What do you think?
Rate this book
Room on the Sea: Three Novellas
Three hypnotic novellas about obsessional love, missed connections, and enduring regret by the bestselling author of Call Me by Your Name.
The short fictions in Room on the Sea deal with the heart-wrenching vicissitudes of amorous ambivalence, in André Aciman's inimitably nostalgic, lyric style.
"The Gentleman from Peru" tells the story of the life-changing encounter of a group of friends with an enigmatic solitary guest in a hotel on the Amalfi Coast. "Room on the Sea" is a dialogue between a man and a woman who meet on jury duty and embark on a complex relationship. "Mariana" is a modern retelling of a famous seventeenth-century novel about a love affair between a nun and a swashbuckling, unreliable aristocrat.
No one writes about the ups and downs, the yeses and nos, of contemporary love like Aciman. As The Times (London) ”You don't so much read André Aciman's novels as tumble breathlessly into them.“
The short fictions in Room on the Sea deal with the heart-wrenching vicissitudes of amorous ambivalence, in André Aciman's inimitably nostalgic, lyric style.
"The Gentleman from Peru" tells the story of the life-changing encounter of a group of friends with an enigmatic solitary guest in a hotel on the Amalfi Coast. "Room on the Sea" is a dialogue between a man and a woman who meet on jury duty and embark on a complex relationship. "Mariana" is a modern retelling of a famous seventeenth-century novel about a love affair between a nun and a swashbuckling, unreliable aristocrat.
No one writes about the ups and downs, the yeses and nos, of contemporary love like Aciman. As The Times (London) ”You don't so much read André Aciman's novels as tumble breathlessly into them.“
272 pages, Hardcover
Published June 24, 2025
82 people are currently reading
633 people want to read
About the author
André Aciman
55 books10.4k followersAndré Aciman was born in Alexandria, Egypt and is an American memoirist, essayist, novelist, and scholar of seventeenth-century literature. He has also written many essays and reviews on Marcel Proust. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, The New York Times, The Paris Review, The New Republic, Condé Nast Traveler as well as in many volumes of The Best American Essays. Aciman received his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Harvard University, has taught at Princeton and Bard and is Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature at The CUNY Graduate Center. He is currently chair of the Ph. D. Program in Comparative Literature and founder and director of The Writers' Institute at the Graduate Center.
Aciman is the author of the Whiting Award-winning memoir Out of Egypt (1995), an account of his childhood as a Jew growing up in post-colonial Egypt. Aciman has published two other books: False Papers: Essays in Exile and Memory (2001), and a novel Call Me By Your Name (2007), which was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and won the Lambda Literary Award for Men's Fiction (2008). His forthcoming novel Eight White Nights (FSG) will be published on February 14, 2010
Aciman is the author of the Whiting Award-winning memoir Out of Egypt (1995), an account of his childhood as a Jew growing up in post-colonial Egypt. Aciman has published two other books: False Papers: Essays in Exile and Memory (2001), and a novel Call Me By Your Name (2007), which was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and won the Lambda Literary Award for Men's Fiction (2008). His forthcoming novel Eight White Nights (FSG) will be published on February 14, 2010
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews
August 29, 2025
4 ★
This book is a collection of three novellas, written by none other than the author of Call Me By Your Name - André Aciman.
Now, I'll be honest I haven't read Call Me By Your Name yet, but I adore the movie and thought it was time to finally read something by this author.
I will divide this review into three parts because each novella for sure deserves it's own rating.
•*⁀➷ The Gentleman from Peru 4★
This was such a strong start to this book. First of all, let me just say that the writing is beautiful. A pleasure to read. The older man mentioned in the title meets a group of younger people and becomes an unexpected (and at first unwanted) mentor-like figure for them.
The point of the story, and the mentor's musings, is that there are people walking the earth who are essentially alternative versions of us. They're who we could've become had we made different choices, but we can't pick them out from the crowd. But this man can. And because there are so many different versions of us in the world, that also means that our soulmates still exist somewhere even after we've lost them.
I will admit that the story taking a turn from a mentor-mentee dynamic into a clearly romantic one took me by surprise, especially with the age gap, but it didn't put me off because I felt like the main point of it was just being able to share another moment with a long lost soulmate and nothing else.
It was a very intriguing read, beautifully written and exploring a very unique way of looking at life.
•*⁀➷ Room on the Sea 4★
This story had me feeling very conflicted about the characters themselves and their actions, but that seems to be something I've been enjoying lately.
