The world was held captive by Elio and Oliver in André Aciman’s Call Me By Your Name, a love story between an adolescent boy and his father’s guest that’s as intense as it was bittersweet. So much so that fans of the book-turned-movie adaptation eagerly awaited for the sequel Find Me which was finally released in October 2019.

Find Me is divided into four parts and starts off with Tempo where Samuel Perlmann is on a train on his way to see his son Elio in Rome. On the train, he meets Miranda, a woman half his age who’s on her way to visit her ailing father. This sets off a relationship between the two that seems unlikely but predictable, the ultimate strangers on a train cliché. This dance between age, what is appropriate and inappropriate, tenderness and romance occupies the first half of the book, almost rendering the reader breathless in anticipation for what happens to Elio and Oliver.

In Cadenza, we get a glimpse of Elio and a newfound relationship with Michel. In spite of this new romantic bound, both men know that they can only go so far when it feels like it’s under the shadow of what Elio had with Oliver.

In the third part, Capriccio, Oliver is in New York City ready to head back to his unhappy married life with his wife. At a party, he encounters two people that reignite a vibrancy in him, triggering contemplation of what he could’ve had with Elio.

And at last, what we’ve all been waiting for: the reunion of the two. In Da Capo, Elio and Oliver finally reconnect. While brief, Aciman illustrates the realities of a love once lost but is in the throes of undergoing something that resembles the old while redefining new possibilities.

There are many mixed reviews of Find Me, and I found it interesting that a lot of people were disappointed. Check out what #bookstagrammers are saying:

@readsforkeeps

“Personally, it wasn’t as good as Call Me By Your Name but this book has its own perks as well. One of the things I like about the book is when the author shows how Elio and Oliver are still connected by heart. I was moved by it. I think it’s still worth the read even if it doesn’t show much continuity to Oliver and Elio’s story. It’s still that deep, passionate, haunting and moving romance novel which André Aciman is known for.”

@schabbing

“Bought it last night and finished it today. I don’t really know what to think. It was a bit meh. Sometimes he writes amazing dialog and profound moments and the next moment I’m rolling my eyes. I guess it’s worth it for the good moments.
And he clearly has a thing for a big age gap.”

@bookshelf1992

“The sequel no one needed and falls very short of Call Me By Your Name. The book, I would argue, is far more concerned about age gaps than progressing or enhancing Elio and Oliver’s storyline. Rather than awakening or romantic, the relationships in Find Me come across as farcical, borderline predatory, fantasies.”

@robyniscurrentlyreading

“I’m currently reading Find Me by André Aciman and loving it. I really enjoyed Call Me By Your Name and love Aciman’s writing!”

@shereadsshenoms

“I’m a third in and, honestly, the first character’s perspective is making me eye-rolly. If it was another book, I’d have DNF’d by now. Why haven’t I? Because I care too much about Elio and Oliver!

“I’m not sure why Aciman decided to put a cliché older-man-falls-for-younger-woman story in his first part of this novel, but I also don’t know why I ate a chicken strip yesterday, so I’m going to make an attempt to be forgiving and power through the final two thirds. I also have it on some good authority it’s worth finishing.”

Many may not have appreciated the sequel, but hey – here’s something incredible we can all agree on.

Did you like Find Me? Tell us in the comments below!

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