I had mixed feelings about this book. The main character, 17 year old Elio, perfectly describes the irresistible feelings of attraction and first love he has for Oliver, the 24 year old college professor and author staying at his parents' house for six weeks during the summer.

There was one point when a character's monologue (not one of the main characters) went on for four pages, which I thought was a bit much.

What I found sad and somewhat predictable is that Elio never gets over loving Oliver. After the summer ends, (highlight to read spoiler) Elio sees Oliver only three more times over the next twenty years: a few months later over Christmas, fifteen years after that when Elio shows up at one of Oliver's lectures, and then four years after that when Oliver finally returns to Italy to visit Elio and his mother. Despite their lack of contact (or maybe because of it), Elio keeps this fantasy of Oliver and the life and love they could have had together if Oliver hadn't gotten married the year after he left Italy. I know I'm supposed to see this as Elio wondering about what might have been with Oliver in the role of The One Who Got Away, but it comes off as very sad that twenty years later, Elio is still in love with someone who he hasn't really seen or had contact with for two decades.