We read about two people in their late sixties/early seventies, unhappily married, meeting in court during jury duty and finding their first glimpses of romantic happiness in years in each other. It follows five days of them stealing moments and treading lines.
Now, for me, anything including infidelity itself, or even musing about infidelity, is usually a miss. And yet, somehow, this wasn't.
As I said I've been loving literature that can challenge my way of looking at things lately, and without changing the way I feel about certain issues, it makes me see them in a slightly different light. I like being shown a perspective I couldn't come up with on my own, and this definitely did that for me.
•*⁀➷ Mariana 3★
The last novella was, unfortunately, a little disappointing. For me, it was one of those stories that you like a lot when looking back at it, but while reading, it felt like it dragged on a little.
This story was the inner monologue of Mariana, dealing with a heartbreak and writing a letter to the one who broke her heart. Her feelings and insights were relatable and while her story was pretty simple, it was still very interesting. As I said, thinking about it now, I think it was brilliant. But it was, at times, hard to appreciate that while reading because of the way it was written.
All in all I still enjoyed all three of these novellas a lot. They are not the type of stories that pierce your heart, but they are very pleasant to look back on if that makes sense. I'd definitely recommend them (especially the first two) and I'll be for sure be reaching for some more of André Aciman's work soon.
Thank you NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the ARC.
*ੈ✩‧₊˚ pre-read ｡･:*˚:✧｡
just got the arc!!
couldn’t be more excited if i tried, i’m feeling really good about this one 🙂↕️💕
This book is a collection of three novellas, written by none other than the author of Call Me By Your Name - André Aciman.
Now, I'll be honest I haven't read Call Me By Your Name yet, but I adore the movie and thought it was time to finally read something by this author.
I will divide this review into three parts because each novella for sure deserves it's own rating.
•*⁀➷ The Gentleman from Peru 4★
This was such a strong start to this book. First of all, let me just say that the writing is beautiful. A pleasure to read. The older man mentioned in the title meets a group of younger people and becomes an unexpected (and at first unwanted) mentor-like figure for them.
The point of the story, and the mentor's musings, is that there are people walking the earth who are essentially alternative versions of us. They're who we could've become had we made different choices, but we can't pick them out from the crowd. But this man can. And because there are so many different versions of us in the world, that also means that our soulmates still exist somewhere even after we've lost them.
I will admit that the story taking a turn from a mentor-mentee dynamic into a clearly romantic one took me by surprise, especially with the age gap, but it didn't put me off because I felt like the main point of it was just being able to share another moment with a long lost soulmate and nothing else.
It was a very intriguing read, beautifully written and exploring a very unique way of looking at life.
•*⁀➷ Room on the Sea 4★
This story had me feeling very conflicted about the characters themselves and their actions, but that seems to be something I've been enjoying lately.
We read about two people in their late sixties/early seventies, unhappily married, meeting in court during jury duty and finding their first glimpses of romantic happiness in years in each other. It follows five days of them stealing moments and treading lines.
Now, for me, anything including infidelity itself, or even musing about infidelity, is usually a miss. And yet, somehow, this wasn't.
As I said I've been loving literature that can challenge my way of looking at things lately, and without changing the way I feel about certain issues, it makes me see them in a slightly different light. I like being shown a perspective I couldn't come up with on my own, and this definitely did that for me.
•*⁀➷ Mariana 3★
The last novella was, unfortunately, a little disappointing. For me, it was one of those stories that you like a lot when looking back at it, but while reading, it felt like it dragged on a little.
This story was the inner monologue of Mariana, dealing with a heartbreak and writing a letter to the one who broke her heart. Her feelings and insights were relatable and while her story was pretty simple, it was still very interesting. As I said, thinking about it now, I think it was brilliant. But it was, at times, hard to appreciate that while reading because of the way it was written.
All in all I still enjoyed all three of these novellas a lot. They are not the type of stories that pierce your heart, but they are very pleasant to look back on if that makes sense. I'd definitely recommend them (especially the first two) and I'll be for sure be reaching for some more of André Aciman's work soon.
Thank you NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the ARC.
*ੈ✩‧₊˚ pre-read ｡･:*˚:✧｡
just got the arc!!
couldn’t be more excited if i tried, i’m feeling really good about this one 🙂↕️💕
Read
September 24, 2025I’m not giving this collection an overall rating, but have reviewed the stories separately.
Room on the Sea 5 stars : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
The Gentleman from Peru 3 stars : https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
Mariana 3 stars https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I received a copy of this from the publisher trough Edelweiss.
