FIND ME by Aciman, Andre - 2019

New York City, NY: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2019. First Edition. First Printing.. Hardcover. Fine/Fine Dust Jacket.. New York City, NY: Farrar Straus & Giroux, 2019. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition/First Printing. 260 pages. The author's fifth novel. The eagerly-anticipated sequel to Andre Aciman's "Call Me By Your Name" (2007) . The First Hardcover Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions, particularly copies that are signed on a tipped-in page. Published in a regular first print run as a hardcover original only. Presents Andre Aciman's "Find Me". "Rebound" love, the marital "placebo"/"I really care about you" love, and the elusive Real Thing, true love, described in ecstatic yet elegiac prose, as the only serious American novelist on romantic love of our time could pull it off. Despite its expansive range, it is about the same length (260 pages) as "Call Me By Your Name", quickened even more by substantial dialogue. The novel is in four intertwined set pieces of unequal length, inspired by and patterned after Aciman's beloved Bach and Classical music: "Tempo", the longest section, about Elio's father, who was un-named - and who died - in the original novel, but is resurrected and is known here as Samuel/Sami; "Cadenza", about a more mature yet no less vulnerable Elio, embarked on a new, accelerated romance that also opens him up to his Jewish roots; "Capriccio", about married, domesticated Oliver wrestling with his irrepressible bisexual longings; and a brief, perfect coda, "Da Capo". The theme of each section is The Search, for one's true love, for personal redemption, and for the truth about one's life: I need you to find me, but I also need to find myself. "Da Capo" is demanding because it represents Aciman's attempt to emulate music, the music of Bach no less, as it is written in two contrapuntal voices, Oliver's and Elio's, weaving in and out of each other, without breaks, with no crutch afforded the reader whatsoever, who must read each and every music-like line carefully to follow it. A tour-de-force, it contains Aciman's most thrilling virtuoso-writing ever about the bliss and exalted state of romantic love when, at last, it too is found. If you loved "Call Me By Your Name", whether the novel or its great film adaptation, you have to read "Find Me", which is even more challenging and rewarding. An absolute "must-have" title for Andre Aciman collectors. This copy is very boldly and beautifully signed and dated (on the day of publication) in black ink-pen on the title page by the author: "Andre Aciman Oct. 29, 2019". It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page, as copies available online are. Laid-in is a pristine copy of the Souvenir Announcement of the event during which his signature was obtained. This title is a contemporary classic. As far as we know, this is the only such signed and publication-day dated copy of the First Hardcover Edition/First Printing available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright. A rare signed copy thus. Andre Aciman's "Call Me By Your Name" is regarded as a classic by Colm Toibin. One of the greatest writers of our time. A fine collectible copy. (SEE ALSO OTHER ANDRE ACIMAN TITLES IN OUR CATALOG). ISBN 0374155011.