What do you think?
Rate this book
Stowaways
This 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.
73 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 10, 2026
About the author
André Aciman
57 books10.5k followersAndré Aciman was born in Alexandria, Egypt and is an American memoirist, essayist, novelist, and scholar of seventeenth-century literature. He has also written many essays and reviews on Marcel Proust. His work has appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Review of Books, The New York Times, The Paris Review, The New Republic, Condé Nast Traveler as well as in many volumes of The Best American Essays. Aciman received his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from Harvard University, has taught at Princeton and Bard and is Distinguished Professor of Comparative Literature at The CUNY Graduate Center. He is currently chair of the Ph. D. Program in Comparative Literature and founder and director of The Writers' Institute at the Graduate Center.
Aciman is the author of the Whiting Award-winning memoir Out of Egypt (1995), an account of his childhood as a Jew growing up in post-colonial Egypt. Aciman has published two other books: False Papers: Essays in Exile and Memory (2001), and a novel Call Me By Your Name (2007), which was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and won the Lambda Literary Award for Men's Fiction (2008). His forthcoming novel Eight White Nights (FSG) will be published on February 14, 2010
Aciman is the author of the Whiting Award-winning memoir Out of Egypt (1995), an account of his childhood as a Jew growing up in post-colonial Egypt. Aciman has published two other books: False Papers: Essays in Exile and Memory (2001), and a novel Call Me By Your Name (2007), which was chosen as a New York Times Notable Book of the Year and won the Lambda Literary Award for Men's Fiction (2008). His forthcoming novel Eight White Nights (FSG) will be published on February 14, 2010
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews
April 23, 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
March 2, 2026
I exclusively read this book standing outside when the rare winter sun deigned to make an appearance; it is a testament to Aciman's writing then that I truly felt transported to an early evening in the peak of summer. This is a charming novella with a simple but moving premise, and Aciman's penchant for writing of yearning, longing, life-spanning lost loves, missed opportunities and regret really shines in this sun-soaked, bittersweet book.
March 30, 2026
I went into Stowaway by André Aciman expecting something quietly reflective and emotionally sharp, but instead it left me strangely detached… and, more often than not, bored.
The premise has potential: a chance connection between two people, circling around the memory of a man they both knew (or think they knew), and the idea of someone being a “stowaway” in their own life. On paper, it sounds like fertile ground for something introspective and haunting. And to be fair, there are flashes where Aciman’s writing reminds you why he’s so admired - moments of insight about longing, missed chances, and emotional distance that almost land with real weight.
But “almost” is doing a lot of work here.
The biggest issue is that the story never fully comes alive. The central conversation (the backbone of the novella) feels stiff and artificial, as though both characters are speaking in the same overly polished, philosophical voice. It’s the kind of dialogue that reads like prose dressed up as speech, and it creates a barrier rather than intimacy. Instead of drawing you into their shared unraveling of Paul’s life, it keeps you at arm’s length.
That distance is made worse by the characters themselves. None of them feel particularly grounded or engaging. The two narrators come across as self-absorbed and oddly interchangeable, while Paul, the supposed emotional core, remains more of an idea than a person. You’re told a lot about him, his desires, his inner conflicts, but it rarely feels earned. There’s a sense that the story wants to be profound about him without giving him enough space to actually become real.
For such a short book, it also feels surprisingly slow. Not in a meditative, deliberate way, but in a way that drags. The narrative circles the same points without deepening them, and what should feel like layered reflection instead becomes repetitive. By the end, I didn’t feel like I understood the characters any better, I just felt like I’d spent a long time listening to them talk around something that never quite materialised.
What’s frustrating is that you can see the outline of a much stronger story here. The themes: unrequited love, emotional invisibility, the stories we construct about other people, are compelling. But the execution feels underdeveloped, as though the novella needed either more depth or a sharper focus. As it stands, it’s in an awkward middle ground: too slight to fully explore its ideas, yet too drawn out to feel concise.
I didn’t actively dislike it, but it’s the kind of book that fades almost immediately after finishing. There’s no lingering emotional impact, no character that sticks with you, no line that echoes back later. Just a vague sense of having read something that wanted to be meaningful but never quite got there.
In the end, Stowaway feels less like a fully realised story and more like a sketch of one - well-written in places, but ultimately forgettable.
