Call me by your name

“Call me by your name” is a book written by André Aciman, published for the first time in 2007, but thanks to  the film based on the book that also won an Oscar, it had a lot of success in 2018. The novel is about the love story between two guys: Elio, 17 years old, and Oliver, 24 years old.  They met for the first time during a summer in the ‘80s when Oliver was hosted by Elio’s parents in a small city near Rome for six weeks. The two guys fell in love and found out a new world. After the weeks spent together their lives were torn apart (except for a few times in which they met again), but their hearts were still together.  “We belonged to each other, but had lived so far apart that we belong to others now. Squatters and only squatters, were the true claimants to our lives.”  Elio said the last time they met.          

The  book is told in the first person by Elio who talks about his love for Oliver in a direct way, without limiting his thoughts, considering him as his guide.

If I may give a suggestion, I’d recommend this book to teenagers , because it helps people to see the world from a different point of view, but I’d recommend it to adults, too  because it could help them to better understand teenagers’ lives and what’s in their minds.

Francesca Scalogna