Andre Aciman’s writing is so beautiful and I love listening to it! The structure was really interesting (very distinct stories on different times of obsession in the main character's life) and they were really immersive, but it made the overall experience of the book a little less engaging for me because they were so separated. Still highly recommend and thanks NetGalley for the audio ARC!

I truly enjoy this author. His words are beautifully written. I cannot get enough of this story! What a gorgeous tale

Really enjoyed this book. There are some similarities to Call Me By Your Name, so fans of that novel won’t be disappointed. Definitely worth checking out

I’m so grateful that I got to read this text. I really enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to making some videos for my TIkTok and other social media channels to recommend it to my friends and followers. It was an excellent read! 5/5 stars. I’m going to write a longer and more detailed review on my Goodreads and TikTok and I will link back once I’ve posted.

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the audiobook ARC!

Enigma Variations is quite a powerful coming of age story. The narrative is told in such a way to make it very relatable and undeniably compelling. The laughter, tears, exultation, and heartbreak are palpable.

I read Call Me By Your Name a few years ago and really enjoyed Aciman's writing. The writing is poetic and poignant, and I'm always a bit surprised by how many relatable thoughts he can cram, seamlessly, into varied stories. This novel contained the same stunning writing and I enjoyed it. I found myself pausing and reflecting on my own experiences as the characters parse out the complicated nature of relationships.

I will say that Aciman writes about LGBT+ love stories often, but identifies as heterosexual. If you want "own voices" LGBT+ books, there are so many other writers I would recommend (Garth Greenwell comes to mind for a similar tone).

Recommend.

I'm sure I'm not the first nor the last to say that I was introduced to Andre Aciman thru a little book called Call Me By Your Name. I loved it, I loved the writing, I loved the gayness of it, it was perfect. I've had Enigma Variations on my radar since finishing CMBYN - around 2019 time - and I'm so glad I was able to get a copy of the audiobook to review.

This is the story of Paul and the ways in which he grows with his own sexuality and his own desires. There's four different sections of the book which each revolve around a different person of interest for Paul. We follow Paul from a pre teen boy up to middle age and we follow his discovery of longing for love. This book made me feel kind of sad, kind of lonely, kind of like there was a hole in my chest. I felt for our main character in each of these slivers of his life. The last two stories in particular were the saddest ones for me. In one, Paul continuously reconnects with an old college friend and each time it's the same old story of missed opportunity or wrong time right place. They are two parallel lines that are never meant to cross no matter how badly they both want to. The last story, Paul's older and finds himself longing for a younger writer he's come across. They form a relationship of sorts and Paul's afraid to do anything for fear of rejection. He believes this is the last chance he has to find love or a relationship or whatever it may be that he's looking for.

The writing in enchanting, you can really feel the same things Paul's feeling. All his longing and wanting are so clear in the story. The narration of the audiobook was good, Edoardo Ballerini did a good job of making the characters distinct. The only thing I got confused about was the different sections starts and ends. At first I couldn't tell if the individual stories were all about the same person or about different people. But all in all, I highly recommend this read.

<i>Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan audio for an audiobook edition of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.<i>

Thanks so much to Netgalley for the access to an advance copy of this audiobook, but unfortunately this is a DNF@ 16%

André Aciman's writing is just not for me.
I was not really a fan of André Aciman's CMBYN, partly because I thought it was overly pretentious in its writing— though I will admit there were some lovely lines. But my more significant issue, which continues here, is the relationships developing between a child and an adult.
Furthermore: why is a straight-identifying man writing about homosexual relationships, especially between minors and adults? This is less of an issue in CMBYN, in that the minor is 17, which is the closest you could get to "adulthood" without being there— So it's hitting this scandalous point, thrilling for the reader, while remaining largely excusable (for some).
This book, "Enigma Variations" opens with a young boy (somewhere between 8 and 13yo???) who is in love with the family's cabinetmaker (a man). This is all well and good if approached carefully and with tact. But for a young boy to vividly fantasize about a man touching him sexually... Why is this necessary? Also, even though it is well established for the reader that this beginning of the book is from a child's perspective, it does not sound like a child speaking. Again, this would be fine, if approached carefully. The effect of the narrator/protagonist being a child actively desiring a grown man sexually is one of neutrality or complicity with sexual assault or abuse.
I have read a good number of books which have included and described the sexual abuse or misconduct with minors as a plot point. And while this is ALWAYS upsetting, there is a way to write about it and include it in the narrative without putting it on a pedestal, dismissing the wrongfulness, or just directly glorifying and fetishizing the idea (which this first chapter very much does).
I will refrain from ranting further and stay focused on this book (but there is a pattern between even these two Aciman books I have read ANY of)— even if this relationship were between two adults, and thereby in a safer place for the story to venture, again, I want to know why a straight man loves to include gay male relationships as a plot point in his work?
It's one thing to be establishing diversity and inclusiveness, but it is another when that person or relationship is the central plot device. GROSS. I highly disapprove.

Thanks to NetGalley for an audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I loved this book. It is made up of section, each dedicated to a different love story experienced by the protagonist, Paul. The story was poignant and moving, and I found myself invested despite the format of the sections. I really liked the way Aciman detracted from the importance of sexuality. The story just flowed, all the parts meshing together. It touches on many aspects of human nature and evokes and explores so many emotions, weaving a haunting, bittersweet yet hopeful narrative.