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lunacanread's review
3.0
im like 5 years late but i have thoughts. slight spoilers ahead.
i appreciate the feeling the book is trying to give you, the beautiful descriptions and the feeling of Elio’s desire, but i just can’t look past the romanticizing of the age difference i’m sorry. there is no reason why he had to be 17, it’s not important for the story at all. at one point he said something about the age not mattering and that he felt like the older one, which was really something. it would be fine if it just wasn’t being romanticized like this.
above all that there were a few disturbing things that made me incredibly uncomfortable. “i put my mouth where she smells of the sea”, “the bruised and damaged peach, like a rape victim, lay on its side on my desk, shamed, loyal, aching and confused.”, at this point i didn’t even want to finish the book. (also “i had already tried the animal kingdom, now i was moving to the kingdom of plants” did i miss something like what is this supposed to mean?). let’s also not pretend Elio smelling and putting on Oliver’s bathing suit is not creepy and predatory. random sidenote i also absolutely hated the poet’s speech about Bangkok. talking about Bangkok people being “as exotic as they come”, shut up.
i also found the book to be pretentious at times, but maybe i’m just not smart enough for this type of writing. i did really enjoy the final part of the book. anyway, these were my unimportant and incoherent thoughts.
i appreciate the feeling the book is trying to give you, the beautiful descriptions and the feeling of Elio’s desire, but i just can’t look past the romanticizing of the age difference i’m sorry. there is no reason why he had to be 17, it’s not important for the story at all. at one point he said something about the age not mattering and that he felt like the older one, which was really something. it would be fine if it just wasn’t being romanticized like this.
above all that there were a few disturbing things that made me incredibly uncomfortable. “i put my mouth where she smells of the sea”, “the bruised and damaged peach, like a rape victim, lay on its side on my desk, shamed, loyal, aching and confused.”, at this point i didn’t even want to finish the book. (also “i had already tried the animal kingdom, now i was moving to the kingdom of plants” did i miss something like what is this supposed to mean?). let’s also not pretend Elio smelling and putting on Oliver’s bathing suit is not creepy and predatory. random sidenote i also absolutely hated the poet’s speech about Bangkok. talking about Bangkok people being “as exotic as they come”, shut up.
i also found the book to be pretentious at times, but maybe i’m just not smart enough for this type of writing. i did really enjoy the final part of the book. anyway, these were my unimportant and incoherent thoughts.
anntrautmannm's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
There's a lot to say about this book, which I would not have read unless prompted to by family. I am very glad that I did. Although it starts in an idyllic setting (the Italian Riviera) as the story of intense attraction, first love, and longing, it has a lot more to offer. First, the way the author lets us into the mind of the young man, 17 YO, and his desire for a student living with this family for six weeks is so realistic. Haven't we all had those thoughts about someone we are crazily consumed by? Questioning every single thought and going back and forth enough to drive yourself mad. And being stared at by total strangers in awe of your happiness that you are unaware of wearing like clothing; the strangers enraptured by their happiness! So beautiful.
In the beginning, references are made to philosophers and Heraclitus in particular. Unfamiliar to me, I looked him up and briefly understand his main concepts to be that the world is constantly in flux, and (from the Greek translation) "No man ever steps in the same river twice." Of course, I did not look this up until after reading, but I loved it because I had felt throughout the book both a sense of time travel (not in the silly commercial sense of blockbuster movies) and of time and life being like a river, touching so many points simultaneously, always changing, people always changing, everything in flux, and (trying to avoid a spoiler) towards the end of not being able to hold/keep/go back to a moment/moments in time--like trying to hold water in your hand and watching it just slip out. Elio also often imagined himself in the future and considered who he would be in light of his action/inaction. The awareness of time slipping away . . . (All of that may make more sense if you have read the book to its conclusion.)
Other themes or items of note for me included:
- The freedom these young fellows had to explore their desires. The setting, in part, made that easier than it would have been in a different country/place.
- Also with regard to the setting, it was magical. And then Rome! So magical.
- I thought it was interesting (and good!) that there was no meanness--no revenge, ill intent, mean thoughts or words. Pretty cool.
- Related to the above "river/flux" theme, the fluidity also of gender; of names, the Bangkok person.
- The one statement that conveys the sense of being unable to "hold" time or revisit it, where (paraphrasing) left is false, right is false, up is false, down, forward, backward, etc. All "false" because they won't allow you to go back. Can't hold time in your hand.
- The beautiful line that the stars are only granted once. You should treasure and cherish and protect them. That's the main point, for me.
And I won't be buying peaches for quite some time. ; )
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
flavicou's review
emotional
relaxing
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
This relationship is certainly not healthy but it is a wonderful exploration of life.
salemscran's review
3.0
A lot more graphic than I was expecting. Elio was too much of a simp. Oliver manipulated Elio far too much and took advantage of the power dynamic between them.
The writing elongates unnecessary details making it drag on for far too long
The writing elongates unnecessary details making it drag on for far too long
ingo_lembcke's review against another edition
Saw the movie, rented for 99ct. with Amazon Prime Video, most of it in FastForward, not my thing, so did not even start the book, waste of money. No rating as I did not even glanced into it.
Experiencing love and sex with a girl and a grown man, but dull coming of age story set in a past and in a setting which means nothing to me.
Should have investigated more. Do not understand the hype about this.
Experiencing love and sex with a girl and a grown man, but dull coming of age story set in a past and in a setting which means nothing to me.
Should have investigated more. Do not understand the hype about this.
sandro_reads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I rarely read a book after already having seen the film adaptation but this novel was a whole different experience.
Told from an older Elio, reflecting on the summer in Northern Italy when he met Oliver, it perfectly captures the battling, all-encompassing thoughts of youth around identity and shame and love.
It’s that rare book that you can’t put down but want to savor. Beautifully poetic - it’s perfection.
Told from an older Elio, reflecting on the summer in Northern Italy when he met Oliver, it perfectly captures the battling, all-encompassing thoughts of youth around identity and shame and love.
It’s that rare book that you can’t put down but want to savor. Beautifully poetic - it’s perfection.
piercetheann's review
5.0
I have never read a book that would describe emotions so beautifully, full of passion and feelings. I wish someone would think about me as gorgeous as those words were.
lizzycatslibrary's review against another edition
3.0
I had a difficult time deciding between a 3 and a 4-star rating for this one. The book was very good but there were definitely points in it, specifically towards the end, where I started to feel like ookaayy I get it you are in in love, infatuated, obsessed, etcetera... but overall a good book. The book is extremely similar to the movie.
hgrah2's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75