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slitherinne's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
goldenpath69's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
relaxing
fast-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? No
4.0
_anamarija_'s review against another edition
4.0
I loved the novel because of the attention the author pays to certain details that I find essential to life, such as music:
“Perhaps, says the genius, music doesn't change us that much, nor does great art change us. Instead, it reminds us of who, despite all our claims or denials, we've always known we were and are destined to remain. It reminds us of the mileposts we've buried and hidden and then lost, of the people and things that mattered despite our lies, despite the years. Music is no more than the sound of our regrets put to a cadence that stirs the illusion of pleasure and hope. It's the surest reminder that we're here for a very short while and that we've neglected or cheated or, worse yet, failed to live our lives. Music is the unlived life. You've lived the wrong life, my friend, and almost defaced the one you were given to live.”
Intertwining music with the unlived life, our life becomes much more complex with music functioning as glue between life's many layers, seen and not seen, felt and not felt, lived and unlived.
“To me it proves that life and time are not in sync. It’s as if time was all wrong and the wife’s life was lived on the wrong bank of the river or, worse yet, on two banks, with neither being the right one. None of us may want to claim to live life in two parallel lanes but all have many lives, one tucked beneath or right alongside the other. Some lives wait their turn because they haven’t been lived at all, while others die before they’ve lived out their time, and some are waiting to be relived because they haven’t been lived enough. Basically, we don’t know how to think of time, because time doesn’t really understand time the way we do, because time couldn’t care less what we think of time, because time is just a wobbly, unreliable metaphor for how we think about life. Because ultimately it isn’t time that is wrong for us, or we for time. It may be life itself that is wrong.”
“Perhaps, says the genius, music doesn't change us that much, nor does great art change us. Instead, it reminds us of who, despite all our claims or denials, we've always known we were and are destined to remain. It reminds us of the mileposts we've buried and hidden and then lost, of the people and things that mattered despite our lies, despite the years. Music is no more than the sound of our regrets put to a cadence that stirs the illusion of pleasure and hope. It's the surest reminder that we're here for a very short while and that we've neglected or cheated or, worse yet, failed to live our lives. Music is the unlived life. You've lived the wrong life, my friend, and almost defaced the one you were given to live.”
Intertwining music with the unlived life, our life becomes much more complex with music functioning as glue between life's many layers, seen and not seen, felt and not felt, lived and unlived.
“To me it proves that life and time are not in sync. It’s as if time was all wrong and the wife’s life was lived on the wrong bank of the river or, worse yet, on two banks, with neither being the right one. None of us may want to claim to live life in two parallel lanes but all have many lives, one tucked beneath or right alongside the other. Some lives wait their turn because they haven’t been lived at all, while others die before they’ve lived out their time, and some are waiting to be relived because they haven’t been lived enough. Basically, we don’t know how to think of time, because time doesn’t really understand time the way we do, because time couldn’t care less what we think of time, because time is just a wobbly, unreliable metaphor for how we think about life. Because ultimately it isn’t time that is wrong for us, or we for time. It may be life itself that is wrong.”
jeab's review against another edition
4.0
Aciman’s writing is stunning and so unique, as problematic as he can come across, enjoy the story.
cayleigh's review against another edition
4.75
I thought I wrote a review of this but I guess it didn’t post. Or I was hallucinating after a 30 hour travel day. Although I think it’d a bit of an overstatement to call this a sequel to CMBYN, it’s a beautiful book in its own right. The merit of CMBYN is that it exquisitely captures the raw, madness of falling in love. Just like it’s subject matter, it’s all consuming. This book, on the other hand, is more mature. It deals with the truth that there are many different kinds of love, and it takes work, not just passion, to make those last. As always, the prose and philosophical implications are handedly expertly.
julia_caitlin's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Enjoyed this as a follow up to call me by your name. Nice to check in with the characters. He definitely writes unrealistically about love, but it's a nice escape.
The guardien review of this book is fantastic and very accurate.
The guardien review of this book is fantastic and very accurate.
bookpanther's review against another edition
3.0
Rating: 3/5 stars
Simply put, for me, Find Me couldn’t remotely compare to the level of emotions and subtly that Call Me By Your Name evoked. But perhaps comparing the two is unfair, as I wouldn’t really call this a sequel per se.
The first story follows Elio’s Father, Samuel, which takes up almost half of the book. Recently divorced, he meets a beautiful young woman half his age (this fact is repeated to us constantly) on the train, and insta-love ensues. This one, to me, read like an old straight white-man fantasy and felt unconvincing and tiring. Apart from some interesting themes (like “Vigils”) and Aciman’s introspective writing, I was put off by the majority of the story.
Luckily, the rest of the book, though by no means perfect, was much more enjoyable. The second story follows a similar theme of love with a huge age gap between the couple, but it felt a lot more nuanced and humble compared to the first story. The third story explores desire and longing with delicacy and precision, while the fourth and final vignette was mildly satisfying (but also conflicting for me).
Though I ended up having mixed feelings about the book overall, I sure ended up tabbing the hell out of this book
Simply put, for me, Find Me couldn’t remotely compare to the level of emotions and subtly that Call Me By Your Name evoked. But perhaps comparing the two is unfair, as I wouldn’t really call this a sequel per se.
The first story follows Elio’s Father, Samuel, which takes up almost half of the book. Recently divorced, he meets a beautiful young woman half his age (this fact is repeated to us constantly) on the train, and insta-love ensues. This one, to me, read like an old straight white-man fantasy and felt unconvincing and tiring. Apart from some interesting themes (like “Vigils”) and Aciman’s introspective writing, I was put off by the majority of the story.
Luckily, the rest of the book, though by no means perfect, was much more enjoyable. The second story follows a similar theme of love with a huge age gap between the couple, but it felt a lot more nuanced and humble compared to the first story. The third story explores desire and longing with delicacy and precision, while the fourth and final vignette was mildly satisfying (but also conflicting for me).
Though I ended up having mixed feelings about the book overall, I sure ended up tabbing the hell out of this book
lilaklara's review against another edition
3.0
this is fine??? i guess???
obviously aciman is a pretty gifted writer and that’s what he gets three stars for, it’s just a shame that such beautiful writing isn’t really used in this book to do anything that groundbreaking. or interesting.
not a terrible read by any measure but not incredibly impactful either.
obviously aciman is a pretty gifted writer and that’s what he gets three stars for, it’s just a shame that such beautiful writing isn’t really used in this book to do anything that groundbreaking. or interesting.
not a terrible read by any measure but not incredibly impactful either.
mayaalbert's review against another edition
1.5
technically DNF but i think i deserve points for making it as far as i did