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bethaniekay's review against another edition
2.0
I cannot believe so many people are gushing over this book. The only reason I read it so quickly is because I wanted to see if something good would ever, finally, happen. Or how things would finally resolve themselves. And I skimmed most of the fluff, because there was a lot of it.
This book is all inner-thoughts, mind games, second-guessing, and disastrous run-on sentences that go nowhere and make you wonder what the hell you just read. Sorry, that's not "beautiful writing". There are pages upon pages of introspection, yet very little dialogue and even less action.
I will give some credit to the beautiful setting - except, oh wait, we don't even know where the hell they actually were supposed to be. Why oh WHY would you bother abbreviating the names of the towns as just single letters? Who are we hiding from? It's not like this is a non-fiction and we need to protect the innocent, or that we were reading someone's diary who abbreviated the town for brevity's sake. If I'm going to be reading about a villa somewhere in Italy, I want to know WHERE it is, even if it's using a false name - give me some landmarks to orient the place in my imagination.
I will also give some credit to the angst and desire that goes along with teenage obsession and lust. I thought some of the thoughts and feelings were accurate, and the fact that it was a same-sex relationship didn't bother me a bit. I was slightly creeped-out by the peach scene (which was just weird), and SUPER creeped-out by the toilet scene in Rome. That was just weird and left a bad taste in my mouth, as IMO that's the wrong kind of intimacy to have. Or, at least to write about. Ugh.
In the end, though, it's absolutely ridiculous to assert that a mere few weeks when Elio was 17 years old had such a profound impact on his life -- that more than 20 years later, he was still so impacted by his time with Oliver that his life had pretty much been crippled. We are really given no information about how Elio's life has gone, or what he has done, only the notion that he's been sad and unsatisfied and has continued to question everything about Oliver his whole life. Come ON. Yes, things that happen in our teenage years impact us, but not THAT bad. We learn and we move on.
It'll be interesting to see how this is adapted into a movie -- but in terms of the book, I would never recommend this to anyone.
This book is all inner-thoughts, mind games, second-guessing, and disastrous run-on sentences that go nowhere and make you wonder what the hell you just read. Sorry, that's not "beautiful writing". There are pages upon pages of introspection, yet very little dialogue and even less action.
I will give some credit to the beautiful setting - except, oh wait, we don't even know where the hell they actually were supposed to be. Why oh WHY would you bother abbreviating the names of the towns as just single letters? Who are we hiding from? It's not like this is a non-fiction and we need to protect the innocent, or that we were reading someone's diary who abbreviated the town for brevity's sake. If I'm going to be reading about a villa somewhere in Italy, I want to know WHERE it is, even if it's using a false name - give me some landmarks to orient the place in my imagination.
I will also give some credit to the angst and desire that goes along with teenage obsession and lust. I thought some of the thoughts and feelings were accurate, and the fact that it was a same-sex relationship didn't bother me a bit. I was slightly creeped-out by the peach scene (which was just weird), and SUPER creeped-out by the toilet scene in Rome. That was just weird and left a bad taste in my mouth, as IMO that's the wrong kind of intimacy to have. Or, at least to write about. Ugh.
In the end, though, it's absolutely ridiculous to assert that a mere few weeks when Elio was 17 years old had such a profound impact on his life -- that more than 20 years later, he was still so impacted by his time with Oliver that his life had pretty much been crippled. We are really given no information about how Elio's life has gone, or what he has done, only the notion that he's been sad and unsatisfied and has continued to question everything about Oliver his whole life. Come ON. Yes, things that happen in our teenage years impact us, but not THAT bad. We learn and we move on.
It'll be interesting to see how this is adapted into a movie -- but in terms of the book, I would never recommend this to anyone.
kristinsesselja's review against another edition
5.0
This book is literally stunning. It has so many thoughts and ideas which is honestly a bit confusing but will make for a good reread. The last line is honestly one of the best last lines I’ve read and made me gasp in a little sob. What a stunning book
readingwithlea's review against another edition
emotional
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
mostawesomeperson's review against another edition
4.0
4 stars to the parts I actually paid attention to.
marissanbullis's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
ashl3y353's review against another edition
3.0
Before you read this book think about one thing: will this give you trauma and will it make you feel uncomfortable. Yes. The book is good, the book has many different elements to it, uses many different metaphors to make the characters more interesting BUT the thought of having to wait every single sex scene (in full detail) is not something you look forward too.
