My Bookshelf
Book review:
Call me by your name - André Aciman
Honestly, it has been a long time since I have read a book which gave me such chills, sentimental feelings and love for language. Call Me By Your Name immediately pulled me back to those Summer holidays in Italy with my family. The atmosphere of the Italian Riviera, the villa, the marvellous big garden with orange and peach trees; I could feel the hot Summer warmth of the South while reading this gorgeous book.
Unfortunately I watched the film before I read the book (I wasn't quite aware the film was based on a book, hehe, my fault) so when reading the book I only could see Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer before me when imagining Elio and Oliver (which wasn't that bad an image to be honest, *totally crushing on Timothée Chalamet*). Okay, back to the story now.
Why did I love this book so much?
Well, I loved how it was writtten from the perspective of Elio, a teenage boy searching for his sexual identity, struggling between following the expectations (being attracted to girls) and following his desire (Oliver). The way and style in which André Aciman decribes the detailed thoughts, worries and emotions of Elio are so recognisable and sometimes so deep and raw. He doesn't avoid the purity of sexuality and the unreachable sexual fantasies of Elio, which sometimes can seem a bit too much (the sexual scenes are quite graphic) but for me it all made sense when knowing whose story you're reading. Call Me By Your Name isn't just a book about homosexuality and love for someone of the same gender. It's a general story of love (without limits, by which I mean gender, age, language doesn't matter, because love is love).
I loved how André Aciman wrote this story with so much delicacy and attention for poetic language (the book already is filled by my pencil lines underlining beautiful words and sentences, woops). Especially the ending of this story brought me to tears. I couldn't handle the beauty of the last 30 pages. The rhythm and pace (which is quite slow, so perfect to explore both characters with care through their development from lust to love) of those last pages made me feel as if I was with them and could see them before me. I don't know why, and I think this mostly has to do with who I am and how I handle emotions, but I really was touched by their love and how they coped with their emotions. It all was so real to me.
I will definitely treasure this book and read it again. And maybe, I will have to expand my favourite books list from two to three...
Anyway, read this book, it's a little pearl.
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My two favourite books
'A Room with a View' is one of the first classic English novels I have read. I was about 15-16 years old when I discovered the magic of English literature. I immediately fell in love with this story (which I will not spoil!), taking place in both Italy and England. It overflows you with romance, lots of humour and drama. You cannot hate this book and especially the movie, which surprisingly follows the book quite acurately, is also worth seeing (if you want to see a young Helena Bonham-Carter?).
This book written in Dutch is a recent discovery. I bought it accidentally to be honest. On a rainy day I was bored and went to the nearest bookshop (you know how that goes). With no inspiration whatsoever, I asked the bookseller for advice and she gave me this debute roman of a Flemish author. And Lord, did I love it! The pages are filled with my tears, my laughter and amazement. I was so pleasantly surprised and astonished that I cannot wait until her next book. Dutch speakers: read this if you believe in love on first sight (but be aware: it is an emotional rollercoaster!).
PS: I follow this author on Instagram and she is extremely funny.