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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
83 people are currently reading
530 people want to read
About the author
André Aciman
54 books10.3k 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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 65 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.
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.
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.
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*
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.
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
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
November 30, 2025
The blurb in selling this book states that Professor Aciman has written "three hypnotic novellas".
For me- these three novellas weren't hypnotic. They were three boring-as hell novellas that were some of the most cliched pieces of writing I've read in a long time.
I was sorely disappointed because this the first time I truly despised a book written by Andre Aciman.
Ever since I read "Call Me By Your Name", "Enigma Variations", "Roman Year" and "Out of Egypt" among others, I've always found his work to be dazzling, intimate and always filled with romantic longing. Somehow, I couldn't find any of what I loved about previously reading his other books from "Room on the Sea".
It seemed to me each novella was about an old man wistfully trying to regain the memories of a first love, some woman who broke his heart and he spouts off aphorisms as a way to seduce a willing partner. The more romantic he seemed to be, the more cloying and annoying it got.
I am disappointed for myself that I despised this book.
I am not disappointed I read it. Not every book is going to speak to you. It might for others- not for me.
For me- these three novellas weren't hypnotic. They were three boring-as hell novellas that were some of the most cliched pieces of writing I've read in a long time.
I was sorely disappointed because this the first time I truly despised a book written by Andre Aciman.
Ever since I read "Call Me By Your Name", "Enigma Variations", "Roman Year" and "Out of Egypt" among others, I've always found his work to be dazzling, intimate and always filled with romantic longing. Somehow, I couldn't find any of what I loved about previously reading his other books from "Room on the Sea".
It seemed to me each novella was about an old man wistfully trying to regain the memories of a first love, some woman who broke his heart and he spouts off aphorisms as a way to seduce a willing partner. The more romantic he seemed to be, the more cloying and annoying it got.
I am disappointed for myself that I despised this book.
I am not disappointed I read it. Not every book is going to speak to you. It might for others- not for me.
October 31, 2025
2.5. Love him, thinking about these. The first incorporates a magical element that I haven’t seen before in Aciman’s writing, and I actually think it’s better off without. He creates so much more magic out of other situations. The second story was good but I just didn’t relate to it at all, and it is peak annoying cliches that I usually guiltily love but this time it was a bit too much. And the postface following the third story was helpful! Fitting that I read it right after finishing Rejection - very similar theme.
March 15, 2025
Thanks to the phenomenal success of Call Me By Your Name, André Aciman can be considered one of the best-known contemporary writers of “literary romance”. Room on the Sea is a volume which brings together three novellas, each of which explores a different facet of love: A Gentleman from Peru, Mariana and the title story, Room on the Sea.
I had read (and reviewed) A Gentleman from Peru some months back and had found it, on the whole, underwhelming. Its premise is a promising one, combining elements of a romance between an older man and a younger woman, with a dose of magical realism or speculative fiction. However, I thought that the story did not achieve its full potential. I’m happy to report that in this volume, it works better, because it provides an interesting contrast to the other two featured stories. For instance, Room on the Sea eschews the magical realism in favour of a very “factual” of a budding affair between a man and a woman in their 60s. They meet on a jury pool, and soon find a rapport which has gone missing in their relationship with their respective spouses. The story starts almost banally, and the dialogue is often cringy – perhaps precisely because it feels so authentic, often consisting of self-conscious conversation between two relatively elderly people having the type of crush more typical of the teens and twenties. Beyond the sketchy plot, Room on the Sea is an often thoughtful story about relationships in old age.
In my view, however, the most striking item from a literary perspective is the final novella, Mariana, which as Aciman explains in an afterword, is a reworking of a 17th Century pseudo-authentic epistolary novel: The Portuguese Letters. The original, generally attributed to Gabriel-Joseph de Lavergne, comte de Guilleragues (1628-1684), consists of the confession of a young Portuguese nun, who is seduced and then abandoned by a French officer. Aciman transposes the story into a contemporary tale of an American graduate in her early twenties who is spending time in an academy in Italy while (in a meta-literary twist) working on a manuscript about a novel published in 1669. Aciman’s Mariana falls for an artist staying at the same academy who, quite soon afterwards, replaces her with his latest flame. It is a story about obsessive love, and makes for a striking psychological study.
