Room on the Sea: Three Novellas

This exquisite triptych from Aciman (Call Me By Your Name) explores desire and fate among old friends, new acquaintances, and heartbroken lovers. In “The Gentleman from Peru,” a group of young Americans visit Italy’s Amalfi Coast, where they become transfixed by a solitary 60-something guest at their hotel. Over drinks, the older man, whose name is Raúl, entertains the Americans with his psychic abilities, correctly guessing their birth months and revealing a secret unrequited love between two of them. The elegiac title entry chronicles a week in the lives of two elderly New Yorkers who meet during jury duty. Catherine, a psychologist, and Paul, an attorney, are both unhappily married, a fact they confess to one another as the story builds to a surprising leap of faith. “Mariana” concludes the collection with the somber interior monologue of a scorned woman who struggles to reassess her self-worth and salvage her life without the security of her ex-lover’s attention. Throughout, Aciman eloquently explores the life-changing impact of love, explicated in a dazzling soliloquy from Raúl on the ever-present prospect of a connection with a stranger (“That person could just as easily be us in another body. And the beauty of it is that they feel it just as much as we do.... Us in others, isn’t this the definition of love?”). It’s a triumph. Agent: Lynn Nesbit, Janklow & Nesbit Assoc. (June)