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Stowaways
Not yet published
Expected 10 Feb 26This contemporary twist on Brief Encounter is a tender meditation on what might have been.
'Maybe we love people because they won't let us know them.'
A summer's evening in Manhattan. Nothing - not cold drinks, not showers not a stroll through the chilly aisles of an all-night drugstore - can undo the heat's hold on the city. Julian is half watching the evening news, his husband filling the dishwasher. That's when it arrives. An email with the subject 'From Paul Axel'. An email about a dead man from Chloe - a woman Julian has never met. Paul has left a message he'd like her to relay.
Emails are exchanged. Morning coffee at the Bryant Park Grill is agreed. Chloe, fulfilling Paul's final request, wonders how she will tell Julian of a life - and a love - he has no idea existed. A life, encased in a flash drive, containing multitudes.
'Maybe we love people because they won't let us know them.'
A summer's evening in Manhattan. Nothing - not cold drinks, not showers not a stroll through the chilly aisles of an all-night drugstore - can undo the heat's hold on the city. Julian is half watching the evening news, his husband filling the dishwasher. That's when it arrives. An email with the subject 'From Paul Axel'. An email about a dead man from Chloe - a woman Julian has never met. Paul has left a message he'd like her to relay.
Emails are exchanged. Morning coffee at the Bryant Park Grill is agreed. Chloe, fulfilling Paul's final request, wonders how she will tell Julian of a life - and a love - he has no idea existed. A life, encased in a flash drive, containing multitudes.
- GenresFiction
73 pages, Kindle Edition
Expected publication February 10, 2026
2 people are currently reading
143 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 - 23 of 23 reviews
January 14, 2026
"One becomes a stowaway when there's nothing left to look forward to and all one does then is look back and question everything."
André Aciman is a writer who can explore the depth of the human condition in all its forms. Stowaways is a short novella but with a depth that will pull you back for second read.
This is a story of love - a tale that links two individuals following the death of a mutual friend. Both had different types of relationship with the deceased but unknowingly there was unrequited love.
This is primarily a conversation between two strangers as they navigate the passing of a close friend and a casual acquaintance; but there is a revelation and it is this that is at the crux of the story - how do we respond when enlightened upon something; are we blind for do we subconsciously know? A philosophical discussion.
A book about love and the passing of time; a book about regrets and the unspoken ; but most of all a book that makes us reflect upon whether we are truly living a full existence whilst here.
Poignant, heart-warming, stimulating and challenging.
All readers should recognise something of themselves in this story.
This is a book that is still lingering after two reads.
Quotes"
"And maybe this is what love is : finding someone who allows us to access not the life we've been given and were asked to live, but the life we're owed."
" We love those we cannot know. It's our first and last move. Intimacy, he used to say, is best with strangers. We're seldom who we are with those we know."
Thank you to Faber and Faber and Netgalley for the advance copy
André Aciman is a writer who can explore the depth of the human condition in all its forms. Stowaways is a short novella but with a depth that will pull you back for second read.
This is a story of love - a tale that links two individuals following the death of a mutual friend. Both had different types of relationship with the deceased but unknowingly there was unrequited love.
This is primarily a conversation between two strangers as they navigate the passing of a close friend and a casual acquaintance; but there is a revelation and it is this that is at the crux of the story - how do we respond when enlightened upon something; are we blind for do we subconsciously know? A philosophical discussion.
A book about love and the passing of time; a book about regrets and the unspoken ; but most of all a book that makes us reflect upon whether we are truly living a full existence whilst here.
Poignant, heart-warming, stimulating and challenging.
All readers should recognise something of themselves in this story.
This is a book that is still lingering after two reads.
Quotes"
"And maybe this is what love is : finding someone who allows us to access not the life we've been given and were asked to live, but the life we're owed."
" We love those we cannot know. It's our first and last move. Intimacy, he used to say, is best with strangers. We're seldom who we are with those we know."
Thank you to Faber and Faber and Netgalley for the advance copy
November 22, 2025
A moving meditation on the unanswered questions that follow loss, woven through an intimate conversation between strangers.