January 16, 2026
“Room on the Sea: Three Novellas”, by Andre Aciman
4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW: lots of food and clothing descriptions 😂
First novella: “The Man From Peru”
This tale involving magical realism was fascinating!
The writing and the storytelling are so engaging, and the characters are very interesting. Raul, one of the characters, was so seductive!
I do want to believe that one person’s life continues recycling over and over, and forever, and that we can retain a few memories in the heart.
The only thing that bothered me was how easy the other characters were discarded.
Second novella: “Room On The Sea”
This tale was a simple one, but the dynamics between the two characters were terrific! So sweet (or too sweet for some).
The storytelling was very engaging and gripping.
It’s about encounters and goodbyes. About moments. Rediscovering yourself. Reflection. And hope.
To know that one can find love at any age is so comforting!
Third novella: “Mariana”
This was a psychologically intense story about obsessive love and heartbreak, the raw, painful side of yearning and lost chances.
The prose is beautiful and evocative, capturing fleeting moments and one’s internal turmoil and time wasted trying to understand instead of accepting.
Anyways, this one hit me hard, because I was once that person.
Lucky is the one who had never felt rejection.
This small collection of short stories was a perfect break from crime fiction, for me.
Although there was nothing extraordinary, I did enjoy the writing, hence my ratings.
4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
TW: lots of food and clothing descriptions 😂
First novella: “The Man From Peru”
This tale involving magical realism was fascinating!
The writing and the storytelling are so engaging, and the characters are very interesting. Raul, one of the characters, was so seductive!
I do want to believe that one person’s life continues recycling over and over, and forever, and that we can retain a few memories in the heart.
The only thing that bothered me was how easy the other characters were discarded.
Second novella: “Room On The Sea”
This tale was a simple one, but the dynamics between the two characters were terrific! So sweet (or too sweet for some).
The storytelling was very engaging and gripping.
It’s about encounters and goodbyes. About moments. Rediscovering yourself. Reflection. And hope.
To know that one can find love at any age is so comforting!
Third novella: “Mariana”
This was a psychologically intense story about obsessive love and heartbreak, the raw, painful side of yearning and lost chances.
The prose is beautiful and evocative, capturing fleeting moments and one’s internal turmoil and time wasted trying to understand instead of accepting.
Anyways, this one hit me hard, because I was once that person.
Lucky is the one who had never felt rejection.
This small collection of short stories was a perfect break from crime fiction, for me.
Although there was nothing extraordinary, I did enjoy the writing, hence my ratings.
April 9, 2025
3.5, rounded up.
I already reviewed the first novella, The Gentleman from Peru, to which I gave 4-stars, so instead of cut & pasting, will just link to that here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
The second titular novella I really did not care for and would have given that only 2.5 stars. It seemed both overwritten and way too long. It concerns two late sixty-year-olds: Paul, a lawyer; and Catherine, a shrink - longtime married to others, who 'meet cute' while waiting to be impaneled for jury-duty, who then strike up a friendship which turns non-platonic, and them dithering what to do about that for a week. They act like romance addled teenagers, which I found unattractive, and I thought it was over as I hit each of the three final chapters, only to woefully discover it wasn't.
The third novella, 'Mariana', I actually thought the most interesting of the three - perhaps because it was the shortest and didn't wear out its welcome - I would give that one 4.5-stars. Aciman loosely based it on the 1669 The Portuguese Letters but setting it contemporaneously. Like the original, it concerns a young woman who cannot seem to forget or let go of a brief affair with a caddish man.
My thanks to the author, Netgalley and FS&G for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.
I already reviewed the first novella, The Gentleman from Peru, to which I gave 4-stars, so instead of cut & pasting, will just link to that here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show....
The second titular novella I really did not care for and would have given that only 2.5 stars. It seemed both overwritten and way too long. It concerns two late sixty-year-olds: Paul, a lawyer; and Catherine, a shrink - longtime married to others, who 'meet cute' while waiting to be impaneled for jury-duty, who then strike up a friendship which turns non-platonic, and them dithering what to do about that for a week. They act like romance addled teenagers, which I found unattractive, and I thought it was over as I hit each of the three final chapters, only to woefully discover it wasn't.
The third novella, 'Mariana', I actually thought the most interesting of the three - perhaps because it was the shortest and didn't wear out its welcome - I would give that one 4.5-stars. Aciman loosely based it on the 1669 The Portuguese Letters but setting it contemporaneously. Like the original, it concerns a young woman who cannot seem to forget or let go of a brief affair with a caddish man.