While I have reservations about the individual novellas, they work well together, adding up to more than the sum of their respective parts.
3.5*
https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2024/12/room-on-the-sea-three-novellas-Aciman.html
I had read (and reviewed) A Gentleman from Peru some months back and had found it, on the whole, underwhelming. Its premise is a promising one, combining elements of a romance between an older man and a younger woman, with a dose of magical realism or speculative fiction. However, I thought that the story did not achieve its full potential. I’m happy to report that in this volume, it works better, because it provides an interesting contrast to the other two featured stories. For instance, Room on the Sea eschews the magical realism in favour of a very “factual” of a budding affair between a man and a woman in their 60s. They meet on a jury pool, and soon find a rapport which has gone missing in their relationship with their respective spouses. The story starts almost banally, and the dialogue is often cringy – perhaps precisely because it feels so authentic, often consisting of self-conscious conversation between two relatively elderly people having the type of crush more typical of the teens and twenties. Beyond the sketchy plot, Room on the Sea is an often thoughtful story about relationships in old age.
In my view, however, the most striking item from a literary perspective is the final novella, Mariana, which as Aciman explains in an afterword, is a reworking of a 17th Century pseudo-authentic epistolary novel: The Portuguese Letters. The original, generally attributed to Gabriel-Joseph de Lavergne, comte de Guilleragues (1628-1684), consists of the confession of a young Portuguese nun, who is seduced and then abandoned by a French officer. Aciman transposes the story into a contemporary tale of an American graduate in her early twenties who is spending time in an academy in Italy while (in a meta-literary twist) working on a manuscript about a novel published in 1669. Aciman’s Mariana falls for an artist staying at the same academy who, quite soon afterwards, replaces her with his latest flame. It is a story about obsessive love, and makes for a striking psychological study.
While I have reservations about the individual novellas, they work well together, adding up to more than the sum of their respective parts.
3.5*
https://endsoftheword.blogspot.com/2024/12/room-on-the-sea-three-novellas-Aciman.html
December 29, 2024
ARC review; thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the access to this ebook. Pub date: Jun 24 2025.
Oh, this was BEAUTIFUL!!! I couldn't and didn't want to put it down. The prose is breathtaking and it was a delight to read, so I'm ending my 2024 reading year on a high note. This book includes 3 novellas, though I'd say it's more like 2 novellas and a short story. The two novellas were my absolute favorites, The Gentleman from Peru and Room on the Sea.
The Gentleman from Peru is about a man who can perceive alternate versions of people's lives, the ones that sprout with every choice we make. He meets a group of young Americans traveling together and the story starts with him as a mentor, sharing his knowledge, but then he starts spending more time with one of the women in the group. The story changes from that point, and the reveal is so beautiful.
I loved the idea of soulmates continuing to exist after they're gone and the inevitability of us finding them again in our alternate versions, even if it takes hundreds of years for us to coincide and meet each other again at the right time.
-
Room on the Sea is about a man and a woman in their 60s/70s who meet during jury duty and they connect for a week. We see how their connection builds and how the love that grows between them awakens something in them that they thought was long gone. This story is also about soulmatism, but in a different context.
They're both married, which may be an issue for some people, but I didn't mind it. The way the story unfolds, you can't be angry about two people finding genuine love. It would be different if it was just lust and it was ill-intentioned, but this just didn't feel that way. It kind of reminded me of that old movie, Brief Encounter, which I love.
-
Lastly, there's Mariana, a short story that's basically this woman writing a long letter to the man who broke her heart. I think it drags a little, but it explores very well what it feels like to fall deeply in love with someone who was only infatuated with you and what it's like when their infatuation stops, but the love you feel for them continues, no matter what you do to try to get over it.
Overall, a nearly perfect collection of novellas and I will definitely get a physical copy of it when I can.
Oh, this was BEAUTIFUL!!! I couldn't and didn't want to put it down. The prose is breathtaking and it was a delight to read, so I'm ending my 2024 reading year on a high note. This book includes 3 novellas, though I'd say it's more like 2 novellas and a short story. The two novellas were my absolute favorites, The Gentleman from Peru and Room on the Sea.
