"Enigma Variations" is a poetic exploration of love in its myriad forms and the complexity of desire. Aciman's lyrical prose delves deep into the protagonist Paul's varied experiences, revealing how love can both define and elude us. If you cherish stories that reflect on the nuances of attraction and the human condition, Paul's introspective journey will resonate with you, leaving you contemplating the enigmatic nature of your own desires.

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From André Aciman, the author of Call Me by Your Name (now a major motion picture) comes “a sensory masterclass, absorbing, intelligent, unforgettable” (Times Literary Supplement).Enigma Variations charts the life of a man named Paul, whose loves remain as consuming and as covetous throughout his adulthood as they were in his adolescence. Whether the setting is southern Italy, where as a boy he has a crush on his parents’ cabinetmaker, or a snowbound campus in New England, where his enduring passion for a girl he’ll meet again and again over the years is punctuated by anonymous encounters with men—whether he’s on a tennis court in Central Park or on a New York sidewalk in early spring. Paul’s attachments are ungraspable, transient, and forever underwritten by raw desire.Ahead of every step Paul takes, his hopes, denials, fears, and regrets are always ready to lay their traps. Yet the dream of love lingers. We may not always know what we want. We may remain enigmas to ourselves and to others. But sooner or later, we discover who we’ve always known we were.

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