My thanks to the author, Netgalley and FS&G for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.
July 28, 2025
Aciman’s three novellas capture reincarnated lovers, new lovers, and former lovers, respectively. In other words, the persistent centralized theme about some variation of idyllic, blissful, “there’s-one-in-this-world-for-me-and-it’s-you” love will perhaps resonate better for those interested in this idea. Personally, I could do with a smaller dose of the romantic storylines if they lack some nostalgic, unrequited quality. I wonder if this preference might change with age. Aciman’s older characters, particularly in the first and second stories, re-find love, and this reminds me of the flood of books that’ve come out in more recent years that give voice to mommy guilt and extramarital affairs (I have in mind July’s All Fours and co.). In a similar way that contemporary books shine a light on post-menopausal women’s lives, essentially arguing that women matter, Aciman pushes back against coasting through the mundane, familiar estrangement and underscores the need for a romance that values partnership and adventure, even for seasoned adults.
My thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for an ARC.
My thanks to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for an ARC.
June 22, 2025
super tough hang. i appreciate the ideas behind these novellas, and even in synopsis they seem pretty compelling, but the reality is that aciman’s prose style just does not work for me. i found this unbearably over-composed and self-serious, full of non-insights phrased as deep wisdom. even the fun stuff in the first novella has all the fun sucked out of it!!! he does have a great eye for romantic scenes and situations — that’s why Call Me By Your Name works — and there are some good ones here, but that just wasn't enough to sell me on everything else
*arc provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
*arc provided by netgalley in exchange for an honest review*
November 20, 2025
Room on the Sea is Andre Aciman doing what he does best: blurring time, desire, and memory until you can’t tell which one is carrying the story. But among the three novellas, The Gentleman from Peru easily became my favourite. There’s a quiet magic to it from the reincarnation angle, the slight mysticism, and the way a mundane holiday suddenly transforms into something older and stranger. It feels like slipping into a dream you’re not sure you were supposed to witness, but you stay anyway because it’s just that compelling.
Room on the Sea and Mariana, the other two stories, are also interesting in their own ways. Room on the Sea explores a chance encounter between two people who fall in love in old age, while Mariana offers a modern retelling of a seventeenth-century tale about a woman abandoned by the man she loves.
The other two novellas carry the usual Aciman moodiness, but The Gentleman from Peru is the one that really lingers long after reading it. It’s unsettling in a soft way, tender in moments you don’t expect, and probably the closest Andre Aciman has come to writing something that feels both intimate and otherworldly.
Room on the Sea and Mariana, the other two stories, are also interesting in their own ways. Room on the Sea explores a chance encounter between two people who fall in love in old age, while Mariana offers a modern retelling of a seventeenth-century tale about a woman abandoned by the man she loves.
The other two novellas carry the usual Aciman moodiness, but The Gentleman from Peru is the one that really lingers long after reading it. It’s unsettling in a soft way, tender in moments you don’t expect, and probably the closest Andre Aciman has come to writing something that feels both intimate and otherworldly.
February 7, 2025
This is my first Aciman and this HIT. the way he writes about loneliness and relationships is too real and i felt a lot in these stories.
GENTLEMAN FROM PERU:
“Everyone’s been hurt. But I still can’t believe that people actually take their own lives for love. It’s so kitsch, so camp.”
this was probably my least favorite because of the whole psychic thing, a bit more ‘fun’ than the others
ROOM FROM THE SEA:
my favorite of the collection - centers on an emotional affair between two married people, and the complications and grey areas of realizing you may have ended up with the wrong partner. beautifully done
MARIANA:
“Right now, I may grow to hate you. But I don’t want to hate you. I’ve run out of ways to forgive you, yet I’ll always forgive you…Jealous? I hope you are—if only a bit.”
Aciman takes us into the inner thoughts of Mariana, who is still obsessed with an ex who has moved on - he’s still a constant part of her thoughts and she even admits to stalking him. really interesting gut punch of a story.
GENTLEMAN FROM PERU:
“Everyone’s been hurt. But I still can’t believe that people actually take their own lives for love. It’s so kitsch, so camp.”
this was probably my least favorite because of the whole psychic thing, a bit more ‘fun’ than the others
ROOM FROM THE SEA:
my favorite of the collection - centers on an emotional affair between two married people, and the complications and grey areas of realizing you may have ended up with the wrong partner. beautifully done
MARIANA:
“Right now, I may grow to hate you. But I don’t want to hate you. I’ve run out of ways to forgive you, yet I’ll always forgive you…Jealous? I hope you are—if only a bit.”
