The cover and details of the sequel to André Aciman’s novel Call Me By Your Name have been revealed, reuniting readers with Elio and his family in other parts of Europe. Aciman’s first novel, Call Me By Your Name, was first published in 2007 and gained a new wave of followers after being adapted to the big screen in 2017 by director Luca Guadagnino, and starring Timothée Chalamet and Armie Hammer as Elio and Oliver.
The film covers most of the novel, leaving out the final part set fifteen years later that sees Elio and Oliver reunite in the U.S, and a final time jump where Oliver visits Elio’s family home in Italy. Back in December, Aciman announced he was working on a sequel to the novel. That sequel is now ready to be published later this year, and the cover (along with plot details) have been revealed.
EW shared the first look at the cover of Find Me, as well as a short synopsis. The story is set decades after that first meeting between Oliver and Elio, with Samuel (Elio’s father) traveling from Florence to Rome to visit his son, who is now a gifted classical pianist. But his plans take a turn after “a chance encounter on the train with a beautiful young woman” that will change his life. Meanwhile, Elio moves to Paris where he also has a “consequential affair”, while Oliver, now a professor with a family, “finds himself contemplating a return trip across the Atlantic.” Judging by these bits, it looks like Find Me is set between the two time jumps at the end of Call Me By Your Name, and will most likely answer some questions that have been floating around. You can take a look at the cover, a colorful setting in Rome, below.
Speaking to EW, Aciman shared that Elio and Oliver have been with him since he wrote the novel and never really left, adding how these characters and the love they shared impacted his life:
“Elio and Oliver have been with me ever since they visited my pages and they’ve never left. I fell in love with them, fell in love with their love, and have never stopped thinking of them. Better yet, I would never have learned so much or been so stirred by young love until I woke up one morning and started writing the word, ‘Later’”.
Luca Guadagnino has previously spoken about his idea for a sequel, set in 1989 (six years after the events of the first film) to explore the impact of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the AIDS crisis. With the sequel novel taking place decades after the first one, Guadagnino’s idea is out, though not completely as it still could explore themes like the AIDS crisis and other social issues. Or, simply, Aciman could have gone with a completely different line while keeping the honesty, love, and heartbreak that were so present in the first novel.
Find Me will be out on October 29, and is now available for pre-order. It wouldn’t be surprising if plans for a cinematic adaptation are announced shortly after the release of the book, especially after how well received Call Me By Your Name was by both audiences and critics, and the impact it had in queer cinema.
Source: EW