An interesting look at a a busy mom's approach to dealing with her recent discovery of a lump on her breast. Katharina, the cornerstone of her dysfunctional family is raising her two children while her husband who works out of town. He usually comes home on weekends, but not this weekend. The book opens with Katharina on her way to pick-up her daughter, who is probably autistic, because she had a bloody nose. After picking-up her daughter she shops, deals with an exploding dryer, chased excaped pet rats, meets her son's new girlfriend, cooks, helps a neighbor with a medical emergency, and prepares to meet with her friend who she hasn't seen in years. Katharina cannot seem to get around to taking care of herself. Look at Me  by Mareike  Krugel kept my attention, however, I did not find the characters in this book especially likable. I think that I was uncomfortable with the translation.

Look at me is a translated novel of an awarding winning author, It spans over the course of one day yet takes you on a rollercoaster of emotions ranging from dread to hysteria at the oddest moments, not only that, but it also manages to paints emotions and suffering in simplest words, making it so human. Reminding us of the universe of shared experiences, of everything we go through, this author can make simplest things so unbearable to think about and makes you smile at the stranges place you wouldn't have before.

I am truly at loss how to review this particular book. You can never accuse this book of being boring, reminding you again that the whole occurs at a single day in the life of our main character Katharina, the book reveals all the other characters and struggles slowly and soon they are so familiar to us, as if we have always been a part of their lives, we come to know them, love or hate them, all in a single day and this was done marvelously well.

I really wanted to like this book. I adore women's fiction, so I was excited to see a lot of the elements that I was looking for in a book - dysfunctional families, stressed out mother and some humor. However, I found the writing to be rather messy, confusing and awkward. Perhaps because of the translation? I really can't say. I didn't find Katharina to be very likable or relatable, so I lost interest pretty quickly.

I struggled with this book as I found it hard to engage with the main character; however this could be due to our very different circumstances. 

It could be the translation/German origin of the author but I just found a lot of the humor to be more confusing than funny. 

However, I do feel as though this book has potential with the upcoming publication of the finished copy and will be purchasing in order to give the book another go and hopefully improve my star rating

I went through a roller coaster of emotions reading this book. There are moments of such wonderful dark humour that I was chuckling to myself. Katharina's descriptions of her daughter's ADHD were heartbreakingly accurate. Her relationship with Costas, her husband was puzzling while the effects of her mother's death were clearly felt. I wasn't that keen on the ridiculous scene as an ending. Katharina and her 'thing' on her breast deserved more than that. I liked the pace of the book. It was a good read.

All mothers are concerned about their children but some are a little too concerned. What happens when this over concern enters the realms of paranoia? Will it destroy the mother child relationship or will it create a whole new stance for motherhood?

Katharine is doing her doctorate in musicology and is a mother of two. More like a single mother of two as she receives very little support from her husband Costas who is away most of the time for work. They have had rough times in their relationship and are seeking separation. More like they're separated, atleast in their hearts. But that's not the only problem. Katharine is highly indecisive about anything and everything in her life. She is diffident and constantly confused about what could be done next or what the best next move may be. But that's not the only problem either. She has to raise two kids Helli and Alex all by herself most of the time.

She wishes to be able to give more time to her children as she never received any during the phases of her life she most wanted parental guidance. She feels like a bad parent. When Alex announces about bringing his girlfriend home then all Katharine can do is hope that she knows how to act around them. Over thinking is a trait that she's unable to let go. It is this that makes her situation all the more difficult. Looking at her teenage daughter Helli, she wishes to be able to share a positive mother-daughter bond that will allow Helli to confide all her worries to her mother instead of her friends. Generation gap and her own fears prevent her from engaging more closely with Helli who is all too confident and carefree. But that is not the problem too. Katharine misses her mother whom she lost to breast cancer and her sister Sissi is a well established musician and professional who does not understand Katharine's dilemmas. But what will happen if history decides to repeat itself in the form of a lump in Katharine's breast?

