I went into Call Me by Your Name very skeptical. While I haven't seen the movie, the pop culture conversation around it made me doubt I'd buy the romance between a teenager and a post-grad exchange student.

But I was surprised.

The prose is absolutely incredible, capturing the anxiety and inicurities of someone new to love while also providing beautiful descriptions of event both event and feelings, and it would've been enough for me to get over the questionable power dynamics.

But Oliver and Elio's relationship is way more complex than that. The hesitancy around queer desire in the 80s, the fear of rejection, the worry about consequences and the subtlety in which Oliver slowly gives in to Elio's (the teen!) advances made me totally endeared to them.

But probably my favourite thing about this book is that they're not perfect. It didn't feel like I was reading a romance, but a coming of age story. Elio is an annoying teenager who can't deal with his feelings, Oliver is awkward beyond his carisma, the both of them together do honestly really weird shit (

fucking a peach and eating it, or watching each other poop, for example

) and frequently flirt very badly.

They felt human and real and I'm definitely reading anything Aciman releases.