Now one thing I HATED to the core was the Peach Scene, how descriptive it was, how horrible it made me feel, like how disgusting it was. I have no idea why the author put that in there or what was going through his head to make it in the book but it was crazy.
I would say other than that it was a good book because it talked about family dynamics, friendships, forbidden relationships, and the unconditional love between Elio and Oliver. One thing I picked up and many others did from reading the book or watching the movie was that Oliver meant the world to Elio and Elio was a part of Oliver’s life nothing important.
Now one thing I HATED to the core was the Peach Scene, how descriptive it was, how horrible it made me feel, like how disgusting it was. I have no idea why the author put that in there or what was going through his head to make it in the book but it was crazy.
I would say other than that it was a good book because it talked about family dynamics, friendships, forbidden relationships, and the unconditional love between Elio and Oliver. One thing I picked up and many others did from reading the book or watching the movie was that Oliver meant the world to Elio and Elio was a part of Oliver’s life nothing important.
jitka_c's review against another edition
4.0
Přiznám se, že dát dohromady hodnocení mi dalo docela zabrat. Dej mi své jméno je skoro čistá pocitovka. Je to kniha o létu, o knihách a hudbě, o koupání se v moři a o projížďkách na kole po přímořském městečku. Taky je to kniha o vyrovnávání se s vlastní sexualitou, o touhách, které člověkem zmítají v období dospívání, a o hledání vlastní identity.
A taky o lásce. Nebo alespoň o hodně velké zamilovanosti.
Děj jako takový je hrozně jednoduchý a vlastně o něj ani moc nejde. Čtenář v kulisách romantického příběhu najde poměrně hlubokou sondu do duše dospívajícího kluka. Se vším, co k tomu patří - tedy i s velkou dávkou naivity, nejistoty, a často zbrklých a nelogických úvah. Některé scény se mi nečetly dobře, protože byly až příliš explicitní (konkrétně scéna s broskví, tu z hlavy jen tak nevymažu). Většinu času jsem se ale nechávala příjemně unášet zprostředkovanými pocity a tenhle malý výlet do komplikovaného období dospívání a prvních vztahů mi ve výsledku fakt hodně sedl.
Proto ty 4 hvězdičky.
Úplně si nemyslím, že to bude kniha pro každého, ale jestli máte pro tyhle letní náladovky slabost (případně jestli vás zajímá LGBT tématika), nemůžete sáhnout vedle.
A taky o lásce. Nebo alespoň o hodně velké zamilovanosti.
Děj jako takový je hrozně jednoduchý a vlastně o něj ani moc nejde. Čtenář v kulisách romantického příběhu najde poměrně hlubokou sondu do duše dospívajícího kluka. Se vším, co k tomu patří - tedy i s velkou dávkou naivity, nejistoty, a často zbrklých a nelogických úvah. Některé scény se mi nečetly dobře, protože byly až příliš explicitní (konkrétně scéna s broskví, tu z hlavy jen tak nevymažu). Většinu času jsem se ale nechávala příjemně unášet zprostředkovanými pocity a tenhle malý výlet do komplikovaného období dospívání a prvních vztahů mi ve výsledku fakt hodně sedl.
Proto ty 4 hvězdičky.
Úplně si nemyslím, že to bude kniha pro každého, ale jestli máte pro tyhle letní náladovky slabost (případně jestli vás zajímá LGBT tématika), nemůžete sáhnout vedle.
pikusonali's review against another edition
5.0
The movie based on this book is one of the Oscar contenders this year. If you haven't seen it yet, you are missing out on something tender and beautiful. Rarely do I like movies based in books as I feel they don't do enough justice to the words. But in this case, I loved the movie just as much. And the book? It's on a whole other level. One Italian summer 17-year old Elio falls in love with a 24-year Old visiting American scholar and they begin a sweet, forbidden, and passionate relationship. That one summer is etched in Elio's memory forever. Moving, heartbreaking, and honest - if you have ever been madly in love with someone, Elio's narration will talk right to your soul. To be honest, Elio did made me cry a little...