The Gentleman from Peru is about a man who can perceive alternate versions of people's lives, the ones that sprout with every choice we make. He meets a group of young Americans traveling together and the story starts with him as a mentor, sharing his knowledge, but then he starts spending more time with one of the women in the group. The story changes from that point, and the reveal is so beautiful.
I loved the idea of soulmates continuing to exist after they're gone and the inevitability of us finding them again in our alternate versions, even if it takes hundreds of years for us to coincide and meet each other again at the right time.
-
Room on the Sea is about a man and a woman in their 60s/70s who meet during jury duty and they connect for a week. We see how their connection builds and how the love that grows between them awakens something in them that they thought was long gone. This story is also about soulmatism, but in a different context.
They're both married, which may be an issue for some people, but I didn't mind it. The way the story unfolds, you can't be angry about two people finding genuine love. It would be different if it was just lust and it was ill-intentioned, but this just didn't feel that way. It kind of reminded me of that old movie, Brief Encounter, which I love.
-
Lastly, there's Mariana, a short story that's basically this woman writing a long letter to the man who broke her heart. I think it drags a little, but it explores very well what it feels like to fall deeply in love with someone who was only infatuated with you and what it's like when their infatuation stops, but the love you feel for them continues, no matter what you do to try to get over it.
Overall, a nearly perfect collection of novellas and I will definitely get a physical copy of it when I can.
October 14, 2025
I was very excited to read this collection of three novellas by André Aciman, bestselling author of Call Me by Your Name. It's good, but I didn't love it unfortunately.
"The Gentleman from Peru" tells the story of a unique encounter of a group of friends with a strange and solitary guest who apparently knows a lot about then, even though they never met before. "Room on the Sea" is about a man and a woman meeting on jury duty and slowly falling in love (they are both married so I couldn't fully enjoy this one). "Mariana" is a modern retelling of a famous seventeenth-century novel about a love affair between a nun and an unreliable aristocrat.
While "The Gentleman from Peru" had the strongest plot, it's for sure "Room on the Sea" the best written novella of these three. I was not particularly impressed by "Mariana", but it's undeniable that the writing style of Aciman is like a balm on a broken heart. His prose is always so elegant and delicate, I will for sure read more of his stories, even though romance is not always my cup of tea.
3 stars.
* I'd like to thank André Aciman, Farrar Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
"The Gentleman from Peru" tells the story of a unique encounter of a group of friends with a strange and solitary guest who apparently knows a lot about then, even though they never met before. "Room on the Sea" is about a man and a woman meeting on jury duty and slowly falling in love (they are both married so I couldn't fully enjoy this one). "Mariana" is a modern retelling of a famous seventeenth-century novel about a love affair between a nun and an unreliable aristocrat.
While "The Gentleman from Peru" had the strongest plot, it's for sure "Room on the Sea" the best written novella of these three. I was not particularly impressed by "Mariana", but it's undeniable that the writing style of Aciman is like a balm on a broken heart. His prose is always so elegant and delicate, I will for sure read more of his stories, even though romance is not always my cup of tea.
3 stars.
* I'd like to thank André Aciman, Farrar Straus and Giroux and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.
February 16, 2025
Call Me By Your Name is one of my favorite books, so I was very excited both to see this title and also to get approved for the galley.
Room on the Sea is comprised of three unconnected novellas, each about love lost and found in some way or another.
One of the things I enjoy most about Aciman's writing is the way he's able to evoke a sense of place. A seaside hotel, a private beach, Manhattan at the height of summer. Each setting comes alive and is almost a character on its own. It's so easy to drift into the little world of each story and feel as thought you're actually there with these people, watching their moments unfold from ten paces away.
Each of these stories had lines that pierced right through me and it's hard to narrow them down, but I've settled on one piece of each to share. Not really spoilers, but putting under a tag just in case:
Room on the Sea is comprised of three unconnected novellas, each about love lost and found in some way or another.
