André Aciman

I sit on a somewhat uncertain plane with Mr. Aciman's writing. His evident literary strengths: those tiny moments between people that change everything, those oh-so-human experiences of self-doubt and self-discovery, a brilliant understanding of our gradual awareness of Time, a knack for evoking spirit of place, and always a profound sense of loss. His weaknesses, at least in the novels I've read? Something of a sameness with dialogue, a certain lack of emotional or tonal variety, and perhaps - in this case - a tendency toward the saccharine.

I think I enjoyed Enigma Variations, and I will certainly return to Aciman's erudite, sensual, yearning canon again. But, aside from the first section, I wish the story of Paul's many loves had conjured up an emotional connection in me, and not just an intellectual one. Aciman is a smart writer but he's not a litterateur. He is best when writing "high fiction" rather than "literature", and this feels rather like he's strayed outside his bailiwick.… (more)