I loved this quirky, uplifting book. The characters all came alive for me and I truly cared about what happened to them. I was a little frustrated with the relationship between Luisa and Frederik and found the ending a little open.

I was sent an advance proof copy of What You Can See From Here by Mariana Leky to read and review by NetGalley. What an enchanting book, I absolutely adored it! So beautifully written – all credit to the translator here too – and so…. Zen! This novel is wonderful and even the sad bits are in many ways uplifting, that’s the sort of book this is! We follow the story of Luisa and her extended family in and around their home on the edge of the forest. With prose that delights and fills your mind with images not just words, to me this is the epitome of a perfect book. Read and enjoy!

This is a bittersweet novel about love and death.

Selma, an strong character and so likeable, can predict the death of someone in the village, each time she dreams of a okapi. This is the start of a sweet portrait of the people of a small village in the Westerwald.
Funny, moving , this is the tales of a bunch of people dealing with love, death and wanted to know what lays outside your door.
There are some books that arrive in your life at the right time. It reminded me of Alexander McCall Smith for there is a lot of love from the writer for the characters, for small town people, for little people.
I have to admit that there was a few tears while reading it.

What You Can See From Here is an international bestseller, and now translated into English, it was published on Thursday. And for once, I agree with all the plaudits heaped upon it.

It is a charming story in its utter geekiness, with odd characters who do odd things which seem entirely normal compared with some of the things my friends and neighbours do. These could be your best friend, your irritating family members, the love of your life… They sang to me in voices clear, and even the weirdest of them had something memorable about them.

The fear that binds them together when Selma dreams of an okapi seems a very tangible thing. The outcome took me completely by surprise – as it did them. The story, told by Luise takes us from before that moments, to well afterwards, and features a charming long-distance love affair by letter with a buddhist monk. As you do. Well, if you’ve never had a love affair by letter you’re missing out.

Some of the translation seemed weird, but it was consistent, so you appreciated that maybe a choice of words had been made deliberately. I just had to remember that a comforter is not a thick scarf, but an eiderdown or duvet, which I only did about two-thirds of the way through, when the woolly scarf just didn’t make sense!

Warm, gentle, stirring, and possibly the complete antidote to post-COVID trauma. The writing has a wonderful flow, and the richness of the world shone through. I loved all the characters, even the unlikeable ones, mostly because you know people like them. A wonderful drawing of real life, even in a big village.

This was not the book I expected from the description. It was quirky and with a humour that I do not think I understood properly. It was difficult to place it in time and I do like to do that. That said it was full of interesting characters and how they developed over time.

This book was perfect for my holiday last week, not only because it was a light, touching read but mostly because it makes you feel good afterwards

This book tells the story of Luisa as she is dealing with life difficulties, having by her side the only person she can count on: her grandmother, Selma
When Selma starts having dreams about an okapi (a wild mammal living in the northeast Democratic Republic of Congo), all town inhabitants start to lose their minds expecting that someone will be dead in the next 48 hours

What you don't know about Selma's dreams is that the superstitious chained facts will make even the most relaxed person on earth let go of the constraints and probably go insane

This heartwarming, translated from German, coming of age story is the true escapism from real life as it explores the family trauma, has lots of insides into how a small village in Germany community feels like, witty characters which will make you fall in love with as you get further into the book and most of all, will make you laugh at their funny decisions

We are following Luisa in two different times of her life, first as a 10 year old who is slowly developing into a 24 year old powerful lady, as life gives her many challenges, grief, loss, heartbreaks, what identity looks like, makes her understand what it means to belong somewhere, and mostly how important are the people around you

'Perhaps we weren't actually made for each other. That's not so bad. None of an okapi parts belong together and it's still extraordinary beautiful'

What I expected from the book was a lot more development of the characters throughout the end. I wanted something bigger with a more comprehensive ending, but altogether I enjoyed this one.

