I wanted to roll my eyes at this book. I wanted to hate its teenage narcissist protagonist (at moments I did). But I found myself feeling everything Aciman wanted me to. I wanted to be inside this world of endless summer, privilege, angst, heat and sexual tension.

It’s a testament to Aciman that he can bring the reader INTO the emotional and physical feelings of his protagonist, 17-year old Elio. Elio and his father’s 24-year-old academic research assistant Oliver navigate a maddening cat-and-mouse game set in the midst of the hot, sticky summer of the 1980s Italian Riviera.

This book is sex. Young boy/man lust and emotion. Now I’ve read it, I’m shocked it got made into a movie that was so mainstream. Parts took me to the edge of my boundaries but managed to do it in a way that conveyed the intimacy of the moment, rather than just being extreme. Ultimately, the story is about the profound depth of how much Elio feels the need to be with (or be) Oliver.

“Is it your body that I want when I think of lying next to it every night or do I want to slip into it and own it as if it were my own, as I did when I put on your bathing suit and took it off again, all the while craving, as I craved nothing more in my life that afternoon, to feel you slip inside me as if my entire body were your bathing suit, your home? You in me, me in you…”

Aciman’s treatment of his queer main characters is notable. He places them in a historical setting that would not have been friendly. That’s acknowledged, but in this magical summer “world apart” in Italy they get the freedom to be who they are with little repercussion. The ending brings the real world back into focus quickly, but without the serious tragedy that marks so many books about queer people.

Curiously, the author is straight. I’m not sure how he pulled this off, but I’m grateful.

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