Want to read
October 18, 2025LETS GO
November 4, 2025
A quick tale of unexpressed love that’s fairly disposable but passes the time.
November 25, 2025
André Aciman’s Stowaways is a delicate, haunting vignette of what might have been—a brief but emotionally resonant meditation on memory, loss, and unseen lives. The story unfolds in a quiet Manhattan evening, with Julian receiving an unexpected email that unravels a past he never knew: a dead man left a flash-drive containing a secret life, and a woman named Chloe must deliver its contents.
What makes Stowaways shine is how Aciman captures the ache of unspoken love and hidden histories in just a few pages. His prose is lyrical, with his signature elegance, but it is quieter here than in his longer works—there’s a restraint that suits the slim form perfectly. The mystery of the flash drive isn’t a thriller’s “who-dun-it,” but a tender exploration of regret and possibility: not so much what happens, but what could have happened.
The emotional weight is subtle but deeply felt. Julian’s life feels stable: domestic, routine, even comfortable. Chloe’s sudden entry into that life—through the message of a man she never met—feels both intrusive and inevitable. Their connection feels fragile; their shared burden full of unspoken grief. Aciman handles this with care, never forcing melodrama but allowing small heartbreaks to linger.
If there’s a flaw, it’s simply that the story is over so soon. At around 112 pages, Stowaways sometimes feels like a prologue to a larger novel—readers may long for more resolution, more depth, more of Chloe’s backstory. And because of its brevity, some characters remain only partially sketched.
Still, as a short literary piece, Stowaways succeeds beautifully. It’s not a sweeping epic—but it doesn’t need to be. It’s a quiet elegy, a love letter to the roads not taken, and a reminder that sometimes the most important parts of our lives are the ones we never lived.
Verdict: A tender, bittersweet “what if” wrapped in Aciman’s graceful prose. Highly recommended for readers who appreciate emotional subtlety and the weight of possibility.
What makes Stowaways shine is how Aciman captures the ache of unspoken love and hidden histories in just a few pages. His prose is lyrical, with his signature elegance, but it is quieter here than in his longer works—there’s a restraint that suits the slim form perfectly. The mystery of the flash drive isn’t a thriller’s “who-dun-it,” but a tender exploration of regret and possibility: not so much what happens, but what could have happened.
The emotional weight is subtle but deeply felt. Julian’s life feels stable: domestic, routine, even comfortable. Chloe’s sudden entry into that life—through the message of a man she never met—feels both intrusive and inevitable. Their connection feels fragile; their shared burden full of unspoken grief. Aciman handles this with care, never forcing melodrama but allowing small heartbreaks to linger.
If there’s a flaw, it’s simply that the story is over so soon. At around 112 pages, Stowaways sometimes feels like a prologue to a larger novel—readers may long for more resolution, more depth, more of Chloe’s backstory. And because of its brevity, some characters remain only partially sketched.
Still, as a short literary piece, Stowaways succeeds beautifully. It’s not a sweeping epic—but it doesn’t need to be. It’s a quiet elegy, a love letter to the roads not taken, and a reminder that sometimes the most important parts of our lives are the ones we never lived.
Verdict: A tender, bittersweet “what if” wrapped in Aciman’s graceful prose. Highly recommended for readers who appreciate emotional subtlety and the weight of possibility.
November 25, 2025
I was given a copy of Stowaways by André Aciman from Faber and Faber and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I've clearly 'made it' on Goodreads, as my prior request to review Aciman's previous work was rejected. I'm not sure if I would have preferred The Gentleman by the Sea, as Stowaways, a short novella, proved a slightly difficult book to touch base with. This is, I guess, a bit Brief Encounter-y, although nothing quite like the wonderful film. Instead, we have a guy called Julian who seems a little clueless and a woman called Chloe, who has sent him an email about Paul. Paul has died, in somewhat tragic circumstances; however, Paul, not saying what he wanted to say in real life, left his diary as evidence of his feelings. Paul was sort of obsessed with Julian in a twee way, as they met in Starbucks and never quite spoke. I'm not saying that these kinds of encounters don't exist, but as a novella, it felt a little stretched, as we find out about the motivations behind Paul's existence.