A light read perfect for a Holiday Trip! It reminded me of Fredrik Backman when he started writing his debut novels. So fans of Fredrik Backman, this book will be just right up your alley!
#okapidreams #whatcanyouseefromhere

What you can see from here is a gentle book that carries you through the lives of a small village in Germany. Split in to three parts, Leky has created a moving narrative following the aftermath of the fabled Okapi witnessed in Selma's dream - the harbinger of death. The story primarily follows the life of Luise (Selma's granddaughter) as she grows up in the secluded village confronted with the knowledge that a single act can redefine the trajectory of more than one life. The characters are richly drawn, often absurd, but linked to each other by the ties of place and shared memory in a seemingly effortless way by the author. Unlike anything else you will have probably read, submit to this tale and be swept along.

A beautiful coming of age story that has a dream like feel to it. 'What You Can See From Here' is a slow-paced novel translated from German with a warm and uplifting story.

I was really looking forward to reading a German translation for some odd reason, and I must say, it was a truly pleasant read.

It is a truly capturing and heart-warming read that takes place in a small village in Western Germany, Where we follow our central character, Luisa, growing up. The story starts when Luisa is only 10 years old, when her grandmother, Selma, dreams of an Okapi. This Okapi represents death and means that someone in the village will die and this will turn the villagers' life upside-down. Alongside Luisa and Selma, we will see other quirky characters throughout the book, which is better if I leave it as a surprise :)

The narration is quite unique and the story is really captivating with full of interesting characters. All in all, it is an amazing and bittersweet coming of age story that deals with issues such as love, loss, life and death that I would highly recommend.

Although it took me a while to get into this book, I really enjoyed it.

It starts with Selma having a dream of an okapi which was an omen that someone was going to die within 24 hours. The fear that then befell the village is used as a great tool to introduce all the main characters, who are all a little ethereal. From Elspeth, who produces herbal remedies, Sad Marlies, an Eeyore type character, local alcoholic Palm, the Optician who is in love with Selma, and Luisa, Selma's granddaughter and her friend Martin.

The slight element of otherworldliness reminded me a bit of Chocolat by Joanne Harris, to the extent that not much happens but the plot is character led and you become invested in their lives.

A lovely, gentle read but one that does tug at the heartstrings.

This is the story of Luisa who lives in a close-knit community in a charming village in Germany. The novel kicks off with the news that Luisa’s grandmother Selma has just dreamt of an Okapi, which is bad news for the villagers as superstition has it that someone in the village must die in the next 24 hrs. It’s an unusual novel teeming with ruminations about life, death and love; however I found it a bit slow and didn’t enjoy it as much as expected despite its universal themes. Nonetheless its simple, poetic quality meant that much of it stayed with me long after I’d finished reading it.

My thanks to NetGalley, publisher Bloomsbury Publishing Plc and author Mariana Leky for the electronic review copy.

Well, I wondered just what I had stumbled into with this book - how to describe it? Surreal, quirky, almost "pythonesque" in the way it is written - a series of sketches portraying particular situations and characters; there's sadness, joy and love. I'm afraid to say that I found the Prologue to be quite incomprehensible, but then one drifts into the tale itself; the everyday interactions of the residents of a German village called Westerwald - except these characters can be really weird in some situations.

Luisa is 10yrs-old when Selma, her grandmother dreams, of an okapi - meaning that there would be a death in the village within 24 hours. News spreads amongst these characters and each, in their own way, start to imagine that they should acknowledge any hidden truths in their lives just in case theirs' was the life to be taken. Superstition and folklore abound. A death does occur - one which changes some lives forever.
The story moves forward to Luisa as a 22yr-old and her first love and the natural aging of all the characters around her as the community continue their quirky lives.

If I said anymore as to what these interesting characters get up to it would detract from the odd smile from the reader as various humorous situations unfold.

This really is a very "strange" read. Not really to my taste, but you decide.

What a lovely book! The story is centred around a village in the Westerwald area of Germany and follows the life of Luisa, who is 10 at the start of the book. Her Grandmother, Selma has dreamed of an Okapi and everytime she has dreamed this before, someone in the village has died in the next day. We meet the quirky characters that inhabit the village and how they each deal with a tragedy in their own way. The story spans a few decades of Luisa's life and is a bit whimsical in places, but is a nice gentle read.

