Title: Call Me By Your Name
Sypnosis: A blossoming romantic relationship between an intellectually precocious and curious 17-year-old American-Italian Jewish boy named Elio Perlman and a visiting 24-year-old American Jewish scholar named Oliver in 1980s Italy.
Favorite Excerpt: “I’m not wise at all. I told you, I know nothing. I know books, and I know how to string words together—it doesn’t mean I know how to speak about the things that matter most to me.”
Review: There are more than a million words in the English Language yet I can not string enough words to express what this book made me feel. Let me try, but do not hate me if I do not make any sense at all. I'm still bewildered.
The writing is raw. It is that book wherein you will feel what the character is thinking. It is as if you are Elio's soul narrating for him. At first, I felt a bit uncomfortable about how he expresses things, I felt that it was too obsessive, too much, too anything, but then I found myself highlighting so many parts. It was not because I felt that Elio's thoughts of Oliver were disturbing rather, it was because I felt exposed as if my deepest thoughts and desires were revealed and the fact that I am reading it in a book felt as if I am voicing my deepest thoughts using a microphone in a plaza. I understand how Elio could want even the slightest touch of Oliver's skin or his clothes because, I, too, wanted the same thing from someone I loved years ago.
There is also one excerpt that made it's way to my heart.
“I could speak about this and not feel I was doing it to impress him or to draw his attention or to put up a wobbly footbridge between us. I could speak about the Haydn for hours—what a lovely friendship this might have been.”
I love how Elio realized how much he craves a simpler interaction with Oliver. He realized that even a few moments of talking about what interests them without the goal of impressing or drawing attention would have bloomed to a lovely friendship/relationship. I guess it is because despite our deep cravings for intense passion we still need the calm. We need the dandelion, not another burning fire, in our lives so the heated fuel within us wouldn't burn and consume us immensely. I love how Elio came to realize that it is the little things that matter the most to him—such as Oliver calling him by his name.
I also loved how real the author wrote Elio's emotions towards the end. I mean, Elio wants it, but also doesn't want it, he is confused and certain about what he wants. It goes to show how paradoxical human emotions can be.
Lastly, I love how he concluded the book. It did not feel like a cliffhanger. It was the perfect ending for me—one that left me both hanging and satisfied. The end had me on the edge of my seat because I can feel that there is so much tension, there is still one big moment that needs to happen—usually a breakdown speech—but the only thing needed to be done is a simple thing such as say one's name. This made me realize that we often see things with so many complications that it makes us feel like the only solution to it is something complex, but sometimes it is not. And that we have to live with that.