Minnie's Fiction Addiction

👀 First impressions:
I’d heard a lot about Call Me by Your Name, mostly framed as a beautiful, heart-wrenching love story set against an idyllic Italian summer. The premise, a coming-of-age romance between seventeen-year-old Elio and visiting scholar Oliver, promised intensity and introspection. I went in expecting rich prose and emotional depth.

✅ What I Liked:
The writing is undeniably elegant. Aciman’s prose is lush and sensory, capturing the golden haze of summer and the obsessive inner world of first love. The setting, sun-soaked villas, fruit trees, the slow rhythm of life, is almost a character in itself. The novel shines when it lingers on small, quiet moments that feel intensely personal yet universal. Elio’s confusion, desire, and insecurity are portrayed with raw honesty.

❎ What I didn’t Like:
While the writing is beautiful, it often veered into overwrought and self-indulgent territory. The stream-of-consciousness style, though intentional, made it hard to stay emotionally engaged. I struggled to connect with either Elio or Oliver on more than a surface level. Oliver, especially, felt distant and difficult to fully grasp, which weakened the impact of the romance for me. Their relationship, though intense, sometimes felt more cerebral than heartfelt.

📚 Why You Should Read This Book:
If you love literary fiction with a focus on introspection, atmosphere, and internal monologue, this could really resonate. Fans of slow-burn, bittersweet stories that explore identity, desire, and fleeting connections may find something deeply moving here.

💭 Final Thoughts:
Call Me by Your Name is a novel that’s more about mood than plot. It’s poetic and ambitious in its attempt to dissect longing and intimacy, but for me, it lacked emotional immediacy. I appreciated the craftsmanship, but I didn’t feel it the way I’d hoped to.

🛍️ Where to buy
To buy your own copy click HERE

Final Rating ★★★ – Lyrical and longing, but emotionally distant.