Q&A with Josh Lanyon discussion

Here's our discussion thread for our February 2018 BOM read Call Me by Your Name.

Feel free to start discussing the book whenever you want, but beware that there will be spoilers here if you haven't finished the book.

Happy reading!

Are we not allowed to post before we finish it? Because I haven't finished it. I'm in the middle and somewhat torn between being captivated by certain passages and finding it pretentious drivel in other places.

I voted for it, by the way, but I think I like the other book better. Reading both at the same time.

I started it yesterday and the first few pages look promising. Engaging.

Clary wrote: "Are we not allowed to post before we finish it? Because I haven't finished it. I'm in the middle and somewhat torn between being captivated by certain passages and finding it pretentious drivel in ..."

Feel free to comment whenever you want, Clary! Just beware that there most probably will be spoilers here. (If you haven't finished reading yet and if you don't want to read any spoilers, that is.)

Can't wait to hear what are everyone's thoughts on this book!

Clary wrote: "Are we not allowed to post before we finish it? Because I haven't finished it. I'm in the middle and somewhat torn between being captivated by certain passages and finding it pretentious drivel in ..."

Good question! I've changed the wording of the original post. So, feel free to comment about it whenever you want, regardless of whether you've finished it or not. :-)

I read the first part yesterday. It's so good. I think i underlined half of it, LOL. But today i feel i need a bit of a break. It's quite intense in a sneaky way. :-)

Mymymble wrote: "I loved this book. Never thought I would before the film came out."

I don't catch what you are saying. You read the book only because of the movie? Or you reread the book after the movie came out and you loved it, but before you didn't?

Mymymble wrote: "In short, dear Antonella, as with so many books, I read it because of you! I have to wait until March for the film here."

LOL! Thank you, I suppose ;-). The funny thing is that I still have to begin it. I just feel like lighter reads at the moment...

I started reading late this afternoon and I'm in Part 2 (around 40%). KC, I how you might underline about half of the first part. And those are very long sentences. :) It's an interesting writing style, or storytelling choice. I'm not sure which at this point, since this is the only book I've read by Aciman. I'm not sure how old Elio is when he's telling (or writing?) this story. Despite his apparent prodigious talents (in music and intellect), surely this isn't meant to be his voice as a 17 year-old? The tangled emotional thought process is realistic, but the poetic expression of it all?

I chose not to watch the film before reading the book. I hope it's still running here next weekend. My younger daughter and her spouse saw it last week and highly recommended it.

Mymymble, I'd like to respond to your post after I've read more/or all of the book. I'm still at the point of wondering how Aciman is exploring/highlighting this shared heritage in the narrative.

And for those who've read or are reading Part 2, here's a link to Monet's paintings in Bordighera (B.): http://www.monetpainting.net/painting...

Map and info: http://www.monetpainting.net/places.php

Karen wrote: "And for those who've read or are reading Part 2, here's a link to Monet's paintings in Bordighera (B.): http://www.monetpainting.net/painting...

Map and info: http:..."

Thank you for the links!

Karen wrote: "Despite his apparent prodigious talents (in music and intellect), surely this isn't meant to be his voice as a 17 year-old? The tangled emotional thought process is realistic, but the poetic expression of it all?"

Maybe it's a bit of both. Like when you remember something vividly and start telling the story and get into it and then it's like reliving that memory with both the original feelings and the embellishments, so to speak. And depending on why one tells the story, and how one feels about the story or parts of it at different times, those "embellishments" shift, and they also change how one feels about the other characters - one moment they're likable, a moment later they're not, and so on. Creates a sense of being right there with him.

Yesterday i read until 45% or so. And then i was in a bit of a not-good mood. I can't stand Oliver...and maybe i'm being a bit overprotective where Elio is concerned, but the way Oliver imposes his world view on Elio... I kept thinking how it might affect Elio in the long run. Which i'm guessing we'll find out. Could be that Oliver is just being careful, but the way he goes about it is just...it's both careful and hot-and-cold, and there's shame there too.

I thought Elio's "want" is captured really well. When one notices but ignores flaws and warning signs because there's this all-consuming "want" that's not really about an actual person, etc., but the idea of it.

I started reading it, and I love it.

I understood from Johanna's comment above that we can already post links/observations/questions concerning the book. Is that right? For me it would be easier to do it as I read.

Page 9, there is a reference to one of the mayor books of the Italian contemporary literature, «Cristo si è fermato a Eboli» by Carlo Levi Christ Stopped at Eboli: The Story of a Year, published in 1945. ETA: I forgot to explain the reference in our BOM: Eboli was the place were then (in the '40s) the railroad and the road stopped = isolated place. In Levi's book the peasants living in the nearby region of Lucania (where he is exiled by the fascists) used to say that they were not Christians, because even Christ had stopped in Eboli, that is they had been forgotten, excluded from history.

