Sometimes a book grabs you by the heartstrings and refuses to let go. That is the case of What You Can See From Here. Mariana Leky has written a simple book about complex matters—growing up, death, young love, unrequited love, old love, aging and community.
It starts in a small village in Western Germany that is populated with a quirky assortment of characters, each adding a dimension to the story that unfolds. Some never change, some never leave, others never stay. Many cannot accept facts but live with buried secrets and unrealized desires. Central to the story is Luisa, a ten-year-old who comes of age and struggles to find herself in the unconventional world where she lives.
This earns a 5-star for characterization, plot, and writing.
My thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

What You Can See From Here by Mariana Leky

This was a delightful story to read and a difficult story to classify. It’s quirky, original, well written and full of gems and nuggets you will miss if you skim. Really READ the book!!! Humor and wisdom abound.

Selma, the mother, grandmother, friend and more, is the matriarch everyone reveres. When she dreams of the okapi, an usual, almost clown-like animal, someone in the town will die within that day. This particular group of family and friends from a small German town will make you sad the story is over.

I urge you to reread the Prologue when you finish the book. It means so much more after the story. I must also note that the translation from German to English by Tess Lewis is superb! Five stars from this reviewer.

Mariana Leky has written an unusual book with charming and extremely quirky characters. The setting is a small town in Western Germany. The story focus is on Selma and her granddaughter Luisa. Selma is the wise woman in the village who looks after everyone, knows when she is needed and offers the truth in challenging situations. Luisa is a child at the beginning of the story and a woman by the end.

The first part of the book concerns the townspeople’s reaction to Selma’s dream which forecasts death. Each person thinks through what they need to do or say before death befalls them. Through this the reader comes to know each character. The remainder of the book focuses on Luisa’s journey to figure out her life with the support of Selma, the Optician and a Buddist monk to name a few.

In spite of each character having their own challenges, the villagers support one another in a way not found in most communities. This is an endearing story with some magical realism added in.

Thanks to Netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an advance copy.

Overall, I felt kinda meh about this book. Not necessarily bad, but not particularly memorable either. Giving it 2.5/5 Stars.

"I decided I would marry Martin one day because I believed that someone who would spare you from having to watch the world take its course had to be the right person."

It took me forever to read this book. I started it and then there were so many characters that I just couldn't get into it. They were each interesting but none of them were interesting enough to keep my attention for some reason. Maybe because I was distracted and my attention kept wavering.

"“No, Selma, I mean as a couple,” my mother had insisted. “I mean have you thought of being a couple with the optician?” Selma had looked at my mother as if she were a cocker spaniel and said, “But I already had my couple.”"

But I wasn't willing to give up on it. I put it down and then picked it back up many, many times. I grew frustrated with myself. I grew frustrated with the book. Why couldn't i just read it and enjoy it?

"He loved Alaska. My father saw him only rarely, which made love much simpler, because those who are absent can’t misbehave."

Each of the characters had their own story and then slowly they started intertwining. And slowly I found myself falling in love with each of the quirky characters. Enough that I didn't want to let them go.

"“Hello, Luisa,” Frederik said, and because it was so obvious, he understood right away that I didn’t have an opening sentence. In the blink of an eye, he took over and simply pretended he had called me."

And the story enveloped me into a lovely cocoon. I was transported into their town, into their lives. I cared about their stories, their pain, their joys. The author had slowly managed to make me fall in love with each of them.

"You can live for years with a gnawing question, you can let it hollow you out, and then have it disappear in a flash, in a single moment of waking with a start. My mother left my father; the fact that he had left her already some time before didn’t change a thing. My mother was in a different time zone and so, from her point of view, she had left him first."

The characters in this story are real. They are quirky and they are real. They have real pain, dreams, joys, and they care about each other deeply. The writing is exquisite. This story has incredible heart. It's the closest I've seen a writer get to Fredrick Backman.