Good grammar can indeed be sexy; however, in this book, we have a sort of pseudo-literary conversation about metaphors and other literary devices. I would say that having characters show off their intelligence is quite off-putting. In the wonderful Adrian Mole diaries, a short aside about Pandora Braithwaite, the pedant, was wonderfully done. The original expression about an animal in the room was a rhinoceros, not an elephant in the room. It's a quick aside that is memorable. The intellectualism between the lead characters is not particularly welcomed. The ending, hardly a spoiler, leads to the Stowaways line. The tricky element of a novella is ensuring memorable moments in a short period of time. This was more of an abstract meeting that felt like shining a little light into the characters' lives, but with a very dim bulb.
I've clearly 'made it' on Goodreads, as my prior request to review Aciman's previous work was rejected. I'm not sure if I would have preferred The Gentleman by the Sea, as Stowaways, a short novella, proved a slightly difficult book to touch base with. This is, I guess, a bit Brief Encounter-y, although nothing quite like the wonderful film. Instead, we have a guy called Julian who seems a little clueless and a woman called Chloe, who has sent him an email about Paul. Paul has died, in somewhat tragic circumstances; however, Paul, not saying what he wanted to say in real life, left his diary as evidence of his feelings. Paul was sort of obsessed with Julian in a twee way, as they met in Starbucks and never quite spoke. I'm not saying that these kinds of encounters don't exist, but as a novella, it felt a little stretched, as we find out about the motivations behind Paul's existence.
Good grammar can indeed be sexy; however, in this book, we have a sort of pseudo-literary conversation about metaphors and other literary devices. I would say that having characters show off their intelligence is quite off-putting. In the wonderful Adrian Mole diaries, a short aside about Pandora Braithwaite, the pedant, was wonderfully done. The original expression about an animal in the room was a rhinoceros, not an elephant in the room. It's a quick aside that is memorable. The intellectualism between the lead characters is not particularly welcomed. The ending, hardly a spoiler, leads to the Stowaways line. The tricky element of a novella is ensuring memorable moments in a short period of time. This was more of an abstract meeting that felt like shining a little light into the characters' lives, but with a very dim bulb.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Stowaways is a novella by Egyptian-born American author, Andre Aciman. Julian, a litigator in his late thirties, receives an email from someone he doesn’t know. It’s the subject line, from Paul Axel, that prevents him from deleting it.
Sixty-something Chloe has been reading the journals of her one-time lover, in which Julian gets copious mentions, and believes the young man might like to read them. She knows they saw each other regularly at Starbucks in the mornings. Until Paul killed himself.
They meet at a Grill and she explains her relationship with Paul: “ Paul was in love with me. He’d been in love with me for decades. When we met, I was barely eighteen, he was twenty. I did love him, but more like a brother, though he definitely had no brotherly feelings for me.”
She explains that the journals reveal that Paul was in love with Julian, but “By the time he fell for you he was already a damaged soul. He knew he was damaged. And for that he had no one to blame but me. I forced him to trade an unlived life for a life misspent. I killed something in him. Passion? Trust? Vigour? Fun? Who’ll ever know.”
Thereafter, the pair spend some time analysing what Paul wrote and how he acted and reacted. They get quite speculative, theorising on his emotions and motivations, which gets a bit tedious, and certainly doesn’t endear the reader to Chloe, grieving though she may be. Not Aciman’s best.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Faber & Faber.
Sixty-something Chloe has been reading the journals of her one-time lover, in which Julian gets copious mentions, and believes the young man might like to read them. She knows they saw each other regularly at Starbucks in the mornings. Until Paul killed himself.
They meet at a Grill and she explains her relationship with Paul: “ Paul was in love with me. He’d been in love with me for decades. When we met, I was barely eighteen, he was twenty. I did love him, but more like a brother, though he definitely had no brotherly feelings for me.”
