Luca Guadagnino’s Oscar-winning 2017 film, Call Me by Your Name --- based on André Aciman’s 2007 novel of the same name --- took the story of Elio and Oliver’s summer of love and turned it into a cultural phenomenon, one of the great romances of our time. The sequel, FIND ME, follows up with the characters who made Aciman a mainstream literary name.

The novel is told in four parts: “Tempo,” which takes place 10 years after the events of the first book; “Cadenza,” which is set five years after “Tempo”; “Capriccio,” which takes place five years after “Cadenza”; and “Da Capo,” the conclusion, occurring not long after that. Each is narrated by a different character from CALL ME BY YOUR NAME.

"Depending on your interpretation of the Acimanverse, the conclusion either muddles or vastly changes the ending of the first book, which was beautiful in its melancholy acceptance of impermanence."

The first is Samuel, Elio’s professor father, who finds a second chance at love and life when he meets a beguiling woman half his age on a train to Rome. The next movement is Elio’s, detailing his relationship with the much older Michel, a rich and generous Parisian who lifts him out of stagnancy and provides the couple with a World War II-era mystery to solve. Finally, we meet Oliver once more at a party in “Capriccio,” where he is a professor ending a sabbatical in New York as he comes to grips with the fact that he torpedoed his life 20 years ago when he left his true love in Italy and married someone else. His is arguably the most interesting section of the book, being the character who has changed the most, albeit not for the better.

Depending on your interpretation of the Acimanverse, the conclusion either muddles or vastly changes the ending of the first book, which was beautiful in its melancholy acceptance of impermanence.

Though not nearly as good a novel, FIND ME is for the CALL ME BY YOUR NAME superfan. Those who have found themselves wishing for different possibilities for Elio and Oliver, or who wants to dive back into this lush, humid world populated by characters whose lives are steeped in wealth, academia and art, will surely enjoy it. Aciman’s love of minutiae and commitment to setting a scene are as present in the sequel as they were in its predecessor --- the number of references to other people’s work that he is able to pack into a relatively short book is astonishing. They make for a richly detailed backdrop if you know what he’s talking about. If you don’t, then at least they provide you with interesting material to Google.

If you’d prefer to keep your experience of the original story pure, that’s completely understandable. However, those looking for more of Aciman’s signature style can still find what they seek in FIND ME.