the first half of the book was probably a 4.5 star section and he really succeeds in making us feel for the chars. the second half was good dragged and was probably closer to a 3 star. average it out for a 4 star review. tysm for the arc.

Rich in realism. Love this story so much. I wish I was around when this story was first published but I’m glad a new generation will be able to experience it just like I did

Just the way I like it - brooding and melancholy with lots of art references. It is also a fascinating document of its time, exposing structural normativities in both their hetero and homo forms. The latter is especially interesting in the novel because of its femme phobia and insistence on an idea of masculinity that appears in contemporary queer circles as a relict of the deep past, but that still occasionally rears its ugly head.

4.5 /5 : Very good.

Gosh. This is an Italian novel originally published in 1989, just a few years before the author's own death due to AIDS and soon to be published in England in the US for the first time. Thanks to Zando and NetGalley for the e-ARC in exchange for my review.

This book is stunningly melancholy, so beautifully written and translated. We follow Leo as he flees his dying boyfriend Thomas's bedside and travels around the globe reflecting on himself, his relationships, and who he'll become after Thomas. Truthfully, Leo is a troubling character to sit with. He carries the trauma of being someone deeply religious and attuned to the aesthetics of religious practice but can no longer access them in the same way because he's gay. He loves his partners but keeps them distant (an agreement he and Thomas term "separate rooms"), in part because he feels that since he cannot fully belong to another man in society's eyes the same way he could fully belong to another woman. His relationships are volatile and he and his partners don't treat each other that well, but there's some aspect of Leo that finds this cathartic. Which becomes a little more literal in an erotic back room scene in the third act that I found...dizzying.

All that said, he's not a tragic caricature; he's complex and well-developed, ultimately coming to an understanding that while he craves connection and community that he's willing and able to build, he ultimately needs to be single. The book resolves, which I don't always expect in a short literary fiction of this style. While reading, I felt an incredible range of emotion and some passages kept me so captivated I could barely breathe - including the best narrativization of a psychedelic trip that I've ever read. Unfortunately, it drags a little bit in the middle but is well worth the push.

What a treasure to finally have published to an American audiences. We have really missed out on this beautiful piece of queer literary history.

I loved this one! The prose and language is just beautiful. I read all of this in one day I couldn’t stop it was such a tragic and heartbreaking tale with lots of nostalgia and themes of grief, mourning and acceptance. A story that will stick with me for a long time. I am excited now to see how it will be as a movie, I think it will be amazing with Luca taking on the film! I really remind this one 5/5 from me!

So impactful and so devastating. Absolutely was not in the right headspace for this but still very happy to have experienced it.

beautiful prose and so sad!! i was in a constant state of mourning!! because it was mostly internal narration it did drag on a bit but read if you like reading about sad gay men!

Oh, wow… The writing is impeccable. Every page is crafted so carefully and carries meaning that sometimes punches the reader in the gut. Pier Vittorio Tondelli created a character that portrayed the complexity of the human condition so well, and the imagery of the separated rooms/worlds was so powerful. This was poetic, melancholic and still so incredibly beautiful.

very beautifully written and very sad but the middle kind of dragged a bit bc this book is mostly narration! that being said!! luca guadagnino and josh o'connor are going to make a fantastic movie out of this!!! can't wait for it to ruin me!!

I really just floated through this. It Felt like a dream. I can understand the constant jumps in the time line could be a bit jarring at first, but I feel it was very intentional. It gave me a sense of what Leo was feeling. The grief, loneliness, confusion, and longing to understand

I foolishly, with my limited knowledge of Italian, bought this novel years ago. The Italian version was absolutely impossible for me so I was thrilled when I learnt that it was being publish in English.

Thank you NetGalley and the publishers for acceding to my request.

The plot is thin and if you are reading it for the plot you are bound to be disappointed. The language is poetic and the translator has done a stupendous job of making this accessible as in English, not at all an easy job.

