Author: André Aciman. We may not 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. Title: Enigma Variations. Paul's intense desires, losses and longings draw him closer, not to a defined orientation, but to an understanding that 'heartache, like love, like low-grade fevers, like the longing to reach out and touch a hand across the table, is easy enough to live down'.