Call Me By Your Name by Andre Aciman

Rome, Italy*

Yes I am aware that the majority of the book takes place in a small villa in northern Italy, but it is unnamed, so I am choosing Rome as the location.

This is one of the more academic books I've read as of late. Philosophy and poetry play a large part in the novel. It's poetic, timeless, not anchored to time or place (other than a couple of references to the 1980s). Time takes place so slowly, it feels like the whole novel could have been a dream.

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Elio is an introverted, intelligent young man growing up within a wealthy Jewish family in Italy. His father is a professor, and each summer they invite a graduate student to spend 6 weeks with them to learn from each other. In the summer of 1987 (it was changed in the movie (which I found very boring and did not finish watching) because the book does not mention the AIDS crisis, and the movie writers did not want to seem obtuse for not mentioning it), Oliver joins them. He is a confident, likeable, casual young man studying Pre-Socratic Philosophy at Columbia University. The pair eventually start a love affair, after a painfully slow build up. Oliver leaves at the end of the summer, but both Elio and Oliver remember their relationship for the rest of their lives.

To me, this book is an intellectual and poetic ode to the classic coming of age story. Oliver is the first person Elio really connects with, can bounce ideas off of. When the two of them go to Rome, Elio feels like he really belongs while discussing literature in the book store. Young love is so powerful because, if you are with someone when you start to grow into the person you want to become, you tie that growth and that person together. I had a similar experience with my last relationship. I credited my ex for so much of the growth that I did on my own. Elio and Oliver meet an author who wrote a poem called The San Clemente Syndrome, which described being in one of the most beautiful places in the world and yet thinking of and missing home. To Elio, Oliver is his San Clemente, and he’s never able to move past the relationship.

I never quite understood the titular “Call Me By Your Name” game that the lovers play. From doing some research, I found a source that compared it to the quote (of which I cannot find an author): “The desire to have someone is the same as the desire to be that person.” That could apply to Elio, who is younger and less self-assured. It is hinted that Oliver is just as insecure and hides it behind his casual demeanor, but I find this quote less applicable in that Oliver said it first. I most likely just didn’t connect something while reading this book.

I find this book difficult to review beyond that. It’s definitely an “enjoy the journey, not the destination” type of story, as little occurs throughout. I think that’s why I couldn’t make it through the movie - so much of this book is about the prose and about creating a sense of desperate longing. It is wordy, but not in a bad way. The lack of character development is probably to contribute to the sense of timelessness that I think Aciman is going for. Overall, I’m glad I read it, and I’m happy that such a romantic but graphic LGBTQIA+ novel has been able to gain so much popularity.

Review by the Numbers

Overall: 3/5

Writing: 5/5

Plot: 2/5

Character Development: 2/5

Message: 2/5

Challenges Satisfied: Book about LGBTQIA+ Experiences (Diversity Challenge)

Book Published in the 2010s (Decades Challenge)

Romance (Genre Challenge)