The novel is episodic and moves from one narrative to another and from one moment of time to another without much notice. One tends to get lost if one tries to put the episodes in chronological order. But is this really necessary? One does not gain much by trying to impose this order when much of what happens, occurs in the mind of the author.

Thomas, a German musician and Leo and older writer have been lovers. Now, Thomas is dying (presumably of AIDS) and Leo is distraught. He travels from city to city dwelling on the past and their life together and searching for the meaning of life and death. As most of the novel is stream of consciousness and relies on memory the reader has no other option but to go with the flow.

While they were together Leo always wanted space and he and Thomas lived in separate rooms, often in separate cities. Once when they are forced to live together Leo is very disconcerted. Even Leo’s relationship with his family is strained. Now the tables are turned and Leo finds himself locked in a “separate room” of his own making while Thomas is dying with his family around him.

The novel is a penetrating and accurate portrait of gay life probably in the 1980s when the novel was first published in Italian. Love and loss are described in overwhelmingly heart wrenching and all consuming terms. Yet there are also passages of great warmth and affection

I believe this is going to be made into a film. It will be interesting to see how the director handles the themes and the long interior monologues.

I feel like this will be a beautiful movie, but I really struggled with the writing and it all felt a bit disjointed and difficult to follow at times.

While Tondelli’s prose is poetic and intense, the narrative can feel disjointed at times, leaving certain character arcs underdeveloped. The book’s candid treatment of love and sexuality is both its strength and its weakness, depending on the reader's expectations. While the story resonates with emotional truth, its fragmented structure left me feeling disconnected. Overall, it's a compelling but uneven read that captures the turmoil of coming-of-age, even if it doesn’t always tie everything together in a satisfying way.

NOTHING makes me happier than a literary romance. I think love, especially love under oppression, is too big and too important to be frivolous about. As a big A. Aciman fan, this book definitely checked all those boxes. It took its time, unfolded as love truly does, and gets into the scary, uncomfortable intimacies that grief and love often share.

Highly recommend.

In Separate Rooms, we follow Leo as he reflects on the love he shared with this lover Thomas who has died in the 1980's, from what the reader assumes to be AIDS. THe style of the novel is not linear, so it was a bit hard to follow at times and I found my mind wandering for long chunks of this books. Where the book shines however is the writing. During the more plot-driven parts I was really hooked and on almost every page I was hit by the most beautiful sentences I've ever read. By the end I felt a little tear roll down my cheek. I can't wait to reread this when it comes out in a physical copy so I can underline everything. Wow!

At times, I did not feel smart enough for this book. That being said, I do think it was a beautiful portrayal not only of loss but of love. I think I read somewhere that this is and is not an "AIDS" novel, and I agree. It is, I guess, in that the author died from AIDS shortly after its publication and in that the love interest of our main character also dies, presumably from AIDS. But I don't think that is what the book is ABOUT. The book is about their love story. About how they make their relationship work despite having few relationships from which they can model theirs. They are a gay couple in the 80s. While gay men were certainly out and prevalent, it was not in the way it is now. There's a heartwrenching scene when Leo visits Thomas on his deathbed at his parent's house and he realizes that there is no recognition for his grief there because there is no recognition for his love.

One thing I will say though, I thought Leo was an absolute shit. He treated Thomas terribly and then went on long philosophical rants as an explanation/excuse for why he treated the love of his life like shit.

Overall, would recommend this book to those who are ok with a book with very little plot and a whole lot of vibes. I also wish I could read it in its original language as I feel there was something of its magic lost in translation.

Really gorgeous writing, I can see fans of Aciman really enjoying this as it’s similar in vibes and themes. I will definitely check out more by the author!

Great writing and a strong story. The main character was fascinating and held my attention throughout. The shifting timeline didn’t bother me—it actually added an intriguing dimension to the plot. I can’t wait to see the movie.

Excellent writing. Solid story. I found the main character very interesting. Didn’t mind the flip flopping timeline.

I loved SEPARATE ROOMS, and really do hope Luca ends up adapting it. Need more books like this!!!

Thanks to the publisher for the e-galley!