The premise has potential: a chance connection between two people, circling around the memory of a man they both knew (or think they knew), and the idea of someone being a “stowaway” in their own life. On paper, it sounds like fertile ground for something introspective and haunting. And to be fair, there are flashes where Aciman’s writing reminds you why he’s so admired - moments of insight about longing, missed chances, and emotional distance that almost land with real weight.
But “almost” is doing a lot of work here.
The biggest issue is that the story never fully comes alive. The central conversation (the backbone of the novella) feels stiff and artificial, as though both characters are speaking in the same overly polished, philosophical voice. It’s the kind of dialogue that reads like prose dressed up as speech, and it creates a barrier rather than intimacy. Instead of drawing you into their shared unraveling of Paul’s life, it keeps you at arm’s length.
That distance is made worse by the characters themselves. None of them feel particularly grounded or engaging. The two narrators come across as self-absorbed and oddly interchangeable, while Paul, the supposed emotional core, remains more of an idea than a person. You’re told a lot about him, his desires, his inner conflicts, but it rarely feels earned. There’s a sense that the story wants to be profound about him without giving him enough space to actually become real.
For such a short book, it also feels surprisingly slow. Not in a meditative, deliberate way, but in a way that drags. The narrative circles the same points without deepening them, and what should feel like layered reflection instead becomes repetitive. By the end, I didn’t feel like I understood the characters any better, I just felt like I’d spent a long time listening to them talk around something that never quite materialised.
What’s frustrating is that you can see the outline of a much stronger story here. The themes: unrequited love, emotional invisibility, the stories we construct about other people, are compelling. But the execution feels underdeveloped, as though the novella needed either more depth or a sharper focus. As it stands, it’s in an awkward middle ground: too slight to fully explore its ideas, yet too drawn out to feel concise.
I didn’t actively dislike it, but it’s the kind of book that fades almost immediately after finishing. There’s no lingering emotional impact, no character that sticks with you, no line that echoes back later. Just a vague sense of having read something that wanted to be meaningful but never quite got there.
In the end, Stowaway feels less like a fully realised story and more like a sketch of one - well-written in places, but ultimately forgettable.
November 4, 2025
A quick tale of unexpressed love that’s fairly disposable but passes the time.
May 15, 2026
the writing is superb, the story itself is kind of meh.
March 2, 2026
2.5
como é que um livro que tem 95 páginas com margens LARGAS é tão repetitivo?
como é que um livro que tem 95 páginas com margens LARGAS é tão repetitivo?
May 8, 2026
you can tell by the theme and the vibes that it is classic aciman, but this one feels a little rushed
3.5 ⭐️
3.5 ⭐️
April 5, 2026
A word of advice: only read this when your mind is in a good place
November 22, 2025
A moving meditation on the unanswered questions that follow loss, woven through an intimate conversation between strangers.
February 20, 2026
Oh boy.
This one was frustrating.
Aciman shows such good ideas for a novella that easily could have turned out good, if not even great.
Shame however that he produced one of the most poorly constructed stories I have ever had the displeasure to read. It constantly made me feel that not enough time or effort was put into executing a decent novella, as if he didn't care enough to actually give his ideas space to develop and mature.
Now, Paul, the titular "stowaway in his own life" is a great and complex character, that I wanted to read and know more about. His distrust of luck and romanticism of distant longing were, sometimes, put into beautiful words by Aciman and felt so human, it almost made my tear up.
Almost and not actually, due to the only conversing characters being flat pieces of wood, that were never consistent, never authentic, never artful, never good. They didn't feel like they knew Paul. While one on them, Carol, was a lifelong friend of the late romantic, Julian only knew him on quite a shallow basis.
However, this doesn't stop the author of writing him like an absolute know-it-all that constantly theorizes with Carol (again, his lifelong friend) about Paul's motives and feelings. Which in itself is kind of weird, until you consider that he never fails to 'teach' Carol on what Paul actually felt.
Oh, also this book loves to spell out anything you could call subtext directly so even the dumb ones get it. This is the thing I hated the absolute most about this novella and only because I don't want to type it out I will leave it at this. Hated this.
Also fake funny and fake profound all the way through (with some exceptions as mentioned in the first part of this review)
Fuck this, fuck you André Aciman, put some effort in next time
This one was frustrating.