Aciman takes us into the inner thoughts of Mariana, who is still obsessed with an ex who has moved on - he’s still a constant part of her thoughts and she even admits to stalking him. really interesting gut punch of a story.
May 19, 2025
Andre Aciman kinda one of the best in writing romance stories not only because of how gorgeous and swoony his prose gets, but also because, and probably more importantly, he’s so unafraid to show just how painful and selfish and ultimately amoral love is.
May 13, 2025
What draws me to Aciman over and over again is his ability to capture the playfulness of intimacy, particularly in emerging relationships. I'm a sucker for his romances because he situates them in the early stages, when anything is possible. These three novellas are, if nothing else, about potentialities and imagined alternatives.
"The Gentleman from Peru" absolutely broke my heart when I realized what was happening. An enigmatic healer approaches a group of Americans at a resort and forever changes the most stubborn among them. "Room on the Sea" starts as an innocuous flirtation among potential jurors but reveals something much deeper about how we reflect on our relationships, choices and desires as we age. "Mariana," a retelling of Letters of a Portuguese Nun, captures the vulnerability we experience after having loved and lost.
Thank you to NetGalley and FSG for the e-arc.
"The Gentleman from Peru" absolutely broke my heart when I realized what was happening. An enigmatic healer approaches a group of Americans at a resort and forever changes the most stubborn among them. "Room on the Sea" starts as an innocuous flirtation among potential jurors but reveals something much deeper about how we reflect on our relationships, choices and desires as we age. "Mariana," a retelling of Letters of a Portuguese Nun, captures the vulnerability we experience after having loved and lost.
Thank you to NetGalley and FSG for the e-arc.
August 27, 2025
Wow that was so beautiful and sweet! Realllly didn’t expect for it to end the way it did and I loooved the way it did. Perfectly paced, not drawn out, really lovely read. I felt myself shifting as I read this.
January 16, 2026
A quiet mature story that feels like the film brief encounter, but leaves you hopeful for the main characters. It was a gentle story about two people who have lived full lives and dare to ask the question what next?
January 20, 2026
I almost downgraded this to two stars because the third story was so tedious. But I liked the other two well enough.
Read
November 3, 2025I adored the first novella, enjoyed the second, and had a hard time with the third. I wish I had seen the explanation of the third novella before reading it as his explanation made me understand/appreciate it more.
February 9, 2025
This book by André Aciman is actually made up of three novellas, two of which I had read previously: "The Gentleman from Peru" and "Mariana" - the former I really really liked and the latter I thought was just fine. The third novella is the one that lends its title to the book as a whole, "Room on the Sea".
The novella takes place in New York City as two strangers in late middle-age meet while serving jury duty. What starts as just an innocent advice sharing on how to avoid being selected develops into a series of conversations that grow in intimacy, possibly due to the anonymity provided by the sterile surroundings and the mechanical operations of the judicial system. Both man and woman are married and seek refuge in the protection of their status while venturing further and further into dangerous territory as the days go on and the conversations grow more and more intimate.
The novella is well written but maybe I am not in the best place to appreciate a story about two people flirting with infidelity. Either way, I found the "plot" (if we can call it that) to be quite thin and the character development and motivations to be equally underdeveloped. If you're going to write a story all about two people flirting with the idea of destroying their carefully curated lives for a complete stranger I would expect much more clarity in each person's dissatisfaction, unhappiness, or more about the magnetism of such a stranger being a catalyst for these preoccupations. But the two characters feel like complete strangers to each other and to the reader and what each is seeking or feeling remains inscrutable, leaving much to be desired for in terms of what would make for a much more compelling and interesting narrative.
The only novella I would unreservedly recommend is "The Gentleman from Peru", but since that is the one novella that has also been published independently of the other two, I would actually recommend people read that and skip this collection altogether, since the other two stories are just not worthwhile or interesting enough to merit a read, unfortunately.
The novella takes place in New York City as two strangers in late middle-age meet while serving jury duty. What starts as just an innocent advice sharing on how to avoid being selected develops into a series of conversations that grow in intimacy, possibly due to the anonymity provided by the sterile surroundings and the mechanical operations of the judicial system. Both man and woman are married and seek refuge in the protection of their status while venturing further and further into dangerous territory as the days go on and the conversations grow more and more intimate.