Page 15, «like coming home after years away between Trojans and Lestrygonians», I did know that Elio is referring to Odysseus, but I had forgotten who the Lestrygonians are: man-eating giants.

Page 19, «the golden mezuzah», see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mezuzah. It is believed to repel evil, usually it was placed on the doorposts of Jewish homes, the jewelry based on the mezuzah form is more recent.

Page 23, «That evening, as we biked to the movie theater, I was - and I didn't care to hide it - riding on air.» Is this coming from «walking on air», but adapted to biking?

Karen wrote: "II'm not sure which at this point, since this is the only book I've read by Aciman. I'm not sure how old Elio is when he's telling (or writing?) this story. Despite his apparent prodigious talents (in music and intellect), surely this isn't meant to be his voice as a 17 year-old?"

((I'm trying to read only the not spoilerish comments here.))

The fact that the Elio's voice is not the voice of a 17 years old is clear already from the first pages of the book, because Elio is remembering that past summer.

Mymymble wrote: "Page 9. I've not read Carlo Levi (in fact I thought he and Primo Levi were the same person) but he was Sephardic."

In my teens I kept mixing them up. Now I just have to think a second before mentioning one of them, to be sure I have the right one in mind ;-). They were not related by the way.

Antonella wrote: "Karen wrote: "II'm not sure which at this point, since this is the only book I've read by Aciman. I'm not sure how old Elio is when he's telling (or writing?) this story. Despite his apparent prodi..."

This was musing aloud on my part. I've just started the third section and it's my first time reading this. I was feeling out the style of writing. It's intriguing to me when the narrator is describing their (long ago?) past, but uses very specific dialogue. It's as if it were recorded verbatim. But it wasn't. So I'm pondering a stylistic choice here. From a small sample of Elio's diary, he isn't so specific then as is his adult voice. So these are of course embellished memories.

This is a familiar literary trope — the recounting of significant details of one's coming-of-age story — and I'm always interested in the writer's choices. Elio's voice is so literate and poetic, that it's tempting to guess that he went on to become a writer or poet (or professor like his father). Because that is definitely a "thing" in literary fiction — the writer's recounting of his youth — and the use of the tricks/gifts of his trade in doing so.

Also, I appreciate all of your clarifications of literary/cultural details. I caught the Odysseus one also, but find I'm checking definitions of unfamiliar words, and researching some of the references, and generally feeling a bit "short" intellectually. I imagine I would have found Elio's household rather intimidating. :)

I was so keen to read this, and in hindsight, I wonder at myself. I don't do well at all with teenager stories, so why I thought I'd enjoy the book I don't know. I just can't get over a seventeen-year-old supposedly sounding like Elio does, even if he's precocious. The voice just doesn't work for me at all.

I'm pretty sure this is a DNF for me, though I might give the movie a try.

Mymymble wrote: "Aww sorry to hear that Mel."

It's okay! :) I'm just annoyed with myself. And I don't mean to poo-poo on anyone else's enjoyment, everyone likes different things.

Page 45, Answer to the question: «What would the harm be in that?» is: «No harm. Except I like to go it alone, if you don't mind»: is this English?

Page 47, perpetue: the name perpetua (singular) comes from a character from I Promessi Sposi, from the name of the priest's housekeeper in that book. It can be also housekeeper in general, as long as she is old and chatty.

Page 51, «If not now, when?»: saying by rabbi Hillel the Elder (also the title of a wonderful book If Not Now, When? by Primo Levi)

Page 52, shibboleth

Page 65, Monet's Berm: a berm is «a narrow shelf, path, or ledge typically at the top or bottom of a slope» (Merriam-Webster).
Monet in Bordighera: he stayed three months instead of three weeks as planned and painted 38 works. There is a path to Monet's name, you can explore it every Monday in summer.

Page 70, «Zwischen Immer und Nie»: it is explained in the text that it is from Celan. It is relevant that it's from a short poem about night and love, that's the beginning and tt says: «At night, when the pendulum of love swings between always and never» (sorry, I don't find an official translation in English)

Page 71: I didn't know about Shelley's heart. «Cor Cordium» is the phrase inscribed on Shelley's tomb and also a poem by Swinburne on Shelley.

Page 77, launchpad: because Elio feels like the astronauts going in search of other worlds?

Page 80, «You're the luckiest kid in the world,» he said.
«You don't know the half of it.»
((I don't like Oliver calling Elio «kid»)) What does Elio mean? It doesn't become clear after when Elio blurts out: «So much of it is wrong, though.»

Page 83, «I loved the way he'd flip on me»: can someone explain this, please?

Page 84: nosebleed connected to height is common («I was up at the hill this morning.»), but later
Page 86, « What would happen if I saw him again? Would I bleed again...» it looks like nosebleed is connected to emotions.