Aciman shows such good ideas for a novella that easily could have turned out good, if not even great.
Shame however that he produced one of the most poorly constructed stories I have ever had the displeasure to read. It constantly made me feel that not enough time or effort was put into executing a decent novella, as if he didn't care enough to actually give his ideas space to develop and mature.
Now, Paul, the titular "stowaway in his own life" is a great and complex character, that I wanted to read and know more about. His distrust of luck and romanticism of distant longing were, sometimes, put into beautiful words by Aciman and felt so human, it almost made my tear up.
Almost and not actually, due to the only conversing characters being flat pieces of wood, that were never consistent, never authentic, never artful, never good. They didn't feel like they knew Paul. While one on them, Carol, was a lifelong friend of the late romantic, Julian only knew him on quite a shallow basis.
However, this doesn't stop the author of writing him like an absolute know-it-all that constantly theorizes with Carol (again, his lifelong friend) about Paul's motives and feelings. Which in itself is kind of weird, until you consider that he never fails to 'teach' Carol on what Paul actually felt.
Oh, also this book loves to spell out anything you could call subtext directly so even the dumb ones get it. This is the thing I hated the absolute most about this novella and only because I don't want to type it out I will leave it at this. Hated this.
Also fake funny and fake profound all the way through (with some exceptions as mentioned in the first part of this review)
Fuck this, fuck you André Aciman, put some effort in next time
May 3, 2026
Honestly maybe a 5 ⭐ idk
Read
April 18, 2026Regretting not reading the reviews. Lucky it was short.
February 15, 2026
“So, you didn’t know or didn’t want to know?”
“He liked to repeat things that became funny by virtue of being repeated.”
“(…) the pictures when he was a boy, the mug he liked (…) all left behind for those who’ll never know what to do with them and will keep them for decades until those who come after will throw them away to remind us that despite our best efforts, we’ll be, yes, forgotten.”
“Some rush to speak their heart, others stand and wait. I didn’t wait, says Dennis. I didn’t either, says Julian. We’re lucky. Well, we are lucky, very lucky. Not stowaways, then? Never stowaways.”
“He liked to repeat things that became funny by virtue of being repeated.”
“(…) the pictures when he was a boy, the mug he liked (…) all left behind for those who’ll never know what to do with them and will keep them for decades until those who come after will throw them away to remind us that despite our best efforts, we’ll be, yes, forgotten.”
“Some rush to speak their heart, others stand and wait. I didn’t wait, says Dennis. I didn’t either, says Julian. We’re lucky. Well, we are lucky, very lucky. Not stowaways, then? Never stowaways.”
February 12, 2026
2.5 stars. Although the writing was good it was so slow and boring for a 95 page book. I didn’t feel any emotions towards the characters either
May 12, 2026
I read this in one sitting!! Only 95 pages- this little book explores a revelation of love coming from the grave to someone who had no idea. It was a really interesting and profound exploration of not going for something because you think you don’t stand a chance, but you’ll never really know. I love Aciman’s work!!
“That night he didn’t sleep a wink and by dawn the memory of Julian’s smile had swollen into full-fledged longing and finally, finally into love, because 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.”
“And maybe this is what love is: finding someone who allows us access not to the life we’ve been given and were asked to live, but the life we're owed”
“That night he didn’t sleep a wink and by dawn the memory of Julian’s smile had swollen into full-fledged longing and finally, finally into love, because 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.”
“And maybe this is what love is: finding someone who allows us access not to the life we’ve been given and were asked to live, but the life we're owed”
February 22, 2026
A heartbreaking and thought-provoking tale of a man who lived as a stowaway in his own life, never expressing or exploring love or life truthfully or authentically, told through a conversation between two strangers.
My only criticism is that this novella was too short. I would have adored a full-length novel that explored Paul’s character more deeply and examined why he was the way he was.
Stowaways was heartbreakingly beautiful and a powerful reminder to live life to its fullest, to be happy no matter what, and to love with your whole heart so that, when you leave this world, you can say you truly lived.
My only criticism is that this novella was too short. I would have adored a full-length novel that explored Paul’s character more deeply and examined why he was the way he was.
