A short, introspective read which is quaint and burns with passion in equal measure. I didn't feel strongly about our two characters but this novella was carried by the beauty of its prose. Always something we can count on Andre Aciman for. It follows two people who meet while waiting for jury selection. The week that follows feels almost like a dream world, a moment in time suspended from real life. A space for true emotion to flourish.

A pleasant novella or maybe just a short story I can’t make my mind up. I didn’t feel strongly about either character but the delightful writing style carried the tale along well. It could have had a ‘six months later’ chapter at the end to tidy it up but that’s probably e needing a tidy finish.

Another exquisitely written book from Andre Aciman - you will not be disappointed.

Writing that captures the almost intangible experience of emotions; fragments of time, snippets of memories and the ever perplexing trajectory of the human heart - which often surprises us by remaining the most simplistic of all in its desires.

Catherine and Paul inserted themselves into my life during the reading of this book and I did not want to let them go.

Beautiful.

Many thanks to NetGalley for my ARC of this title. All views are my own.

I really enjoyed this little novella covering just a week in the lives of two people who meet while waiting for jury selection in a New York court room.

A series of occurrences means they get to spend more time together than expected and a deep and intense connection forms between them quickly.

I really liked the way the characters were older than you usually see in a a quirky 'meet cute' and that they were complete equals in status and age so no dodgy age gap/power play. The enigmatic ending was perfect too

This was a very gentle, easy to read book, about two people in their sixties who meet on jury service, and find they like spending time together.
They start an affair and talk about Naples a lot. It's about what could have been, had they met 40 years ago.
There was just something about this book that made me want to read and know more.
Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Andre Aciman has a slow but steady way of unravelling a beautiful love story. At first, it's two witty older people, you don't care for them much and yet in the matter of under 100 pages, you urge for them to love one another for life. I love my fair share of wattpad-y romance, believe me, but nothing, absolutely nothing, beats a beautiful contemporary that whisks you away.

Best known for Call Me By Your Name, André Aciman returns with a short novella. "Room on the Sea" is the romantic story of Paul and Catherine and those quick but meaningful moments that mean so much when you connect so much to another person. It was also a nice treat to see characters who were adults because we're often just fed teenage characters. Aciman has a way with those small details that reveal a character's true emotions, and how they feel about the other person. A book to drink with a nice cup of tea on a warm Sunday afternoon.

Thank you to Faber & Faber for allowing me access to a free review copy via NetGalley, I greatly appreciate the opportunity.

I absolutely adored the writing of this novella! As someone who loves reading books with a heavy literary, character-driven feel, this was right up my alley. The romance in this story felt quiet, quaint, and it was something that gently followed you throughout rather than something that hit you in the face, and to me that was beautiful.
I found the exploration of these characters to be quite thought provoking, and the decision to make them older, close to retirement aged, was a perfect decision to explore the themes and emotions that this novella dealt with.

I found the characters to be perfectly flawed, and incredibly human. For only 176 pages, I found Catherine and Paul to be very well crafted and compelling to read about. The way they dealt with nostalgia, yearning, the pain of 'what-if's and the missed opportunities of their pasts hit me right in the chest, and despite not having lived nearly as long as the characters in the book, I felt myself understanding and sympathising with the feeling.
It has taken a me a few days to write this review, and I still find myself thinking back on it trying to understand more, whether I want to or not.

Now, perhaps you are wondering why my rating for this is 3.5 when I have had nothing but stellar things to say. That is because, despite my love for the characters and the writing, I absolutely despise infidelity as a main theme. Both of these characters are married, have been for years, have children and grandchildren and are willing to risk that for a stranger.

While I believe that it is natural for long term marriages and relationships as a whole to lose the spark, and it is incredibly normal for people in these places to stop being in love with their spouse and rather hold a general feeling of love for the years they spent together, I do not believe there is any excuse or reason to cheat. I understand this is a story, and that it is not true in this case, but it is just something I could not move past because after spending your life with someone, it baffles me to think that these characters did not have the decency or respect to communicate with their respective spouses about their problems. I just could not wrap my head around it, and it held me back from enjoying the novella as much as I could have if it simply followed two older people finding love again later in life.

Overall, a very beautifully crafted and well written book, especially for being so short, it was just not my cup of tea in terms of plot.

A romantic novella, shimmering in what feels like a bubble of out of time romance. I loved some elements of this. The setting was beautifully handled and the set up of the premise was perfect. I didn't feel like I got to know the characters well enough to believe wholeheartedly in them though. I wanted to root for them but I found myself more interested in them than in love with them. It was a really pleasant way to spend an hour but I'd have liked it more if the people felt realer.

There is something rather beautifully whimsical about Andre Aciman's writing, despite the shortness of these stories, Aciman manages to impart such a wonderful rich snapshot into the lives of his characters.

Room on the Sea is the story of Paul and Catherine who meet whilst awaiting their jury service and what unfolds is a series of stolen moments that offer an insight into their youths, what brings them joys and the constant question of ... what if?

A lovely novella, perfect for a quick read that leaves you feeling transported from your daily life

I had the opportunity to read the ARC for Room on the Sea by André Aciman, and I honestly loved every second of it.

The story moves fast, but not in a rushed way — more like you’re being carried to land by the calm sea 🌊 . The relationship between the two main characters develops so quickly, but it feels natural, deep, and emotionally charged. I didn’t expect it to hit me like it did, but some parts really caught me off guard — in the best way.

