We're just days away from the release of André Aciman's long-awaited sequel to his 2007 novel Call Me by Your Name, and the author shared a nostalgic Spotify playlist to set the mood for Find Me.
The sequel revisits Elio and Oliver ten, fifteen, and twenty years after the book and movie come to a close. According to For the Record, "Elio has become a professional musician in Paris and Oliver is a tenured professor in New England."
Aciman explains that "part of the plot involves a cadenza that was performed—and supposedly lost—during the Holocaust that is passed down as a gift and expression of love from one man to another." Classical music heavily informs the tone of the book and Elio's character.
The playlist choices include iconic songs from the Academy Award-winning movie of the same name, as well as more modern tracks by artists like King Princess and Sam Smith.
"Elio...is, after all, a kid, and he should be interested in rock and roll and contemporary music," Aciman explains. "But he’s also a kid who’s grown up with traditional music. The classical, mature music of the film represents both Oliver’s older age and the family’s long classical tradition."
On Sufjan Steven's Oscar-nominated track "Mystery of Love," Aciman revealed that he doesn't actually listen to song lyrics. "Don’t ask me why. I just listen to the music. But "Mystery of Love" is about love and saying goodbye—and that I understood, when I heard it in the film, even just hearing the voice and the music."
And on the '80s hit by Psychedelic Furs that became a hilarious meme, Aciman said, "I think the song was perfect for the movie. It says things that the movie tried to elevate, especially in the moment it played in the film. You have a song that is relevant to the gay community coming on at the moment when it’s clear that Elio is staring at Oliver while Oliver is dancing. So the music naturally suggested what was happening."
Aciman says that Elio's tastes in music reflect his own. "By the time I was 10 years old, I was already very interested in classical music. I was a big fan of The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, and The Beatles when I was young. I loved that stuff, but it was always classical music that I would sort of lean to in the end."
Ultimately, Aciman says both the playlist the book are "all about excavation. Layer by layer upon layer upon layer, life upon life upon life. That’s what we try to do."
Find Me hits bookstore shelves on October 29. Listen to André Aciman's playlist below!
