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Books to Read if You Loved 'Call Me By Your Name'
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items André Aciman’s Call Me By Your Name isn’t just a love story. It’s an atmosphere, a feeling, and a deep dive into longing, desire, and memory. If you’ve been searching for books that capture that same intensity, intimacy, and beauty, this list of queer novels will guide you to stories that echo Elio and Oliver’...
A classic of queer literature, Baldwin’s novel explores desire, shame, and identity in 1950s Paris. Like Aciman’s book, it captures the intensity of fleeting love and the ache of memory.
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin
This sweeping story of friendship and love between men is devastating and beautiful. Its emotional intensity and exploration of intimacy make it a natural follow-up.
A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara
A more hopeful, playful love story, this novel follows the U.S. president’s son and a British prince who fall in love. It pairs humor with romance and political stakes.
Red, White & Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
Set in 1980s Poland, this novel tells a forbidden love story against a backdrop of political unrest. It echoes Call Me By Your Name in its longing and poignancy.
Swimming in the Dark by Tomasz Jedrowski
Written in 1914 but published posthumously, Maurice was radical for offering a happy ending to its queer love story. Its themes of repression and liberation resonate deeply.
Maurice by E.M. Forster
This lyrical novel-in-letters explores family, love, and queer identity through Vuong’s poetic prose. It mirrors Aciman’s attention to language and sensual memory.
On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong
A memoir of growing up gay in the American South and surviving conversion therapy, this book offers raw honesty and resilience.
Boy Erased by Garrad Conley
This retelling of the Iliad through the love story of Achilles and Patroclus is lush, romantic, and tragic, echoing the intimacy and mythic feel of Call Me By Your Name. My favorite of this entire list!
The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller
A semi-autobiographical novel about a young girl growing up in a strict religious household and discovering her sexuality. Tender, rebellious, and enduring.
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit by Winterson
Playful and boundary-pushing, this novel follows Paul, who can shift genders, exploring queer identity and desire in the 1990s.
Paul Takes the Form of a Mortal Girl - Lawlor
A Victorian-set queer romance with twists of crime and betrayal. Darker than Aciman’s novel, but equally captivating in its intensity and desire.
Fingersmith by Sarah Waters
A YA coming-of-age story about two Mexican-American boys discovering friendship and love. It’s gentle, poetic, and deeply emotional.
Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe by Benjamin Alire Sáenz
Moving between 1980s Chicago during the AIDS crisis and present-day Paris, this novel explores friendship, grief, and the endurance of love.
The Great Believers by Rebecca Makkai
A queer YA fantasy featuring a trans boy who accidentally summons a ghost and falls in love. It’s playful but tender, centering identity and connection.
Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this witty and heartfelt novel follows a gay writer traveling the world to avoid attending his ex’s wedding. It’s lighter but still tinged with longing.
Less by Andrew Sean Greer