What really struck me is how much it reminded me of Dostoevsky’s White Nights. Both stories have this dreamlike quality — where two people connect so deeply in such a short span, almost like their connection has merged forces to stop time. There’s that same kind of quiet melancholy too, like you already know it can’t last, but that doesn’t make it any less beautiful (or painful!) 🥲

Aciman’s writing is just so poetic and intimate. It felt like I was eavesdropping on their conversations and blushing even more than Catherine or Paul were . By the end, I had that familiar ache — the kind that stays with you after reading something that hits too close to the heart. The one that gets you thinking about all the “what-ifs” and “maybe in another lifetime”s. 🧡

Highly recommend this one if you love fleeting, emotional stories with big feelings and soft heartbreak.

Call Me By Your Name is not only one of my favourite films (gorgeous, sumptuous, evocative) it is also a treasured novel, so I was beyond excited to pick up Room on the Sea and climb back into the genius mind of Andre Aciman - so full of the romance and whimsy of the everyday. His narrative style is so arresting, his interactions so intimate and yet so casual, his writing so sharp - the way he writes evoking what he writes, until you’re unsure where page ends and imagination begins. This short week in the life of two strangers was a stunning light bite tapped from the vein of Linklater. A “what if” slice of life that is compelling and bursting with the promise of something greater if they’re bold enough to grab it with both hands.

This dreamy story is everything I want from an Andre Aciman book. It was 107 pages of perfection.
Paul and Catherine are in their sixties and come to meet each other in a New York court for jury duty. Paul strikes up conversation with Catherine as she is reading Wuthering Heights. For a week, they meet each other before and after court, sparking an intense friendship and maybe something more. Both are married, but not happily and it is like they are being seen for the first time again. They spend time in cafes and restaurants and museums. Speak of going to Italy and Naples in particular (I loved the Neapolitan barista)
The writing is beautiful, no words or sentences are wasted. The connection, the love it's all there. I could have read another 300 pages of this. Loved it! Will be one of my books of the year.

If you’re a fan of The New York Times’ Modern Love columns, I think that this novella Room by the Sea by Andre Aciman will be for you.

I absolutely loved reading Room on the Sea which centres on Paul and Catherine, who meet by chance whilst on jury duty in New York City. They strike up a conversation about Wuthering Heights, the book that Catherine was reading and so begins their story.

I loved the way the story unfolds day by day over their jury service. They chew the fat whilst waiting to see whether they will be called and then selected for a jury. They have coffees and lunches together and find that they have more and more in common - and maybe more. As the days pass, and Paul and Catherine reveal more about their lives, I just found myself caring more about them and becoming very invested in their story. I think this is a novella that I’ll revisit from time to time.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, Faber and Faber Ltd, for making this e-ARC available to me in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Room on the Sea by Andre Aciman

In a New York heatwave, Catherine and Paul meet at the courthouse where they are assessed for jury duty every day for a week. An instant connection is formed and over the course of the week they meet for breakfast, have lunch together and later drinks, all whilst indulging a fantasy of a trip to Naples. But a deep bond is formed and at the end of the week decisions must be made.

Oh this is such a beautiful novella with real heart. The prose and the tone are perfect, and I really empathised with the two characters in their mid-sixties and wondering whether there's more to life. Catherine is a psychologist and Paul a lawyer so they have fantatic conversations and I loved being part of their world for a week. Very VERY highly recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book.

Having apparently been living under a stone, I was not aware until I read it elsewhere that this author is very successful and one of his books is a very successful film so I came to this novella with no expectations.

I quite liked the book at first and found it quite fresh and interesting. I felt that I was walking through the city with the couple, having lunch, popping into the cafe, strolling about. I also liked the bits about the painting, I have prints which give me the same feeling and, funnily enough, one of them is Rooms by the Sea by Edmund Hopper. I am a fan of Hopper' s seascapes and not so familiar with the Nighthawks types so I had to look up the one with the theatre usher that they talk about.

As the book progressed I began to find the couple a bit annoying and felt that they were making too many difficulties for themselves. Both are in "dead" marriages, staying only for the sake of the grandchildren; neither spouse would care if the couple had an affair; the couple seem to feel that they have a Life's Grand Passion so where is their problem in pursuing it? I am not that much younger than them and I say good luck to them for even having the energy to have the feelings they have. As a side note, how nice to be rich enough to fly off to Italy from America on a whim.

Catherine's laugh seemed to be always described as "giggling" and that grated on me as I consider that giggling has connotations of childishness or mockery. Maybe that's just me though.

I usually don't mind an unresolved ending and quite like to end it myself so to speak but in this case I was not sufficiently invested in either of them to care very much and would have preferred say, an epilogue.

Catherine and Paul are both middle aged when they're called up to jury duty. Over the course of a warm summer's week, they spend time together while waiting to see if they will be chosen. What begins as a light flirtation, unexpectedly develops into something stronger than they could ever have imagined and by the end of their time together, they must decide whether to take the chance to act on their feelings or be prepared to walk away and live with the 'what if' forever.

A wonderful and moving novella about longing where 2 people in the second half of their lives must decide whether to risk everything for a last chance at happiness. Written by the author of Call Me By Your Name with depth and feeling, it explores the sadness and loneliness that sometimes occurs when long-term couples grow apart.

Thank you to NetGalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for the opportunity to read and review this beautiful story.

A short, beautifully written novella about two strangers, Paul and Catherine, who meet while waiting for jury duty in New York. Over the week, their connection deepens into something more emotional and complicated.
A poignant and thought-provoking read, especially for those of us who enjoy reading literary fiction.

I really enjoyed this tender love story. Beautifully written with sympathy and compassion for the characters. Highly recommend

I really enjoyed this book. It's a simple premise, two strangers meeting and deeply connecting with each other during snatched moments together. The writing is lush and descriptive of themes on reflection and yearning for more from life. The "what-ifs" of life. Everyone can relate to this book. Wanting to escape from the humdrum and routine of your every day life and run away with someone who sparks life back into you. I was genuinely disappointed when I finished this book. I wanted more.