Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman

16 reviews

sleepywhippetbookclub's review against another edition

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Bloody hell. I mean, it's well written but Elio just gives total serial killer vibes doesn't he?

Like his

low key stalking, wishing Oliver was dead, forcing sex on others, his secretly wanking into Oliver's swim trunks when they're not even on speaking terms, wanting to EAT his swim trunks...

!? And that's just the start. Or perhaps it's his wanting to

cut Oliver's heart out

?

And that's before we get onto him

fucking the peach

!? Then describing it like

it'd been raped

? Not to mention

leaving it for hours on the side whilst he has a sticky nap covered in peach slush, only for Oliver to pop right in and willingly, INSIST on EATING. THE. DAMN. THING

!

When I read the blurb, I thought this was going to be, and I quote "like Saltburn but without the disturbing stuff". If anything, this felt more disturbing than Saltburn 😂

Ultimately is a book about obsession. Is it love? I'm not sure. At it's heart it's about a horny 17 year old, obsessively lusting over 24 year old college professor who's only there for the summer.

One quote from Elio sums the story up pretty well:

"Do I like you? I worship you"

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

amaralh's review against another edition

emotional reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Cancer, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Grief, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Child death, Excrement, Vomit, and Death of parent

lio_ramon_dolor's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Excrement and Vomit

courtneykfong's review against another edition

Waaaay too sensual for me and way too much emotional manipulation for my liking. Also the age gap gave me the ick. Couldn’t finish. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Gaslighting

tea_ana's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Definitely not for everyone, there are some uncomfortable scenes to get through but overall a fascinating portrayal of a young man’s experience in a tumultuous and ultimately unhealthy relationship. Elio’s narration is really what kept me reading which was great because the entire book was essentially the whirlwind of Elio’s conflicting thoughts. Wonderfully written though relatively slow paced. If you watched the movie and want to read the source material I’d say go for it but don’t expect it to be as covered in a haze of romance.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Excrement, and Vomit

Moderate: Alcohol

ollie_oops's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

This book is the definition of sad passions, but it's far sadder than the movie. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship

tadiwa_e's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I cannot really express the experience I went through reading this book. Almost DNFed it 3 times… I am still processing. But I will say. What a beautifully written piece. I would not call it a romance but maybe a recollection of Elios memories. It was intimate and sometimes really intense. 

However I cannot get behind the age gap and power dynamics in the relationship. No matter how much Aciman tries to present it as something to be praised. For that I cannot give a higher rating. Some parts of this book also were disgusting… sorry… there’s no way THAT scene is going to be skipped past like it never happened. 

Overall I loved a lot of quotes in this book and it was thought provoking especially Elios Fathers speech at the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, and Sexual content

Moderate: Misogyny

Minor: Cancer, Child death, and Death of parent

alice_hesse's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Stalking

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Vomit

Minor: Death of parent

theuncannydani's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Contains pedophilia, grooming, transphobia, homophobia and racism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Child death, Death, Misogyny, Sexism, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Minor: Addiction and Antisemitism

sadie_bg's review against another edition

reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

What annoyed me the most about this book is that at times Andre Aciman was so comfortabl writing about explicit and VILE scenes however when it came to the word sex he always referred to it as " love making " ???? Just say it as it is. 
I gave 2.5 stars mainly for the poetic / lyrical writing aswell as aesthetic but that's all. 
There are so many better books out there with LGBTQ+ romance and characters that dont romantacise  grooming and pedophilia.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pedophilia and Sexual content

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship