Reviews with content warning for Vomit - Call Me By Your Name

I loved the writing style of this book - I would describe it as eloquent, overwritten, unreliable narrator vibes. The main characters are both terribly flawed and are destined to lose each other and yet there is so much in the story about relationships, self-discovery, the passage of time, memories, families, etc.
This is not a sweet love story, and I don't think it is trying to be one either. I would definitely recommend looking at content warnings before reading this book.

Content Warnings

emilyandthewhippet's review against another edition

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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"

Content Warnings

jessicabearbooks's review

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challenging emotional funny inspiring reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

Our hearts and our bodies are given to us only once. Most of us can't help but live as though we've got two lives to live, one is the mockup, the other the finished version, and then there are all those versions in between. But there's only one, and before you know it your heart is worn out.

This book is so different. I fell in love with the writing style but also did struggle with it. If you're not a reader who usually reads classical novels, this one could take some getting used to. Although it took me a few chapters to really get into the way Aciman writes, I was touched by the story from the beginning. I would definitely recommend reading this while in Italy! Specifically the North though, I read this in the South and it didn't quite have the same effect. That being said, I started to see Elio and Oliver and their world everywhere I went.

Elio as a character should not be overlooked or underestimated. He is definitely unreliable and I found myself struggling to accept a lot of his decisions and thoughts. I also struggled to work out what was really happening and what was just Elio's imagination? However, it is crucial when reading this book to understand that this is NOT a romance. This story is from the perspective of a teenager discovering who he is. Call Me By Your Name is a coming of age story. Elio's mind is twisted, confusing, horny to a fault, and should be accepted as such. And if you can get past the preconceived negatives surrounding Elio and Oliver's relationship, then you'll be able to appreciate the innocence and gentleness of the story.

I found the whole thing unexpectedly funny! What do you mean I'm reading things such as "his apricock" and "Whoo-hoo the Witching hour". A lot of the characters are sweet and their motives are easy to get behind.

No I've never had sex with a peach, but parts of this story were relatable. I think It's important to take a step back while reading this book and remember we have all been in love. We've all been helpless to the thoughts of someone, and we've all been desperate to be noticed. This book is troubling on the bare occasions, but it is beautiful throughout.

Content Warnings

violet_carson's review

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emotional reflective relaxing sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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futureofmydays's review

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Baddddd way of handling my trigger (vomiting) and was just done with the vibes, even though the writing is beautiful.

Content Warnings

librarymouse's review

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emotional reflective slow-paced

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

3.25

Call Me By Your Name really reminds me of Bernhard Schlink's The Reader, and despite its literary merit, I am similarly unsure that I enjoyed reading the novel. The writing is beautiful in some parts, but Elio's unhinged obsession and Oliver's acquiescence to the sexual advances of a minor are both cause for concern and not particularly enjoyable to read. Elio is damaged from the experience, unable to let his history with Olive go in order to form new and lasting bonds in adulthood, in a way that Oliver is not. The power imbalance in this novel is stark. Call Me By Your Name is considered a romance, but I don't see it as such. It's about obsession, miscommunication, and social expectations. There are also an egregious number of scenes that focus on feet.

Content Warnings

ada_elisabeth's review

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

"Think of me someday."

Much like 'A Little Life,' this is a book that I thoroughly loved, but cannot, in good conscience, give 5 stars, no matter how much I would like to. (This took me quiet some time to read because I was away for a few days and hardly read anything-- the lack of chapter breaks made it a slower read than one might think, but it was short and wouldn't have normally took me this long.)

This (beautifully written, deeply emotional, poignant) novel struck me as being incredibly problematic. Oliver and Elio's relationship made me so uncomfortable-- why would a twenty-four-year-old want to date a seventeen-year-old? A seven year age gap is not outrageous if the involved parties are adults-- even if Elio had been twenty and Oliver twenty-seven, it wouldn't have seemed so bad. But I'm sixteen, and the idea of someone my age dating a grown adult rubs me the wrong way. I understand that this book takes place in a different country in a different time period, but it's a modern book, and the central relationship made me a little uncomfortable at times. (view spoiler) Also, casting a VERY young-looking Timothee Chalamet to play Elio in the movie was an interesting choice-- I watched the trailer and he looked younger than I do. Also, Elio's lusting after Oliver was a little creepy to me. Having never lusted after someone, I found the obsessive daydreaming, stalking, and otherwise creepy behavior on Elio's end to be somewhat unnerving. (view spoiler) Oh, and there was one sentence that spanned more than half a page and had twenty-five commas in it, which I found to be a tad bit excessive, but pop off I guess.

(view spoiler)

Despite that significant amount of criticism, I really, really enjoyed this book. It was heartbreaking and tender. The prose was lyrical and beautiful and so, so emotional. This was a great addition to ✨sad book summer✨, I teared up several times while reading. I understand what it's like when someone who you once spent every moment of every day with becomes someone who has faded painfully into the background of your life-- and I think that what makes this book so popular is that everyone does. For what is life if not loving and losing and moving on?

I'm choosing to leave this unrated for now, but I may come back to it in the future with an updated look at the world and change my rating to reflect that. I think I'm also going to watch the movie to see if that changes anything.

“He came. He left. Nothing else had changed. I had not changed. The world hadn't changed. Yet nothing would be the same. All that remains is dreammaking and strange remembrance.”

Content Warnings

natraf_reads's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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? No

3.0

have a lot of mixed feelings about this -

The first being the prose was beautifully written. It felt like poetry the way descriptions flowed off the page. However, I felt that this thought stream coming from a 17 year old boy was incredibly unrealistic.

17 year old Ellio, finds himself magnetically drawn to 24 year old Oliver, a postdoctoral student studying abroad and staying with Ellio’s family. What starts as a fascination becomes more of an obsession. Every waking thought Ellio has is of Oliver.

Having a young person interested in an older, seemingly cooler, more put together person seems normal. But Ellio’s thoughts become focused on fantasies he has had about he and Oliver’s pairing. There is a lot of sexual content that seems very one sided. These are Ellio’s thoughts and fantasies. It’s not until over halfway through the book we see Oliver reciprocate any feelings or interest.

At which time there’s the pretty disturbing scene with Ellio and the peach that I’m just going to pretend I never read… but it’s fine.

Once joined, I feel that Oliver has continued to take advantage of Ellio and his obsession with Oliver.

We see once Oliver moves back home and comes back a few months later to visit, that he is engaged. He has a woman he’s been seeing the last few years, and pretty much just ends everything he and Ellio shared.

Years later, he still has pieces of memories they shared, Ellio who is still hoping for a chance to see his long lost love , knows he still wants more with Oliver, but can’t. Oliver even acknowledges that his eldest son is the same age as Ellio was when they met, and that he would never want that for him.

I thought the writing was beautiful. I felt that the emotions conveyed and the deep feelings Ellio held were beautiful - but kind of crossed into the territory of obsessive. I feel that Oliver took advantage of him. I feel that their whole relationship was unsafe.

It’s a hard balance between seeing the true romance this was intended as, and the twisted obsession it was.

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