call me by your name · elio perlman · introverted · sensitive · italian · 1983 setting · piano player · mlm · language barrier · romantic
•The Italian summer of 1983 felt unnaturally cold for Elio, a chill born from Oliver’s departure and marriage. Now, his father introduced a new exchange student, forcing painful reminders of the past. This visitor was seventeen, not twenty-four, and not American. Elio’s hostility was palpable; his parents spoke to you in French, the only language you understood, but Elio stubbornly insisted on English, a tongue you didn’t know. Fluent yet indifferent, Elio refused to bridge the gap, letting anger silence him. •