last pages in Aciman's memoir

 shame gets mentioned a number of times throughout, here close to the end . . .

That shame had never gone away; shame never does, it was there on every corner of the street. Shame, which is the reluctance to own up to who we are, could end up being the deepest thing about us, deeper even than who we are, as though beyond identity are buried reefs and sunken cities teeming with creatures we couldn’t begin to name because they’ve been there since our earliest infancy and never went away. All I really wanted, as we began walking to the other end of Via Clelia, was to put the experience behind me now—We’ve done Via Clelia—knowing, though, that I

he gives the finale, however, the greatest of endings --  

I thought I'd learned to tolerate this city.  Instead, it was love.

    Now you know, says Via Clelia.

    Now I know, I want to say, now I know.