She explains that the journals reveal that Paul was in love with Julian, but “By the time he fell for you he was already a damaged soul. He knew he was damaged. And for that he had no one to blame but me. I forced him to trade an unlived life for a life misspent. I killed something in him. Passion? Trust? Vigour? Fun? Who’ll ever know.”
Thereafter, the pair spend some time analysing what Paul wrote and how he acted and reacted. They get quite speculative, theorising on his emotions and motivations, which gets a bit tedious, and certainly doesn’t endear the reader to Chloe, grieving though she may be. Not Aciman’s best.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Faber & Faber.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
As a short and fleeting work, I read this in one sitting. In a very sparse, witty and conversational manner, it manages to delve somewhat deep into a philosophical exploration of the human condition, longing and the things that are left unsaid. More importantly, the consequences of things that could have been, but never will, the knowing but neglecting to acknowledge, the acknowledging but never acting, and the consequences it has on yourself and those you hold close.
This work can be taken at a very face-value novella, or it can be deeply explored and the questions which are momentarily asked and answered in this, can become expansive and c0nsiderate.
It is left very open, and not many questions are given answers which I liked a lot; through this it remains true to its concept and to maintaining the plot, reflecting Paul and his relationships with both Carol and Julian.
I liked how both Carol and Julian seem to be aspects of Paul in dialogue, the back and forth reminds me a lot of a philosophical dialogue which concedes and refutes, asks questions back, flips them on the interlocutor, etc.
It is at least a heart-warming but brief conversation between two strangers over the loss of a mutual friend and at most it is a contemplation of life, living it, feeling it, what we mean to others and the philosophical undercurrent of all of these concepts.
Thank you to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for the ARC edition of this work!
This work can be taken at a very face-value novella, or it can be deeply explored and the questions which are momentarily asked and answered in this, can become expansive and c0nsiderate.
It is left very open, and not many questions are given answers which I liked a lot; through this it remains true to its concept and to maintaining the plot, reflecting Paul and his relationships with both Carol and Julian.
I liked how both Carol and Julian seem to be aspects of Paul in dialogue, the back and forth reminds me a lot of a philosophical dialogue which concedes and refutes, asks questions back, flips them on the interlocutor, etc.
It is at least a heart-warming but brief conversation between two strangers over the loss of a mutual friend and at most it is a contemplation of life, living it, feeling it, what we mean to others and the philosophical undercurrent of all of these concepts.
Thank you to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for the ARC edition of this work!
December 20, 2025
Stowaways is a reflective, quietly aching novella that explores the lingering pull of memory, lost love, and the versions of ourselves that exist only in the past. Aciman’s signature introspective style is fully present here—elegant prose, intimate emotional nuance, and a deep sense of longing threaded through every conversation and memory. The premise is compelling: a stranger reaches out with revelations about a hidden love and a life the protagonist never knew existed, forcing him to confront the “what ifs” that have shadowed his present.
While beautifully written, the novella can sometimes feel more like an extended meditation than a fully realized narrative. The emotional weight is rich but slow-burning, and readers looking for plot-driven momentum may find it meandering. The story thrives in atmosphere and introspection rather than dramatic turns, lingering in pauses, hesitations, and unspoken emotion.
Still, Stowaways offers thoughtful reflections on identity, intimacy, and the way old loves haunt new lives. It’s a restrained, bittersweet read—subtle, contemplative, and resonant, even if it doesn’t quite reach the emotional heights of Aciman’s most beloved works.
While beautifully written, the novella can sometimes feel more like an extended meditation than a fully realized narrative. The emotional weight is rich but slow-burning, and readers looking for plot-driven momentum may find it meandering. The story thrives in atmosphere and introspection rather than dramatic turns, lingering in pauses, hesitations, and unspoken emotion.
Still, Stowaways offers thoughtful reflections on identity, intimacy, and the way old loves haunt new lives. It’s a restrained, bittersweet read—subtle, contemplative, and resonant, even if it doesn’t quite reach the emotional heights of Aciman’s most beloved works.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
I’d like to thank NetGalley and Faber and Faber ltd for the chance to read this arc for an honest review.
The writing is sublime, leaves you aching, teary but full.