I couldn’t make up my mind about his book. At times it is sweet, childlike and amusing, but sometimes I found myself irritated and a little bored. Some people will love the contemporary writing style (a little Olive Kittridge?) but for me it depended on my mood. I found I couldn’t lose myself in it, usually because an odd translation had distracted me (e.g. county seat, does that mean “city”?) or because I was annoyed The Optician didn’t have a name. I think, overall, this book will be like Marmite, many will give it 5 stars, but others will struggle to see the magic. Thank you for the advance copy, sorry I didn’t like it more.

Having had really high hopes for this novel, I started it eagerly, waiting for that magic moment when you feel reality become unfocused and disappear and you are at one with the book (if you’ve read the book, you’ll hopefully get the reference). I kept waiting … and waiting … but sadly, it just never happened.

The book focuses on Luise, her family, friends and the village she lives in in Germany. There are elements of magical realism and fairytale but somehow without the dreamy charm of the former or pace of the latter. What happens takes place very S-L-O-W-L-Y, ironically, even when it’s dealing with love at first sight.

Love and friendship are the main themes, yet for the most part I felt too removed from the characters to engage too much with what was happening to them very S-L-O-W-L-Y. Another of the themes was Buddhism, so perhaps this was intentional?

The exception to all of this was a sequence early on in the book, after Luise’s grandmother, Selma, dreams of seeing an okapi, an event which, for this community, presages death. If only the emotional impact of the earlier section could have been maintained throughout the book.

With thanks to NetGalley and the publisher, Bloomsbury Publishing PLC for an arc of the book in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. I wasn't quite sure what to expect (I found the okapi slightly off-putting!), but I loved the characters, and the story is very sweet and uplifting.

MARIANA LEVY – WHAT YOU CAN SEE FROM HERE

I read this novel in advance of publication through NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I’m not sure what to say about this book, except that I enjoyed it immensely. It’s compelling and quirky and its point of view defies gravity – the main character describes intimate events from which she is absent as though she is there, spanning decades in fewer pages.

Part One begins: When Selma told us she had dreamed of an okapi the night before, we all knew that one of us was going to die in the next twenty-four hours.

That sets the tone. It’s fantasy, it’s fairy tale, it’s real life.

In addition to the female narrator Luísa, and Selma, there’s a virtually unnamed optician; Frederik, a Buddhist monk who the narrator falls in love with, who moves to Japan and who hates phones; Palm, always with his bible; Alaska the dog; her father who travels round the world and who is rarely at home; weak floorboards in the kitchen that have red lines painted around them to warn everyone not to step on them; and Marlies, a young woman at the edge of the village who locks herself behind closed doors and refuses to see anyone. Plus more. Many more.

It’s weird, the prose is twisted and wonderful; random example: the optician declared it was time to repair the weak spot in Selma’s floor properly because it was an impossible state of affairs even though it had been possible for decades, and then he forgot about it again.

It’s witty and profound and daring. I loved it.

This little book isn't just quirky, it's quirky+. I learned to love all the characters and was bereft when sad times befell them. None of them were believable, none of them. The story meanders over many years. Logically I can't give you a good reason to like this and yet I did.

I really enjoyed this book. What initially seemed whimsical, instead turned out to be quite deeply moving.

It charts a relatively small number of episodes in a small town and is largely connected with both the deaths that Selma predicts through her dreams of okapi and the love between the characters.

I particularly loved the dialogues and the rhythms of the repeated elements. Nothing is just said but instead is mirrored repeatedly through the book and defines the characters as things they can or can’t do.

I was looking forward to reading this as I usually enjoy "quirky" tales but sadly I couldn't get into this book at all. It seemed to consist of very long sentences and thoughts to explain simple ideas. In some books this can work well if the language is enjoyable and meaningful but I found some of the English phrasing quite jarring.
Thank you to netgalley and Bloomsbury publishing for an advance copy of this book