Judy's Reviews > Call Me by Your Name

I had to give this book a 5 out of 5. The prose is so beautiful, and the story and characters were unforgettable. The book imparts a rare and lovely view of how it feels to fall truly in love -- the uncertainty, the little flirtations, the risk of showing that you care, the risk of actually letting yourself care, the joy/agony of being in love, regardless of what the other person feels, and then the sheer joy of being loved back. I don't think I've read another story that conveys so vividly and achingly the joy and sorrow of intense love. What made the book so extraordinary is that it evoked feelings I'd forgotten; it made me think of the many loves throughout my life, and in particular, the few that still matter to me intensely. I loved that the story did not stop at the end of that one summer, but it continued to show how their lives went on from there. It left me with something I didn't have before I read it. The ending was perfect, as was nearly every word along the way. For me, this was a rare beauty.