As someone who has a lot of grief in this last year this book was almost a healing tonic to my broken and bruised heart.
You truly never know how people feel about you or how you feel about someone untill you cannot speak to tell or share a meal a smile a dirty joke or a boogie in the kitchen.
The premise is very unique and wonderful, makes me want to write a diary with all my thoughts on well everything.
Although the main character whom the book is about is dead he seeps into the paragraphs, the storyteller is in the story.
A small quote that made me smile whilst teary
“Death is a long, long void, far larger than the sum total of all the constellations in the universe lying trillions of light years away, where even God isn't waiting at the end of the road, because there is no end to that road. Death is everlasting and, even after the universe is swallowed up and rolled up into a tiny speck, death will outlast that speck.”
I will never forget the big blank
The writing is sublime, leaves you aching, teary but full.
As someone who has a lot of grief in this last year this book was almost a healing tonic to my broken and bruised heart.
You truly never know how people feel about you or how you feel about someone untill you cannot speak to tell or share a meal a smile a dirty joke or a boogie in the kitchen.
The premise is very unique and wonderful, makes me want to write a diary with all my thoughts on well everything.
Although the main character whom the book is about is dead he seeps into the paragraphs, the storyteller is in the story.
A small quote that made me smile whilst teary
“Death is a long, long void, far larger than the sum total of all the constellations in the universe lying trillions of light years away, where even God isn't waiting at the end of the road, because there is no end to that road. Death is everlasting and, even after the universe is swallowed up and rolled up into a tiny speck, death will outlast that speck.”
I will never forget the big blank
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 24, 2025
Not really sure how to 'star' this, as most of the short story went above my head, sadly.
This started with a bit of intrigue: a young, married gay guy, Julian, gets a random email from an unknown female sender, Chloe, and doesn't delete it because the name Paul appears in the header. He leaves it a while, then reaches out and the two meet and talk about Paul, with Chloe knowing Paul very, very well, and Julian not, although apparently, Paul was in love with him.
Well, this went above my head. I found it boring and pointless talking about a man Julian barely knew but who'd apparently fallen in love with him over a spilled coffee in a Starbucks. I couldn't make out if Chloe loved, hated or couldn't really care about Paul's passing. Sadly, an unsatisfying read as it couldn't hold my interest.
This started with a bit of intrigue: a young, married gay guy, Julian, gets a random email from an unknown female sender, Chloe, and doesn't delete it because the name Paul appears in the header. He leaves it a while, then reaches out and the two meet and talk about Paul, with Chloe knowing Paul very, very well, and Julian not, although apparently, Paul was in love with him.
Well, this went above my head. I found it boring and pointless talking about a man Julian barely knew but who'd apparently fallen in love with him over a spilled coffee in a Starbucks. I couldn't make out if Chloe loved, hated or couldn't really care about Paul's passing. Sadly, an unsatisfying read as it couldn't hold my interest.
November 17, 2025
I read Room on the Sea by André Aciman and absolutely loved it. So, I was really excited to get to read Stowaways.
Stowaways centres on Chloe and Julian. They haven’t met before, but share a person in common, Paul Axel, who has died recently. Paul’s wish was that Chloe meet with Julian and share the contents of flash drive with him.
They meet, they walk and talk, and talk about Paul and who Paul was to them. It’s a really beautiful book of two people talking about love, about Paul and what might have been. The pace is very gentle and ebbs and flows between Chloe and Julian.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Faber & Faber, for making this e-ARC available for me in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Stowaways centres on Chloe and Julian. They haven’t met before, but share a person in common, Paul Axel, who has died recently. Paul’s wish was that Chloe meet with Julian and share the contents of flash drive with him.
They meet, they walk and talk, and talk about Paul and who Paul was to them. It’s a really beautiful book of two people talking about love, about Paul and what might have been. The pace is very gentle and ebbs and flows between Chloe and Julian.
Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Faber & Faber, for making this e-ARC available for me in exchange for a fair and honest review.
November 19, 2025
Stowaways is a short story exploring both longing and grief, and like much of Aciman's writing, I think it would really speak to an audience experiencing the same emotions.
