Call Me By Your Name - Yay or Nay..

 Welcome one, welcome all... In today's post I am going to make an attempt to be a  literary critic. I mean why not! You can be anything you want to be.

It felt like a great idea to write a book review as a follow up to a post about reading. I can't promise you anything about the quality of the review but let's give it a go anyways.

Before we proceed, DISCLAIMER! 

"Read the book at your own will and risk" 

This review is my opinion about the said book and what I feel and got out of it. Everyone can have their own take and opinion about this and I totally respect it. This post is in no way intended to offend anyone, any opinion, any perspective or anything at all.

Now, onto the review. 

Quite a while back, I stumbled upon this movie, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME. And because the lead actor was Timothée Chalamet, I decided to have a watch. My God was I impressed.

The simplicity of the story really drew my attention. The portrayal of characters were so well established. And no wonder the movie was nominated for several Oscars and the screenplay writer James Ivory winning an Oscar for the same.

That's when I found out that the movie was adapted from a book of the same name, by an Italian-American writer, André Aciman. I decided to get the book and have a read. That was definetely a really good decision on my part.

The heart of the story is a romance, a homosexual love story. The book is told entirely through the perspective of the character Elio, and we find ourselves drifting between the fiction and reality, the relatable and non relatable aspects of the story, as it progresses. 

Set in the summer of 1980s, Oliver, a handsome doctoral student arrives at his professor's house on the Italian countryside. He stays for the summer to work as an intern and complete his thesis. That's where he meets Elio, the professor's 17 year old son. And as the summer goes by, we see the two being hesitant, reluctant and then finally reciprocating their feelings.

Elio is a quiet, socially awkward bibliophile while Oliver is an outgoing, fun loving personality. The book takes us through the confusions and stupidities of being 17 and we see the queer nature of Elio and his struggle to be himself.

The book establishes Oliver as a heterosexual male, but he finds himself being attracted to this young man. This representation reminded me of the instablity of life.

Our lives are prone to changes. Sometimes they happen for the best of things and sometimes for the worst. But they happen for a reason and we learn something very new from those experiences as well. 

The unstable nature of our lives or anything in the world that has something to do with us, sometimes puts us in a position where we have to make a tough and uneasy decision to adapt with the circumstances that surround us.

It may not be what we prefer to do but we end up having to do it. As the story progresses, we see this in the characters of the book too.

Another great notable factor in the book is the role of Elio's parents,

Mr and Mrs Pearlman.                                         They are one of the most best and supportive parents ever. They really do play a major role in the smooth running of the story.

There is no family drama. It is a soft, simple and subtle tale of two souls falling in love and the position they are put in because of that relationship. This book once again made me realize the importance of those small obscure tales that seem to be invisible under those books with dragons. 

Emotional, controversial, heart warming and enjoyable, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME once again made me believe in the unconditional nature of the most basic and powerful tool owned by humanity--Love. So this is definetely a good read.

If you ever get a chance to read this book or if you have, let me know about it in the comments. 

If you would like me to write more book reviews, let me know as well. 

Also make sure to subscribe to notifications and follow me on my blog in the menu bar. 

Until the next time folks, stay healthy and happy. 

CIAO.