Stowaways was heartbreakingly beautiful and a powerful reminder to live life to its fullest, to be happy no matter what, and to love with your whole heart so that, when you leave this world, you can say you truly lived.
March 4, 2026
There is just something about Aciman’s novels that make me indescribably sad when I finish them. Part of me wants to continue reading; will Julian read Paul’s diary? Do Carol and Julian meet up frequently to remember Paul? Did Julian actually read the rose and the artichoke. So many questions are still circling around my brain.
Aciman has a gift for taking some of the most profound questions we have in life and expose them to his readers through characters that feel authentic. Julian, Paul and Carol could, quite literally, be any one of us. This makes reading his work so pleasurable. I am already looking forward to what Aciman might come up with next. Until then I am sure I will pick up this book every now and then and in my own way reminisce
Aciman has a gift for taking some of the most profound questions we have in life and expose them to his readers through characters that feel authentic. Julian, Paul and Carol could, quite literally, be any one of us. This makes reading his work so pleasurable. I am already looking forward to what Aciman might come up with next. Until then I am sure I will pick up this book every now and then and in my own way reminisce
February 17, 2026
3.85 stars - I’ll read anything Aciman writes and this was a valentines gift that I was very happy to receive!
With Aciman’s writing it is about more than the prose, it’s about the experience of interconnection between humans. That weird and beautiful essence of what it is to be human, to lust, love, live and to lose.
It’s contemplative and quiet.
There were elements that I wasn’t entirely sold on namely the ‘relationship’ between Paul & Julian - the ambiguity felt contradictory at times.
With Aciman’s writing it is about more than the prose, it’s about the experience of interconnection between humans. That weird and beautiful essence of what it is to be human, to lust, love, live and to lose.
It’s contemplative and quiet.
There were elements that I wasn’t entirely sold on namely the ‘relationship’ between Paul & Julian - the ambiguity felt contradictory at times.
March 5, 2026
It’s always a treat to know what is going on in André Aciman’s head. This one is about unrequited love that dared not risk unbalancing the existing minimal contact.
There’s a lot of conversation - two people teasing out exactly what it meant to be the recipient of ‘true love’ that never happened.
It’s not a rollicking story, it’s more a psychological back and forth, accompanied by plenty of coffees. Read it as a short story, and it’s perfectly passible and pleasant.
There’s a lot of conversation - two people teasing out exactly what it meant to be the recipient of ‘true love’ that never happened.
It’s not a rollicking story, it’s more a psychological back and forth, accompanied by plenty of coffees. Read it as a short story, and it’s perfectly passible and pleasant.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 23, 2026
Aciman has a talent for drawing his readers in with his hypnotic prose. This novella is short in length, but it holds more than its own weight. The story is centered around the premise of what ifs and what could have been. Filled with love, friendship, longing, and tender moments.This novella causes readers to reflect on their own, chance meetings, relationships, and missed opportunities.
February 27, 2026
A great read. Though I could go for more plot and character depth. But emotionally gutting.
We all wonder of our what-could've-been's when the courage to ask/action arrived way too late or hasn't arrived at all.
We all wonder of our what-could've-been's when the courage to ask/action arrived way too late or hasn't arrived at all.
April 30, 2026
I fear I wasn’t in the headspace to absorb this properly, however giving it 3 stars because I like the aesthetic of the cover and the margin space in the print. Might have to revisit again in the future
Want to Read
October 18, 2025LETS GO
March 16, 2026
Aciman is an amazing writer. He speaks of things that you don’t realize you actually feel! Amazing thought provoking book. I just wish it was 200 pages longer.
March 23, 2026
I devoured this. I cried. I chuckled. I want to read it again and savour some of the beautiful and evocative moments that capture everything and nothing at once.
Beautiful. Simply, beautiful.
Beautiful. Simply, beautiful.
March 28, 2026
"maybe we love people because they won't let us know them"
May 4, 2026
DNF after 40 minutes. I could NOT with this main character, I hate men
March 9, 2026
touching but i did get quite bored in the middle
May 9, 2026
I have read a number of Aciman’s novels and admired them enormously. For me this novella didn’t quite live up to my expectations of a writer I usually devour. While there are some lovely passages, the characters didn’t quite come to life, the storyline didn’t quite gel and I think to bill it as a modern day Brief Encounter with a twist was a bit of a stretch.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 121 reviews