Carol reaches out to a young lawyer, Julian. Both of them have been written about extensively in a journal by a close friend of Carol's, Paul. By talking to Julian in the summer heat, she hopes to connect with someone else who knew Paul, and perhaps who loved him. At first, Julian is unsure, caught off balance but he does begin to indulge Carol as they walk and speak. It's short and sweet, with some lines that encapsulate grief beautifully.
Unfortunately this wasn't my favourite of his works. I recommend Enigma Variations and The Gentleman from Peru instead.
Thank you to NetGalley and Faber for the eARC.
Carol reaches out to a young lawyer, Julian. Both of them have been written about extensively in a journal by a close friend of Carol's, Paul. By talking to Julian in the summer heat, she hopes to connect with someone else who knew Paul, and perhaps who loved him. At first, Julian is unsure, caught off balance but he does begin to indulge Carol as they walk and speak. It's short and sweet, with some lines that encapsulate grief beautifully.
Unfortunately this wasn't my favourite of his works. I recommend Enigma Variations and The Gentleman from Peru instead.
Thank you to NetGalley and Faber for the eARC.
November 28, 2025
The story of an encounter between a young man and an older woman, brought together by the detailed instructions of their friend in common who had recently passed away. The complex personality of the dead man is slowly revealed as the conversation between the two main characters unfolds.
Not quite sure what to make of this, to be honest. Yes, it is as elegant as anything André Aciman has ever written, with sophisticated dialogue and emotional scenes exploring the meaning and experiences of grief, but the plot was not developed enough to truly pique my interest. It seemed a little unoriginal, with themes that echoed those of André Aciman’s earlier novels, including the infamous age gap. I still enjoyed reading it, but I doubt I’ll read it again…
Not quite sure what to make of this, to be honest. Yes, it is as elegant as anything André Aciman has ever written, with sophisticated dialogue and emotional scenes exploring the meaning and experiences of grief, but the plot was not developed enough to truly pique my interest. It seemed a little unoriginal, with themes that echoed those of André Aciman’s earlier novels, including the infamous age gap. I still enjoyed reading it, but I doubt I’ll read it again…
January 3, 2026
I have loved this authors writing ever since I read Call Me By My Name, and this short novella does not disappoint. This is a story about the death of Paul and his life , what he didn’t say and his journal entries. Two acquaintances Julian and Carol meet to discuss his death and his life . Julian had no idea how Paul felt about him after only meeting him briefly in coffee shops . ,Carol however had a better and more intimate relationship with him . It’s a novel about grief , sexuality , love , and friendship. We never truly know someone and it is only when someone dies we sometimes truly reflect on what they meant . Such a poignant read.
November 23, 2025
thank you so much to the team for letting me read this early!!
i cannot explain how beautiful aciman writes. i mean, its obvious i love him - i've read all his books, have his words tattooed on my body. but he continues to astound me. one thing i'll say is, the remnants or rather, bones, of cmbyn twinkle through all his books post-cmbyn. Aciman seems similar to me as a person, as he hyper focuses on specific things; italy, lawyers, etc. I like this personally. one thing i can't put together however are the words iPhone and Starbucks in the same beautiful prose as Acimans.
i cannot explain how beautiful aciman writes. i mean, its obvious i love him - i've read all his books, have his words tattooed on my body. but he continues to astound me. one thing i'll say is, the remnants or rather, bones, of cmbyn twinkle through all his books post-cmbyn. Aciman seems similar to me as a person, as he hyper focuses on specific things; italy, lawyers, etc. I like this personally. one thing i can't put together however are the words iPhone and Starbucks in the same beautiful prose as Acimans.
Read
December 10, 2025I have unashamedly fallen in love with Andre Aciman's writing and the Stowaways was no exception. I'm not normally a fan of Novellas but these were so beautifully written that I couldn't stop reading until the very last page. Aciman writes so beautiful about love and not always the kind with a happy ending that I am captivated. I couldn't recommend this book more.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the novel in exchange for an honest review.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
"...love was the last and costliest admission of all, the cut that never heals, the one you put off naming because you know there's no coming back."