The novel is moderately paced by its the emotional appeal that will touch readers. As the story rolls out, readers are bound to feel as crippled, helpless and devastated at each point as Katharine. She is suffering not just from indecision but also severe depression. Most importantly, her physical health condition remains hidden from the rest of her family and friends. She buries herself under this paranoia and it is utterly hurtful for readers to see her get worse by the chapter.

To make matters harder, she enters into a consensual fling with an old acquaintance. This makes her more guilty and worrisome about her future and her daughter's in any case that she doesn't survive. Strangely, she never visits the doctor or seeks medical help for her physical condition and mental distresses. The whole novel is written in the present tense in an interesting manner of dropping climax after climax without much warning. Perhaps, it is only the title that screams for help as Katharine looks clearly disoriented and in dire need for some professional and personal support to sort out her life and work. But her concern for her daughter remains utmost. 

Refreshing and depressing at the same time.

Every once in a while I come across a book like this one which actually has respect for my poor heart. A book which I can just lie back in bed coffee cup on the other hand and just relax. Unlike the books I read which are so fast paced my heart races in tune with my vivid imagination this book had me relaxed.

 I could actually focus on every word I was reading. The whole book is centered around Katharina our main character. She is a wife to Costas, who is only home during the weekends and a mother to Alex and Helli. She also teaches a music class for little kids. 

If you are a mother you will identify a lot with Katharina. If you are not, let's  just say that you will appreciate your own so much more after reading this. Katharina is a superwoman of some kind. All in a day she manages to: deal with her daughter who might actually have ADHD, help a neighbor look for his missing thumb, meet her son's new girlfriend and for a moment there almost have an affair. 

All this happens in between her numerous chores and did I mention that something feels like a lump on her breast. So yeah she is also dealing with the fact that she is possibly dying slowly.

Look at Me is a realistic depiction of the lives of many men and women. People who at some point feel like people have stopped seeing them and they just want you to LOOK AT THEM! for one damn moment.
It depicts that period in life when couples drift apart, your children don't seem to need you anymore and life passes you by and you start to wonder, is this really it? 

Through every turn of the page you can feel the frustration, despair and loneliness that Katharina is experiencing. You can't help but empathise.

That ending was not what I was expecting at all. I really wanted an answer but it was all philosophical and deep and you can't fault an ending like that. 

****I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

‘Look at Me’ is written as a snapshot in the protagonist’s life. The plot takes place over a day in Katharina’s life. More precisely, the plot IS a day in Katharina’s life. There is nothing too unusual about Kat. She is a married mother of 2, one of which has ADHD and challenges that come with this type of diagnosis. She is also a want-to-be musician who due to family commitments puts her professional life on hold on what seems to be an indefinite basis. She is a neighbour, she is a friend, she is a sister. and she is a woman. A woman who has made a scary discovery of a something in her breast recently and is trying to deal with the fear of what this potentially means for her while going about her day. 

Past events come alive through her reminiscing and, stroke by stroke, we build a good picture of Kat and what her life encompasses. It’s all done with a delicate brush (with a few more ‘brutal’ exceptions - like the severed finger, the nearly exploding tumble dryer and the end scenes) and in an understated manner. A pleasure to read.

Thank you to the publisher and to Netgalley for an ecopy of this book in exchange for a fair and impartial review.

Very light and easy read. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t my favorite, but still enjoyable. I was not able to relate to the story.

While I didn't find a "message, meaning or anything " in the book.  It was just a way to go through Katharina's life and see everything that happens. 
It almost reminds me of my life at times!

Thank you Netgalley for the ARC

I wanted to like this more than I did. I felt like parts of it were engaging and well written and other parts just fell flat. Perhaps this is due to the fact that it is translated so may have lost some of it's charm due to that. This is one of those books where not a lot happens but a lot is happening to or around the main character.  This was clearly not a good fit for me but others may find it more enjoyable.