Page 88, «...then I'd commit the ultimate indignity»: I've got an idea but it doesn't make sense with the rest, I think. What's your take?

Page 102, Armance: Wiki says about Armancethat apparently Stendhal's book was based on a novel called «Olivier» (Oliver in French) by a very interesting woman, Claire de Duras.

Sorry if I mixed my questions with other stuff... I wanted to contribute now, because in the next few days I'll be away.

I finished the second part yesterday, so i'm at around 70%, and...my impressions have definitely shifted. I don't mind Oliver as much anymore, in fact, i feel this sadness for him. And Elio...Elio has become a bit of a mystery with his reaction to that night between them. He's the quintessential selfish/self-involved teenager, and though i'm still enjoying the writing, i pretty much dislike him at this point. Though...he is a teenager. Everything is so...ugh...at that age.
But i didn't really understand where his self-loathing is coming from. Initially i was worried that Oliver's world view, which is somewhat jaded, more experienced, etc., would color negatively this first experience for Elio, make him feel ashamed of what he's feeling, but he's feeling all that by himself, and i don't really understand why, because he lives in such a bubble, with open-minded parents he knows would be fine with whatever he does.

Antonella wrote: "Page 84: nosebleed connected to height is common («I was up at the hill this morning.»), but later
Page 86, « What would happen if I saw him again? Would I bleed again...» it looks like nosebleed is connected to emotions."

I got the same impression - first i thought it was the height, but it seemed to be related more to getting very excited/emotional.

Page 83, «I loved the way he'd flip on me»: can someone explain this, please?

He refers to how one minute they're all serious, and the next Oliver would say something light and inconsequential.

Antonella wrote: "Page 45, Answer to the question: «What would the harm be in that?» is: «No harm. Except I like to go it alone, if you don't mind»: is this English?

Yes. "go it alone" - idiom - to do something by oneself.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dicti...

Antonella wrote: "Page 80, «You're the luckiest kid in the world,» he said.
«You don't know the half of it.»
((I don't like Oliver calling Elio «kid»)) What does Elio mean? It doesn't become clear after when Elio blurts out: «So much of it is wrong, though.»"

I think that one the one hand, he's sort of joking, because he does realize how lucky he is, but also maybe not, because he's still afraid of things he feels, but maybe doesn't feel that he has anyone to talk to, someone who'd understand, because in a way, the downside of his parents being super accepting and letting him do whatever he wants, might be that they will not see any problem with what he's feeling, so he's not so lucky in that, and maybe feeling lonely.

Thank you for the links, Antonella! :-)

KC wrote: "Thank you for the links, Antonella! :-)"

Thank you for the answers.

I also wanted to point out that many of my links/notes are meant for non-native speakers like me: if I already looked up something, others might avoid doing the same.

I have a true love-hate relationship with this book.

I more or less loathed the first part, which I call "longing" in my own head, hundreds and hundreds of pages of longing (no idea how many pages there actually were since I read it on a Kindle which is not giving me a "page" option). Yes, it's lyrical, yes, it's cleverly written, and Elio is most impressive. But the push and pull of it, the back and forth, just drove me crazy.

Then, we get to the middle section, when the relationship is acknowledged and the love affair begins, and I am crazy about it. It's so sweetly hesitant and romantic, and I can even forgive Elio's experimentation with the young girl, and his self-loathing immediately afterwards with Oliver, because of the deep dive into intimacy between them.

I loved Oliver in this section, I loved his admissions, "I wanted you from day one, I just hid it better" and the way he sat on that rock every night thinking of Elio:

"I never knew, I thought --"
"I know what you thought."

And I loved the way Oliver loved Elio: "Whatever happens between us, Elio, I just want you to know. Don't ever say you didn't know."

I'll never look at a peach the same way again.

And I'll never hear the word midnight, and not think,

"Or was midnight going to be midnight?
What to wear at midnight?"

So, yes, I loved this book.

And then, the ending came and I hated it again. But I don't want to go into that if people haven't finished it.

I saw the movie this weekend, and it was lush and beautiful. Highly recommend. There were parts of the book that became clearer once it was acted out on the screen.

Clary wrote: "I have a true love-hate relationship with this book.

I more or less loathed the first part, which I call "longing" in my own head, hundreds and hundreds of pages of longing (no idea how many page..."

Beautifully said! I can relate to so much of that. Definitely mixed feelings, especially now that i'm about to dive into the third part of the book. It's been a while since i read a book that made me feel so much and then have my feelings and perspective and assumptions challenged.

Clary wrote: "I have a true love-hate relationship with this book.

I more or less loathed the first part, which I call "longing" in my own head, hundreds and hundreds of pages of longing..."

I've read almost all your post, but not the last bit because I was worried about spoilers: I've just now stopped reading the book at the beginning of part 3 because I don't want to see how it is ending, I suspect I won't like it. I need some rest from the intensity of it. I'll start again soon...