"So I’m going to tell you now: When the time comes, when the question arises and you can’t find an answer right away, then remember that you made your grandmother and me very happy, you brought us enough happiness for an entire life from beginning to end. The older I get, the more I believe that the two of us were only invented for you. And if there ever was a good reason to be invented, then it’s you."

In the end, I loved this book so much. I do wish there was a way for the beginning to be a little less slow but alas it takes time to fall in love with people, even in books.

with gratitude to netgalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good story but did not flow well due to the translation. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy.

I love this author’s writing style. It’s a little more difficult to read because she doesn't spoon-feed you. You’re not given a solid background of each character, you’re simply dropped into their homes and lives to either run along beside or get left behind. One character is only referred to by his occupation, and he holds a very major role in the book.
Selma dreams of an okapi (go ahead, look it up, I had to). The town interprets this as an omen because in the past someone has died when Salma has had this dream. (One of the really sweet parts of the book is how that dream evolves at the end as Selma is slowly dying.)
We see the town through the eyes of Selma’s granddaughter, Luise, who seems to be a precocious yet extremely shy young lady. Her observations of the town, its characters, her family and her interpretation of life makes this a charming, yet challenging read.
I’m glad I stuck with it; the further I got into the story the further vested I became in seeing it to the end. It was well worth it; not an “everybody’s happy and all is great” ending, but a somber and realistic example of life simply lived.
Sincere thanks to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus, and Giroux for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is June 22, 2021.

I had a hard time getting into this book and had to DNF. I just wasn't interested enough to finish it to be honest.

Thank you for the opportunity to review.

A lovely novel. Set in a small village rife with interesting characters,, the author deftly weaves several family and love stories together.

This is a book that I ended up being charmed by but when looking back I cannot adequately explain why that is. The beginning honestly bored me and then suddenly I sunk into the story and began to be concerned about the optometrist (whom I unabashedly adore), Luisa, and Selma. It wasn't the plot so much, we have all read books with.similar elements. It wasn't the characters who mostly seemed like central casting's response to a request for quirky. There was just something at the heart of it all that spoke to me and made me care. It makes it a difficult book to recommend to others, although I certainly will, I may end up saying, "Just give it a try and see."

I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What You Can See From Here is a German novel written by Mariana Leky and translated to English by Tess Lewis. It was published in Germany in 2017. It is a delightful story filled with quirky characters. At times funny, at times heartbreaking, it is a story of family, life, death, and love in a small German village. The style is very different from most novels I read. I wouldn’t want a steady diet of this kind of writing, but it made for a refreshing change.

WHAT YOU CAN SEE FROM HERE BY Mariana Leky and translated to English by Tess Lewis is a charming and heartwarming story of family, friendship, love and loss that held me captive from beginning to end. Set in a small village in Western Germany in 1983, it is a heartfelt portrayal of a young girl’s coming-of-age as she faces life-defining moments with the kindness and caring of her grandmother, Selma and the quirky inhabitants of the village. At the start of the story, Selma has dreamt of an okapi and whenever this unusual and mysterious animal has appeared in her dreams in the past, someone dies within the next twenty-four hours, but who will it be? Her ten-year-old granddaughter, Luise watches as every member of the village vows to share their deepest secrets and fears so they will have no regrets in case it is them. When an unexpected tragic event does in fact occur, it brings this close-knit community together to support one another unconditionally. The story follows the characters as two decades pass and their lives and relationships change. All of the characters feel so authentic and relatable. I had moments of both laughter and tears while reading. I enjoyed this touching and thought-provoking book and highly recommend it. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read an early copy.