An elegant novella which takes the form of a long conversation, an unpicking of the past. The free-flowing and thoughtful way the novella is written reminded me a bit of Mrs Dalloway.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy.
An elegant novella which takes the form of a long conversation, an unpicking of the past. The free-flowing and thoughtful way the novella is written reminded me a bit of Mrs Dalloway.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy.
January 4, 2026
of course andré’s made me cry again. this trilogy of short stories have all made me deeply emotional but the gentleman from peru had me sobbing by the end and this one had me tearing up constantly from the start only to cry at the end and struggle to finish the last four pages. what a beautiful contemplation of love and life an death between two complete strangers, bound by a tragic man.
November 13, 2025
honestly still not over the book taking place near Grand Central and in Bryant Park but the cover image being from Brooklyn Bridge Park to lower manhattan?? Who approved this??
November 29, 2025
3.5
A gorgeous , quiet contemplation on love and life . You can’t really go wrong with Aciman’s prose
A gorgeous , quiet contemplation on love and life . You can’t really go wrong with Aciman’s prose
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Do we really know what other people really think of us – friends, colleagues, even family? This short novel explores how a young lawyer discovers and then attempts to process the discovery that a man he knew only peripherally harboured strong feelings about him. It’s an intriguing exploration of life, relationships and the workings of the mind.
Julian, who is in a settled in a rewarding relationship with his husband, is contacted one day by Carol, a lady he has no previous knowledge of. Carol asks to meet him, and intrigued, he agrees to get together early one morning in central NYC. It transpires that Carol had, for many years, had a friendship – and once a little more – with a man who had recently taken his own life. The man, Paul, had left a journal that ran to thousands of pages. Within that journal he had expressed his feelings for Julian, someone he’d really only exchanged a few words with most mornings as they bought their pre-work coffees.
In effect, the book consists almost entirely of one long conversation. During its course, the pair explore their various interactions with Paul and attempt to piece together how they really felt about him and pick apart how Paul appears to have felt about them. It’s a piece that made me really reflect on many relationships – both brief and long lasting - I’ve experienced in my lifetime. Did I miss some chances, was I sometimes too timid in expressing my feelings when dealing with an infatuation or even fail to take action on a nagging gutfeeling? How different might my life have been – for better or for worse.
As is the way with this writer, the words here are put together with style and precision. It’s a novel that’ll surely stick with you and make you ponder your own feelings and actions (or lack of) for some time thereafter.
My thanks to Faber and Faber Ltd for providing a pre-publication copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Julian, who is in a settled in a rewarding relationship with his husband, is contacted one day by Carol, a lady he has no previous knowledge of. Carol asks to meet him, and intrigued, he agrees to get together early one morning in central NYC. It transpires that Carol had, for many years, had a friendship – and once a little more – with a man who had recently taken his own life. The man, Paul, had left a journal that ran to thousands of pages. Within that journal he had expressed his feelings for Julian, someone he’d really only exchanged a few words with most mornings as they bought their pre-work coffees.
In effect, the book consists almost entirely of one long conversation. During its course, the pair explore their various interactions with Paul and attempt to piece together how they really felt about him and pick apart how Paul appears to have felt about them. It’s a piece that made me really reflect on many relationships – both brief and long lasting - I’ve experienced in my lifetime. Did I miss some chances, was I sometimes too timid in expressing my feelings when dealing with an infatuation or even fail to take action on a nagging gutfeeling? How different might my life have been – for better or for worse.
As is the way with this writer, the words here are put together with style and precision. It’s a novel that’ll surely stick with you and make you ponder your own feelings and actions (or lack of) for some time thereafter.
My thanks to Faber and Faber Ltd for providing a pre-publication copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
January 8, 2026
Thank you NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!
This was a short, sweet little novella that unfortunately hasn't left a lasting impact for me. It was a great read for one sitting and I could see myself re-reading this in a cafe.
This was a short, sweet little novella that unfortunately hasn't left a lasting impact for me. It was a great read for one sitting and I could see myself re-reading this in a cafe.
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