So, the COVID virus came and went with little fanfare and we emerged from our 10+-day isolation period feeling not much different than when we locked down. Thankfully, our vaccines are up-to-date so this episode was little worse than having a mild cold. I did have time to read a couple of books in a remarkably short time (for me), most notably Andre Aciman's 2007 novel, Call Me By Your Name. 

I didn't even know there was a book titled Call Me by Your Name when the movie first opened at Ft. Lauderdale's Gateway Theater in 2017. At the time, the film was getting tremendous buzz from critics and audiences alike, so it wasn't long before C and I were queuing up outside the theater to see a film that had been described as "startling real" and "blisteringly sensual". To be honest, I have not revisited director Luca Guadagnino's gay coming-of-age/love story since that singular viewing but I remember liking the film well enough. It quickly became a modern gay classic, with lead actors Timothee Chalamet and Armie Hammer receiving acclaim for their sensitive performances, while Sufjan Stevens' ethereal ballads (Mystery of Love and Visions of Gideon) perfectly highlighted the feverish, nostalgic glow of first love. 

Regarding the film's two leads, unsavory accusations against hunky Armie Hammer ended up derailing his burgeoning movie career, while Chalamet's stock continues ascending to the brink of superstardom. I guess that's what happens when cinemas get oversaturated with superheroes and brawny, unkillable he-men, and a lanky, androgynous fashion victim comes along and steals their thunder. 

But, enough about the film, let's talk about the source novel published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in 2007. Set over the hot Italian summer of 1983, the book recalls the relationship between Elio, the 17-year-old son of a cultured university professor, and the 24-year-old American doctoral student chosen to assist the professor for a few weeks while completing his academic work. Despite an inauspicious beginning, Elio, the imaginative teenager, obsesses over handsome, aloof Oliver until a very tentative, platonic friendship blossoms between the two. Mixed messages and misunderstandings continually frustrate the younger man, and as the summer progresses, Oliver's attention towards his admirer waxes and wanes. And yet, Elio continues his pursuit, intuiting that Oliver may harbor hidden desires of his own. As it happens, he is not wrong. 

Achingly romantic and full of late-adolescent angst, Call Me By Your Name's longing, wistful tone reminds me a bit of Herman Raucher's Summer of '42, minus the tragic turn that set up that book's transformative climax. Narrated by a now-adult Elio, Call Me By Your Name reflects upon the mercurial nature of young love and the alluring wrench of desire. In many ways, Elio is experienced and (somewhat) worldly for his age, while the more mature Oliver seems to be less knowing. There is a lot of will-they-or-won't-they? in the first three-quarters of the book, but it is this tension between the two young men that turns out to be the backbone of the story. Having seen the movie first, I already knew that they would eventually get together, but it takes awhile to get there. Even so, get there it certainly does (the book's descriptions of sex are stirring without ever feeling exploitative). To be sure, the sex scenes are considerably more graphic than they are in the movie--for one thing Oliver eats the peach after Elio does his thing with it--but the sex simply seems like a natural progression of events: a payoff, of sorts. 

Author Andre Aciman proves to be more than capable as a writer. With his elegant, sure prose, Aciman perfectly captures a particular time and place, and the dawning of a lifelong passion. While there is an inevitable sentimentality to Aciman's tale, it never feels cloying or false. In fact, there doesn't appear to be a false moment in Call Me By Your Name. At 248 pages, the book is a very quick and satisfying read, and despite the mixed reviews for Aciman's 2019 sequel, Find Me, I'm looking forward to reading that book, as well. In fact, I may have to go back and rewatch the movie. Even if Timothee Chalamet has become a bit too ubiquitous for my tastes, I'll take him over the denizens of the Marvel Universe any time.