The novella is well written but maybe I am not in the best place to appreciate a story about two people flirting with infidelity. Either way, I found the "plot" (if we can call it that) to be quite thin and the character development and motivations to be equally underdeveloped. If you're going to write a story all about two people flirting with the idea of destroying their carefully curated lives for a complete stranger I would expect much more clarity in each person's dissatisfaction, unhappiness, or more about the magnetism of such a stranger being a catalyst for these preoccupations. But the two characters feel like complete strangers to each other and to the reader and what each is seeking or feeling remains inscrutable, leaving much to be desired for in terms of what would make for a much more compelling and interesting narrative.
The only novella I would unreservedly recommend is "The Gentleman from Peru", but since that is the one novella that has also been published independently of the other two, I would actually recommend people read that and skip this collection altogether, since the other two stories are just not worthwhile or interesting enough to merit a read, unfortunately.
July 5, 2025
Since Room on the Sea is a short story collection, I feel it is a bit difficult to rate the book as whole. In my case, I really disliked the last story so it just left this terrible taste in my mouth, souring the entire reading experience. Ultimately, this is a book about love, in its most all-consuming, romantic and sometimes a bit obnoxious way. I have to admit I am a bit of a "tough crowd" for this type of story, I do love love stories, but I am not a "romance" fan for the most part.
Although these stories are quite well written, I didn't feel like they were realized to their full potential. The first story in particular was quite intriguing at the start and then the conclusion felt quite rushed and the actual reveal to the mystery didn't have the impact it might have had in a complete novel where we felt like we actually knew the characters and the tragedy of it all would feel meaningful.
The second story was definitely my favorite, the dialogue and the circumstances all felt real and there was genuine chemistry that built up gradually between the leads of the story, but it genuinely feels like it just ends, there could have been an entire book written after that.
The last one was really a chore for me, after reading the afterword the intentions made sense, but it wasn't enough to forget the struggle. It might be personal bias, but I have listened to too many people in my life complain about not being loved back and it is exhausting. It is true to life, but I was hoping for something more insightful or at least some subversion, but I never got it.
Overall, this is a book that I would only recommend to massive André Aciman fans or readers that just can't resist a love story.
Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
Although these stories are quite well written, I didn't feel like they were realized to their full potential. The first story in particular was quite intriguing at the start and then the conclusion felt quite rushed and the actual reveal to the mystery didn't have the impact it might have had in a complete novel where we felt like we actually knew the characters and the tragedy of it all would feel meaningful.
The second story was definitely my favorite, the dialogue and the circumstances all felt real and there was genuine chemistry that built up gradually between the leads of the story, but it genuinely feels like it just ends, there could have been an entire book written after that.
The last one was really a chore for me, after reading the afterword the intentions made sense, but it wasn't enough to forget the struggle. It might be personal bias, but I have listened to too many people in my life complain about not being loved back and it is exhausting. It is true to life, but I was hoping for something more insightful or at least some subversion, but I never got it.
Overall, this is a book that I would only recommend to massive André Aciman fans or readers that just can't resist a love story.
Thank you to Farrar, Straus and Giroux and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy in exchange for an honest review!
July 17, 2025
Room On the Sea by André Aciman is a collection of three novellas, each steeped in longing, love and romance.
The Gentleman From Peru… was so fantastic, so enthralling, so unexpected… that I won't write one more word about it, except to say that I'd love to reread it. And Aciman, don't think I didn't catch “This is heaven” (67). 5/5 stars
Room On the Sea… I enjoyed this one! I don't care for the criticism of “well, they both have spouses” because like, clearly the point is that these two people in their late sixties are caught off guard by meeting each other, and realize “There is no Maybe next time. There is no next time left. This is the next and last time” (189). I loved the discussion of familiarity versus intimacy. I loved the discussions of life, time passing, what-ifs, to act or not to act? To call from my favorite Call Me By Your Name… is it better to speak or to die? ⅘ stars
Mariana… really, Aciman writes the feeling of longing, yearning, wanting like no other. This is again apparent as I read Mariana. However, this story just didn't work for me… it is a modern retelling of a “famous 17th century novel about a love affair between a nun and a swashbuckling, unreliable aristocrat” and I didn't get that at all from this story. I think I might like the original better, from what it sounds like. ⅕ stars
The Gentleman From Peru… was so fantastic, so enthralling, so unexpected… that I won't write one more word about it, except to say that I'd love to reread it. And Aciman, don't think I didn't catch “This is heaven” (67). 5/5 stars
Room On the Sea… I enjoyed this one! I don't care for the criticism of “well, they both have spouses” because like, clearly the point is that these two people in their late sixties are caught off guard by meeting each other, and realize “There is no Maybe next time. There is no next time left. This is the next and last time” (189). I loved the discussion of familiarity versus intimacy. I loved the discussions of life, time passing, what-ifs, to act or not to act? To call from my favorite Call Me By Your Name… is it better to speak or to die? ⅘ stars
Mariana… really, Aciman writes the feeling of longing, yearning, wanting like no other. This is again apparent as I read Mariana. However, this story just didn't work for me… it is a modern retelling of a “famous 17th century novel about a love affair between a nun and a swashbuckling, unreliable aristocrat” and I didn't get that at all from this story. I think I might like the original better, from what it sounds like. ⅕ stars
April 7, 2025
Thank you to André Aciman, Farrar, Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for giving me early access to this book.