Antonella wrote: "Clary wrote: "I have a true love-hate relationship with this book.

I more or less loathed the first part, which I call "longing" in my own head, hundreds and hundreds of pages of longing..."

I'm also where you are, Antonella, at the top of part 3. "And now for something completely different..." I've been reading a series of urban fantasy (with gay MCs) books/novellas.

I will get back to Call Me by Your Name this weekend.

I read two to three books in the middle of Call Me by Your Name, one of which was Simon and the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Simon was fun, and oddly enough, also about to be released a movie. I think it's a reading experience that requires breaks.

Karen wrote: "I'm also where you are, Antonella, at the top of part 3. "And now for something completely different..." I've been reading a series of urban fantasy (with gay MCs) books/novellas.

I will get back to Call Me by Your Name this weekend."

Same here. And it actually helps a bit knowing that maybe you and Antonella will also be reading this same part this weekend. I'm sort of both dreading it and looking forward to it.

Clary wrote: "I read two to three books in the middle of Call Me by Your Name, one of which was Simon and the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Simon was fun, and oddly enough, also about to be released a movie. I think it'..."

Definitely needs breaks... :-)

I didn't know there'll be a Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda movie. Cool. I enjoyed the book.

I'm still hoping to get to this book! But soooo many things to read for work that need to be finished by the end of the month. I might be late in getting to this one.

That said, I'm really enjoying the conversation you're having over it. So glad you all seem to be enjoying the book!

I've read part 3 yesterday, totally armless ;-).
Today I finished the book. In fact also part 4 was relatively alright, but - as I suspected - it left me sad. I'll post some questions and comments in the next days.

Now I wonder even more about the film.

Finally started this one yesterday. I'm not really sure how I feel about it. I don't really see what the MC sees in Oliver. And his rambling on about his feelings is kind of annoying, even though I know it's realistic.

For some reason I thought the MC was 14, so I was surprised when he said he was 17. Still, I keep thinking of him as 14! GAH!

Ok, who said it better:

“Do I like you, Oliver? I worship you.”

“Love you? Of course I love you. Baby, I fucking worship you.”

I can’t believe no one noticed this yet!

Honestly, I’m with Jake on this one.

I’m at 67% and my current thoughts are this:

A) This would have made for a really good short story. His inner monologues that go on and on forever are driving me nuts.

B) Neither main character is keeping my interest yet, but I think a short story version would solve a lot of my little issues.

C)I don’t understand why Elio hates the sex the day after. I’m glad he gets over that feeling. But seriously, he doesn’t want Oliver to be with anyone else, and yet he’s the one sleeping around, in a way. Oiy.

I kind of felt cheated by what Oliver did toward the end. I can’t believe it. Ugh. No inclination it was going to happen. Just, wham. Out of nowhere. That’s cruel.

Well, it was a beautiful story. I still think it would have made for a better short story though.

I'm going to see the film on Friday. I'm so glad I managed to read the book before!

Almost one hour at the New York Public Library with André Aciman and Luca Guadagnino, the director of the movie from Call Me by Your Name. I haven't watched it yet, but I suppose it might be interesting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iGJcC2...

Antonella wrote: "Almost one hour at the New York Public Library with André Aciman and Luca Guadagnino, the director of the movie from Call Me by Your Name. I haven't watched it yet, but I suppose it mi..."

Oh cool. Thanks!

Now I've seen the interview with André Aciman and Luca Guadagnino, it's great, but I was a bit frustrated because the volume is too low for me, especially at the beginning. Please consider that a non native speaker I need a higher volume to understand ;-).

Anyway I found also this conversation with Aciman about
the process of adapting his tender love story for the screen.

And this one about Italy as a Muse. It starts at 6' 30''.

I feel like I should reread already the last parts...

Anyway I have a question about the title, especially because I found someone thinking along my lines:
Call Me By Your Name | Movie Review

The relevant bit is from 9' 08'' to 9' 40'': for me too the idea of calling you lover by your name is very strange, event though at the first moment it sounds very romantic.

Your thoughts on the matter?

Mymymble wrote: "And the last page!"

The last _sentence_ killed me.

Antonella wrote: "Mymymble wrote: "And the last page!"

The last _sentence_ killed me."

*sigh* completely...

So i finally managed to continue and finish the book - i was stuck at part 3 for a while - and, much like Elio in part 4, i actively tried to distance myself from what was happening. And it seemed like it was working for part 3, which was also a bit too long, imo - the poet's tale - but then...then part 4 was incredible. So i could barely keep from crying because...why Oliver, why...even though nothing guarantees that they would've stayed together, but to not even consider it, that was just so very sad...almost like The Well of Loneliness all over again, and i resent that a bit.

However, I also absolutely adored what Elio's father says to him after he comes back from Rome.