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 enlarge | Author: Andre Aciman
Publisher: Picador
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy Used: $6.95
You Save: $7.05 (50%)
New (38) Used (23) Collectible (2) from $6.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  101 reviews
Sales Rank: 13450
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 256
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.4 x 0.9
ISBN: 031242678X
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780312426781
ASIN: 031242678X
Publication Date: January 22, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: Expedited shipping available
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: Visible shelf wear -- may have some notes/markings on pages
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| Customer Reviews:
 A Modern Death in Venice? August 7, 2008
Well, yes and no. While at first it seems painfully slow, you quickly realize that the descriptions behind this prolonged and passionate obsession by a young boy for his older and more experienced house guest lie at the very heart of the novel. But where Mann's older protagonist devolves like the spread of cholera in Venice, Aciman's youthful equivalent blossoms with the ripeness of a fresh peach at the family's Italian villa. If there were room for improvement it might be with the plot: Was it fiction here, or like Mann's story, are we peeking into the author's past? Then again, perhaps the hint of autobiography makes the story all the more compelling. Regardless, this novel is a delight and well worth the read.
Longing and misunderstandings in beautiful prose August 2, 2008
Every year Elio's parents invite an overseas scholar to come to their summer cottage on the Italian coast to work on his manuscript. In the meantime he can make use of all the facilities, as long as he helps to keep up the intellectual conversation after the meals and helps Elio's father with his correspondence. The year that Elio, a very intelllectual boy, is 17 years old they have invited Oliver, a young scientist from America. From the beginning Elio is fascinated by Oluiver: the way he behaves, the way he talks, the way he moves, his ease in life, but somehow he does not know how to get through to Oliver. Sometimes it seems that there is contact, then something happens that drives them apart again. It takes until a few weeks before Oliver's leave for Elio and Oliver to really solve their misunderstandings, after which they become very dear friends. But Oliver has to return to America...
A book about first loves, longing, the inability to express your feelings, misunderstanding when you try to interpret other people's actions and behaviour and all those other things that anybody who has been in love recognizes. Written in a beautiful style and covered in an Italian summer holiday sauce. A joy to read.
Oh, to be a ripe summer peach in Elio's room... July 21, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
"Call Me by Your Name" is my favorite book since I can't remember when. More than a week after reading the last line, images of the Italian seaside and the characters continue to be etched in my mind. I hope they stay with me for a long while, and suspect that they will. I haven't had a book accomplish that feat in years. I agree with the reviews comparing the book somewhat to Catcher in the Rye because Elio's obsessive nature is so effectively captured by Aciman. However, he uses just the right mix of peering into his young character's mind to ground the very compelling coming of age story. And I like that the sometimes graphic gay theme plays second fiddle to the overall work, which is a testament to the masterful skill of the author. Aciman is certainly a gifted story teller, and I eagerly await his next book. As for the summer peach....well that's a surprise. I highly, highly recommend this book.
Exceptionally moving. July 19, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
If only we all could express who we were at 17 with such grace, honesty and lucidity.
"The Course of True Love Never did run Smooth" July 18, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Call Me by Your Name: A Novel
The course of true love never did run smooth -
The story of star-crossed lovers runs throughout literature, from Shakespeare's sonnets onward. In "Call me by Your Name," Andre Aciman explores adolescent sexuality through the eyes of a sensitive, 17- year- old Italian boy who develops a crush on a slightly older summer visitor. Elio lives with his father, a university professor, and mother in a villa on the Mediterranean. It is in this languid setting that the romance between the two youths develops over the course of long, hot summer afternoons spent playing tennis, swimming and reading --- Aciman captures the mood perfectly. The sexual tension grows intense, even brutal, as the two explore one another's psyches and physiques. While explicitly homoerotic, it is never pornographic.
There is a lot of suggestive, but not overtly sexual dialogue between the two.
Much of their testosterone-driven energy is dissipated through talk of art, literature, and females, which appear to be a subject of mutual interest.
Aciman is an academic who specializes in the works of Marcel Proust, whose style he sometimes emulates. Although straight, Aciman perfectly conveys the emotional and physical traits of his gay/bi characters.
It's a shame that more "gay" literature doesn't ring as true as this book by a straight author. Love is still love, whatever its variations and permutations.
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