Aciman, you beautiful, heart-wrecking man. Room on the Sea is Aciman at his most reflective and devastatingly poetic. The collection offers three novellas—each capturing a different shade of longing, love, and what could have been.
The Gentleman from Peru eased me in gently with its sun-soaked nostalgia, only to pull the rug from under me with a beautifully bittersweet ending. What began as a light summer fling bloomed into something more, only to be severed by time and fate. It lingered.
Room on the Sea felt like a breath between the heartbeats—a softer, more easygoing encounter. Two strangers connect during jury duty, aching quietly over what could’ve been if they had only met sooner. That slow-burn, life-passed-us-by yearning? Yeah… it hit.
But Mariana? That one crushed me. If Call Me By Your Name left a scar on your soul, Mariana will reopen it. There’s such beauty in the ache, and Aciman handles it with his usual grace and brutal honesty. I cried for her, for the youth lost, and the silence love sometimes demands.
Three stories. One consistent thread: the ache of love remembered, missed, or never quite had.
Aciman, you beautiful, heart-wrecking man. Room on the Sea is Aciman at his most reflective and devastatingly poetic. The collection offers three novellas—each capturing a different shade of longing, love, and what could have been.
The Gentleman from Peru eased me in gently with its sun-soaked nostalgia, only to pull the rug from under me with a beautifully bittersweet ending. What began as a light summer fling bloomed into something more, only to be severed by time and fate. It lingered.
Room on the Sea felt like a breath between the heartbeats—a softer, more easygoing encounter. Two strangers connect during jury duty, aching quietly over what could’ve been if they had only met sooner. That slow-burn, life-passed-us-by yearning? Yeah… it hit.
But Mariana? That one crushed me. If Call Me By Your Name left a scar on your soul, Mariana will reopen it. There’s such beauty in the ache, and Aciman handles it with his usual grace and brutal honesty. I cried for her, for the youth lost, and the silence love sometimes demands.
Three stories. One consistent thread: the ache of love remembered, missed, or never quite had.
February 24, 2025
”He was reading the newspaper. She was reading a novel. He looked at her once. She did not look back.”
Wow. This book was like a punch to the gut. André Aciman writes like he’s peering into the French windows of a real, raw love and passing it off like fiction. It’s rare that you read a novella, especially a romantic one, and come away from it feeling satisfied, but each novella in Room on the Sea reads whole and longer than they actually are.
Now I understand why Aciman’s books translate so beautifully to film; it’s almost like he treats his work like a screenplay, committing to detail and doing away with conventional dialogue, and launching his characters into winding monologues or none at all.
The Gentleman from Peru was my favorite. Reading it I could feel the sand between my toes, the salt drying on my skin. Phenomenal.
*read as an arc through Netgalley
Wow. This book was like a punch to the gut. André Aciman writes like he’s peering into the French windows of a real, raw love and passing it off like fiction. It’s rare that you read a novella, especially a romantic one, and come away from it feeling satisfied, but each novella in Room on the Sea reads whole and longer than they actually are.
Now I understand why Aciman’s books translate so beautifully to film; it’s almost like he treats his work like a screenplay, committing to detail and doing away with conventional dialogue, and launching his characters into winding monologues or none at all.
The Gentleman from Peru was my favorite. Reading it I could feel the sand between my toes, the salt drying on my skin. Phenomenal.
*read as an arc through Netgalley
December 12, 2024
I’m conflicted!
The first story (the gentleman from Peru) was by far my favourite of the three. What can I say, I’m a sucker for soulmates and poetic writing!