One of the things I enjoy most about Aciman's writing is the way he's able to evoke a sense of place. A seaside hotel, a private beach, Manhattan at the height of summer. Each setting comes alive and is almost a character on its own. It's so easy to drift into the little world of each story and feel as thought you're actually there with these people, watching their moments unfold from ten paces away.
Each of these stories had lines that pierced right through me and it's hard to narrow them down, but I've settled on one piece of each to share. Not really spoilers, but putting under a tag just in case:
May 18, 2025
Room on the Sea is a beautifully written collection of three novellas: The Gentleman from Peru, Room on the Sea, and Mariana. As always in collections, you are drawn more to one than another.
For me, Room on the Sea was absolute perfection as it explores loneliness, love, connection, and missed opportunities between a man and a woman in their mid to late sixties. Paul and Catherine were such believable characters; I know I will think of them often in the years to come. Aciman can also bring a setting to life, and he definitely brought New York to life in this novella.
One also feels the intense heat and humidity of the Amalfi Coast in The Gentleman from Peru. I really enjoyed this oddly metaphysical tale, which raised some fascinating ideas and seemed much more the setting and the plot than the characters.. I love the ideas of The Gentleman from Peru and found it layered beautifully with Room on the Sea, with both exploring when people meet each other in their lives.
The third novella, Mariana, seemed jarring in this collection. While it, too, was beautifully written, it was so different from the other two novellas that I didn't feel it fit. I grew tired of Mariana's narration of her pain from being jilted by her lover, and I never felt that I could connect with her. It felt disconnected from the reader and bizarrely antiquated in its modern setting. Aciman's afterword did make me appreciate it more as I learned it was a modern retelling of a seventeenth-century novel about a love affair between a nun and a seducing aristocrat.
That said, I really loved this book, especially Room on the Sea. Faber & Faber Ltd published Room on the Sea as a standalone novella, and Farrar, Straus and Giroux will publish it on 24 June as this collection of three novellas. Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the ARC.
For me, Room on the Sea was absolute perfection as it explores loneliness, love, connection, and missed opportunities between a man and a woman in their mid to late sixties. Paul and Catherine were such believable characters; I know I will think of them often in the years to come. Aciman can also bring a setting to life, and he definitely brought New York to life in this novella.
One also feels the intense heat and humidity of the Amalfi Coast in The Gentleman from Peru. I really enjoyed this oddly metaphysical tale, which raised some fascinating ideas and seemed much more the setting and the plot than the characters.. I love the ideas of The Gentleman from Peru and found it layered beautifully with Room on the Sea, with both exploring when people meet each other in their lives.
The third novella, Mariana, seemed jarring in this collection. While it, too, was beautifully written, it was so different from the other two novellas that I didn't feel it fit. I grew tired of Mariana's narration of her pain from being jilted by her lover, and I never felt that I could connect with her. It felt disconnected from the reader and bizarrely antiquated in its modern setting. Aciman's afterword did make me appreciate it more as I learned it was a modern retelling of a seventeenth-century novel about a love affair between a nun and a seducing aristocrat.
That said, I really loved this book, especially Room on the Sea. Faber & Faber Ltd published Room on the Sea as a standalone novella, and Farrar, Straus and Giroux will publish it on 24 June as this collection of three novellas. Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for the ARC.
September 24, 2025
4,5ish
It is New York, it is hot and they - a man and a woman - feel swetty. They meet in a lobby waiting to be called in, to maybe chosen as a member of the jury. They do not want to be chosen and he, as a layer, gives a tip, to this woman, a psychiatrist (?) how to avoid to be chosen as one.
Andre Aciman writes this couple, this pair of people in their sixties (and I loved it, that tey are not young, they have lived, they have lives behind them, experiences yet they are facing something new, they feel, love, have lust to live and to love) to the love story.
In this love story - structures as one day at a time, from Monday to Friday - there are multiple parties. There is New York, there is Italy (which they both love), their spouses, grown up children and grandkids but most of all, and what I think Andre Aciman does best, is the perception and writing about the perceptions of the feelings, the rising sudden feeling of liking, of loving, of catharsis what to do - should one jump to this feeling, letting it go or/and let that feeling take them to new places in their well put together, established / well off lives or should this only be a soon to rembered memory, a passing event, to think in silence and alone, a chance they did not persue.
