career of his own. The book is narrated by Elio and so the author gets to slowly reveal -- with beauty, tenderness, depth, and authenticity -- all the uncertainties, insecurities, hopes, and fears that occupy Elio's mind as he navigates first love. There is so much truth in Andre Aciman's descriptions, that you are certain to recognize in Elio's psychological musings something from your own experiences. Aciman takes you deep into Elio's soul and you will know him intimately. There is SUCH exquisite detail about his passage through each painful stage: initial attraction, intense infatuation, obsessive fantasizing, wild passion, deep emotional attachment, and profound intimacy. I confess there were moments when the detail felt a bit overwhelming and I found myself eager for something to "happen." But by the end of the book, I came to appreciate the way the author used the descriptions to lay a foundation for what was to come. It's a wonderful read though also sad. Because, by the end, it becomes much more about the decisions we all make in life, how those decisions shape our path, and how we sometimes long for the path not taken.

✩ ✩ ✩ 3-STAR ✩ REVIEW ✩ ✩ ✩ > > Judging a Book by its Cover < < With a title font barely visible and the model blending into the background, it’s had to find anything other than the blue lined-notebook paper to catch the eye. The synopsis for the book had sounded far more appealing than the movie synopsis and at the urging of two friends, I went against my initial instincts and opted to give this title a try. > > Looking Deeper < < POV ~> First-person, Elio’s perspective. Setting: Italy If there are a few things I have learned about myself and my reading preferences, they are this: I am not keen on foreign art, I am not a fan of the rambling styles of overly descriptive text, and lastly, I tend not to enjoy timetables set back too far. So why in the heck did I read this, right? I agreed to read this after much encouragement from two friends that SWORE that if I’d give it a chance, I’d love it… not this time, sorry. That’s not to say it was a bad book, obviously many people loved it. It just was not a good fit for ME. Sorry boys! I was borrowed this book one week ago and even forcing myself to continue, I only managed to get 51% in before conceding defeat. Although Elio was seventeen in this story, which normally would raise a big NO flag to me, his thoughts tended to ramble from one extreme to another. In one instance, he’d show the maturity of a resident scholar, but in the next… he exhibited sociopathic thoughts that were rather disturbing. Yes, there was an age gap between the characters, but a reader needs to remember that in Europe they are not as close-minded about these sorts of things as Americans tend to me. I did not read past 51% and other than a kiss and quick grope, I did not experience anything more so cannot judge whether it felt natural or coerced. Whereas their whole chemistry and interactions were awkward. Conversation was stilted and minimal. I did not care for either lead character, from the first half of what I read. Elio’s family entertained company at almost every lunch and dinner, yet referred to it as “drudgery”… if it were so taxing, why partake? All for show. Nothing felt genuine. An air of aloofness surrounded them all, not warm nor inviting. I cannot tell you of the conflict resolutions, predictability, nor the solidity of the conclusion, so those are left for someone that bravely ventured further than I did. . Rating: [R] ~ Score: 3.15 ~ Stars: 3, DNF ========================== ⭐ ⭐ **** Disclosure of Material: I received a borrowed copy of this book from a friend and am voluntarily leaving unbiased and unsolicited feedback. I was not asked, encouraged, or required to leave a review - nor was I compensated in any way. I am posting this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising". ***** ⭐ ⭐ .

About the author

André Aciman is the author of Eight White Nights, Out of Egypt, False Papers, Alibis, and Harvard Square, and the editor of The Proust Project (all published by FSG). He teaches comparative literature at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and lives with his wife in Manhattan.