But the last story (Mariana) was an uncomfortable read. The story is the ramblings of an obsessed woman and I get that it is supposed to be read as desperation but I don’t went to read about “the smell of his armpits that takes her back to her childhood” ???
𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙧, 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙂𝙞𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙭 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬!
The first story (the gentleman from Peru) was by far my favourite of the three. What can I say, I’m a sucker for soulmates and poetic writing!
But the last story (Mariana) was an uncomfortable read. The story is the ramblings of an obsessed woman and I get that it is supposed to be read as desperation but I don’t went to read about “the smell of his armpits that takes her back to her childhood” ???
𝙈𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙠𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙉𝙚𝙩𝙜𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙮 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙁𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙖𝙧, 𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙪𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙂𝙞𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙭 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙡𝙚𝙩𝙩𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙢𝙚 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠 𝙞𝙣 𝙚𝙭𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙖𝙣 𝙝𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙧𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙚𝙬!
June 19, 2025
I didn’t want this beautiful tale to end.
Catherine and Paul have completely stolen my heart, just as Elio and Oliver once did. André Aciman is a literary genius. His writing is irresistibly compelling; every time I pick up one of his books, I’m transported. I’m not just reading… I’m there, living in the details, breathing alongside the characters.
He’s truly one of my favorite authors, and I’ll continue to buy everything he writes. His work is simply unforgettable.
Catherine and Paul have completely stolen my heart, just as Elio and Oliver once did. André Aciman is a literary genius. His writing is irresistibly compelling; every time I pick up one of his books, I’m transported. I’m not just reading… I’m there, living in the details, breathing alongside the characters.
He’s truly one of my favorite authors, and I’ll continue to buy everything he writes. His work is simply unforgettable.
December 28, 2024
andre aciman you so get me…. three short stories about love by this man?? what else could I want. 4 stars because the second story doesnt hold up to The Gentleman from Peru and Mariana. Mariana’s letter is my journal on a good day.
2025
December 5, 2024📱 Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux
January 27, 2026
The Gentleman from Peru and The Room on the Sea, from what I can remember, are intricate, sentimental, and oftentimes quite moving and beautiful. Of the collection, The Gentleman from Peru was my favourite, and the mystery packed into opening parts has a very touching payoff.
The rating for the whole collection would’ve been higher, but “Mariana” took me months to get through. It is written as though the main character is writing a letter to her ex about how their relationship and breakup impacted her, but the letter style does not allow Aciman to flex his tender dialogue, meaning we are, almost painfully, stuck in the perceptive of one character who delivers a long monologue. The final pages are sweet, but do not save the story for me.
The rating for the whole collection would’ve been higher, but “Mariana” took me months to get through. It is written as though the main character is writing a letter to her ex about how their relationship and breakup impacted her, but the letter style does not allow Aciman to flex his tender dialogue, meaning we are, almost painfully, stuck in the perceptive of one character who delivers a long monologue. The final pages are sweet, but do not save the story for me.
December 22, 2025
André Aciman is genuinely incredible. Every single story in this collection is a 5/5 to me but The Gentleman from Peru is easily a 7/10. The way he writes about love and fleeting moments is so beautiful and timeless. I love the way he describes love that spans lifetimes and restrains of time. Can’t recommend this enough
Read
February 15, 2026As much as I adore Aciman’s aptitude for writing emotional internalization and desire, I struggled with this. Each story was unique and sentimental about the experience of human connection, as Aciman does so well; but each story seemed to repeat its own ideas or anecdotes too much for me, and ultimately detached me from them.
January 15, 2026
Here is little novella full of lost opportunities, alternative stories and some melancholy that comes with the age. It is a beautiful what-if story, that leaves the reader with hope that there is always something unexpected around the corner and it is up to us to accept it or to ignore.
January 15, 2026
I enjoyed the first two stories. The third, well, there was a time earlier in my life where it could have been my favorite of the three. Though I sympathized with the protagonist’s suffering, getting through it was a chore. Self-reflecting, the book spoke to me through my middle-aged lens.
January 15, 2026
He’s done it again. Incredible. The theme of shadow selves was interesting to explore, as I’ve never done it before.
January 26, 2026
3.5!!!
The first story was BEAUTIFUL!!! I just didn’t really connect with the other two, especially that last one. Second one, Room on the Sea, was very good just too repetitive for my taste.
The first story was BEAUTIFUL!!! I just didn’t really connect with the other two, especially that last one. Second one, Room on the Sea, was very good just too repetitive for my taste.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 75 reviews