A cute feel good story that could make you chuckle out loud! It's a book about death, life and love and it draws you in. complex characters who can be identified with. Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

This story was much different than I expected. It’s a translation from German and I’m not sure if that played into it, but it’s got a very disjointed feel to it. A GR friend had reviewed this before me and advised people to stick with it. So, I did. In fact, this is the sort of book that you just have to roll with. Given that Buddhism is a theme within the book, it’s appropriate to just be present with the book.
Selma wakes up from a dream about an okapi. Now, I don’t know about you, but I had to google what that even was. Think of a very strange zebra/giraffe kind of critter. Every time she dreams of one, someone in the village dies. So as word spreads, folks start getting their lives in order. We learn about multiple characters. Someone does die and the book flashes forward 14 years. We see the same characters. This is definitely a character rich, minimal plot sort of story. There’s a really weird sense of humor to the book.
The story is told from the perspective of Luisa, Selma’s granddaughter. First as a 10 year old and then as a 24 year old, falling in love with a German Buddhist monk, visiting from Japan. Yes, it’s that kind of quirky. As the book went on, I started to appreciate and enjoy the characters - their love for each other, their sense of community.
My thanks to netgalley and Farrah, Strauss and Giroux for an advance copy of this book.

This is a charming, heartwarming, and bittersweet novel. The author’s writing style was unique and original, told in a way that took you right into the hearts of its characters. All of the characters were complex and interesting, as they grapple with love and grief and everything in-between.

If you are looking for something to read that is just a little different then pick up this book. This story was originally told in German and I feel translated very well. Follow the journey of Luisa and her slightly eccentric family. Each and every character in this book is almost their own story and thoroughly enjoyed getting to know all.

This book was translated from German. Some things may not have come across as they should.

The book blurb states “A small village helps a young woman reckon with loss and love”.

In a small village in Germany, a woman wakes up to an omen. Selma has dreamed of the okapi. Someone is going to die.

While the villagers say they are not superstitious, they are acting very oddly. Seemingly getting their affairs in order. Telling folks things they have been holding on to for years.

I guess I had a problem with the translation because there were a lot of places things seemed not right.

NetGalley/ June 22nd, 2021 by Farrar, Straus, and Giroux

What a delight to read !
Selma dreamt of an okapi, and the small village of Westerwald knows what is to come: someone is going to die.
As death is about to visit, the population is charged with dread and anticipation, but this time, is going to be different,especially for Louise, Selma´s 10 y old granddaughter.
As time goes by, nothing is the same, but nothing really changes. You learn that this is not about death, but about how to keep living despite everything. This book focuses on this topic of love-death in a very delicate but truthful manner, and this is its strongest point.
The elderly population of Westerwald is the perfect setup for us to learn and appreciate the main theme. The characters are well developed and very believable - some very somber and hard-edged, and others very light and quirky. Louise is the thread that connects us to the other storylines, a young woman marked by fear and grief, that cannot set herself free. It takes a bunch of elders to teach her how to be young again.

In Brazil, the book was well received and loved, and i hope we can see more of Mariana Leky soon.

I don’t know how to describe this book. It is beautiful and quirky at the same time. We begin with Selma, our main character’s grandmother, dreaming of an okapi, which means someone will die in the next 24 hours. I was immediately drawn into this anxiously awaiting who it would be. However, this was just a small part of the narrative. We soon jump ten years. This book is all about the characters. We are following Louisa’s life starting at age ten. There isn’t much plot here. It’s a character driven novel about love, loss, and life. I found it beautiful and sad.

4.5 stars

This is such cute feel-good story. I chuckled out loud several times even though this isn’t a comedy. Luisa is the primary narrator of the novel, which begins when she is 10 years old and her grandmother dreams of an okapi, a strange animal that when Selma dreams about it means a death is coming to the village in real life. After word of Selma’s secret dream gets out, the villagers “remembered that a heart attack is accompanied by a tingling in the arm, but couldn’t remember which arm, so the villagers felt tingling in both arms.” They felt it was time to air hidden truths so they wrote “unusually wordy letters with talk of always and never.”

The death is not one that Luisa ever fully recovers from, but life, of course, goes on. The characters that make up the book are likeable in their quirkiness.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book, which RELEASES JUNE 22, 2021.