I loved (this somehow oldfashioned) book. There was only dialogue, like in an old Hepburn movie like in Casablanca type and the feeling the atmosphere was well put together, skilled, the dialogue smooth and believable as the charatcters, well written, too.
An oldfashioned love story, nothing new, no gimmicks, no aiming for something this was not. Just a story, well written.
Pidin tästä paljon. Kiva, kun on aikuista rakkautta, on haaveita, tunteita ja avoin loppu, aina ihana.
It is New York, it is hot and they - a man and a woman - feel swetty. They meet in a lobby waiting to be called in, to maybe chosen as a member of the jury. They do not want to be chosen and he, as a layer, gives a tip, to this woman, a psychiatrist (?) how to avoid to be chosen as one.
Andre Aciman writes this couple, this pair of people in their sixties (and I loved it, that tey are not young, they have lived, they have lives behind them, experiences yet they are facing something new, they feel, love, have lust to live and to love) to the love story.
In this love story - structures as one day at a time, from Monday to Friday - there are multiple parties. There is New York, there is Italy (which they both love), their spouses, grown up children and grandkids but most of all, and what I think Andre Aciman does best, is the perception and writing about the perceptions of the feelings, the rising sudden feeling of liking, of loving, of catharsis what to do - should one jump to this feeling, letting it go or/and let that feeling take them to new places in their well put together, established / well off lives or should this only be a soon to rembered memory, a passing event, to think in silence and alone, a chance they did not persue.
I loved (this somehow oldfashioned) book. There was only dialogue, like in an old Hepburn movie like in Casablanca type and the feeling the atmosphere was well put together, skilled, the dialogue smooth and believable as the charatcters, well written, too.
An oldfashioned love story, nothing new, no gimmicks, no aiming for something this was not. Just a story, well written.
Pidin tästä paljon. Kiva, kun on aikuista rakkautta, on haaveita, tunteita ja avoin loppu, aina ihana.
July 6, 2025
Room on the Sea is a quiet, intimate story about two people in the later stages of life who unexpectedly find connection during a week of jury duty in New York City. Paul and Catherine, both married and in their sixties, meet as strangers and quickly form a bond that grows deeper with each passing day. Their shared conversations, meals, and walks through the city bring to life a gentle but emotionally charged story about what it means to feel seen, known, and valued again after years of routine and emotional distance at home.
What stands out in this novella is Aciman’s ability to capture the delicate layers of human emotion. The dialogue is honest, the settings are vivid, and the characters feel real—flawed, thoughtful, and quietly yearning. The theme of infidelity is central, and while the story never turns explicit or melodramatic, it does explore the emotional side of stepping outside one’s marriage. Personally, I found this difficult to relate to. The emotional affair, while written with empathy and depth, still centers on a kind of betrayal I can't fully accept, which made parts of the story feel distant despite its intimacy.
Still, Aciman writes with beauty and restraint. He has a way of noticing the small moments—the way two people talk over coffee or sit silently in a park—that gives the story its strength. Room on the Sea is less about dramatic events and more about subtle shifts in feeling and the ache of missed chances. For readers who appreciate quiet, reflective fiction about love, ageing, and self-awareness, this novella will likely resonate, even if, like me, you find its moral complexities hard to embrace.
What stands out in this novella is Aciman’s ability to capture the delicate layers of human emotion. The dialogue is honest, the settings are vivid, and the characters feel real—flawed, thoughtful, and quietly yearning. The theme of infidelity is central, and while the story never turns explicit or melodramatic, it does explore the emotional side of stepping outside one’s marriage. Personally, I found this difficult to relate to. The emotional affair, while written with empathy and depth, still centers on a kind of betrayal I can't fully accept, which made parts of the story feel distant despite its intimacy.
Still, Aciman writes with beauty and restraint. He has a way of noticing the small moments—the way two people talk over coffee or sit silently in a park—that gives the story its strength. Room on the Sea is less about dramatic events and more about subtle shifts in feeling and the ache of missed chances. For readers who appreciate quiet, reflective fiction about love, ageing, and self-awareness, this novella will likely resonate, even if, like me, you find its moral complexities hard to embrace.
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