Thanks to netgalley for giving me the chance to read this book.
I really didn’t like this book and found it hard going. I could not take to the lead character at all. I found that she complained about her life, which was in fact pretty good. It also waffled about characters from the past who were nothing to do with the current narrative. The end of the book seemed rushed in comparison to the rest. Maybe something was lost in translation.

Dark humor. I loved it. Really German all the way! 

Nothing really happens but at the same time everything is going on with Katharina.

We go through her life with humor and sometimes sad moments but at the end it is just life.

‘"A quirky ride that masterfully blends a sardonic sense of humour with a deeply embedded fear of mortality."
Readings


I definitely see myself reading something by Mareike Krügel again. Translated of course but still.

A good book with humour and a glimpse at real life as children are growing up.

It was very easy, and enjoyable, for me to relate to the misadventures of motherhood described with great humour in this book. Parts of this novel were engaging and entertaining but overall I just felt cross with the narrator for whinging about her life. Her life was actually pretty good and so after a while her gripey dissatisfaction ceased to be amausing and became tiresomely annoying. I was excited to read this and I'm sorry to say this just wasn't for me.

Really fun read with a great story! I think my readers will love it!

'She got concussions and cuts and extensive grazing, was bitten by dogs and swans, and managed, with the assurance of a sleepwalker, to find the rotten branch in every tree she climbed.'

Katharina has discovered a lump in her breast, but she doesn’t have time nor the desire to ponder what it means, particularly the haunting possibility of her death. What would her husband Costas, son Alex and daughter Helli do without her? The novel begins with Katharina heading to school to rescue her daughter from her gushing nosebleed. It’s the ‘here we go again’ prospect of dealing with the staff, exhausted by Helli’s overwhelming presence. Looking like a horror movie scene, she takes Helli home, naturally Costas is away for work and again she must cancel her music class.Surely the parents of her students are fed up with her. Everything between her and Costas is a mess, constantly fighting, weekend partners. Killian is coming for a visit, her best friend from her student years. Her body is hungry for love, touch. Maybe she can seduce him, her husband has chosen a party over coming home for the weekend, a party he claims he definitely won’t have fun at. What choice does he have? Her job playing ‘music time’ with kindergarten children won’t feed them all, right?

Their daughter Helli needs so much of everything. She creates chaos even when she isn’t trying to. At times, she doesn’t seem to need her mother at all, at others she is too much even for herself and needs rescue. A curious child who has meltdowns, who barrels on regardless of who or what is in her way, there is so much she admires and finds exasperating about her girl. A clever girl, but disordered. Katharina knows she and Costas need to talk about Helli, do something, but there just hasn’t been time.

Which is worse, facing everything wrong in her life, or chemo? With her family history, she knows her chances don’t look good. This lump must be the end. She can’t stop poking the fear, she can’t figure out what to do about her daughter. What about Alex? One moment she is questioning his sexuality and disinterest in girls, the next he has a girlfriend. Her children are hurtling into adulthood, so much happens in one day.

What if she dies, how can she when Helli needs her. “Mum, if I didn’t have you, I don’t think I’d know what to do.” Katharina isn’t sure what to do either to help her daughter.

Can you seduce your old friend while chasing after rats your husband thought would be good pets for your family? Can you ignore your worries over your health, your failing marriage, and all the fears for your children long enough to sink into a kiss?

Look At Me has Katharina looking at herself and figuring that although her life is a mess, it’s a mess she loves. There is humor, I particularly loved Helli, and there are quiet sad moments too. Nothing riveting happens, and yet things are changing.  Just a moment in the life of a harried mother.

Available Now

Text Publishing

Translated from German

I wanted to theme all of my reading to books set in Germany whilst in Munich and Salzburg, and selected Mareike Krugel's <i>Look at Me</i> as the first of my choices.  It sounded really intriguing, particularly as I so enjoy sagas about dysfunctional families.  I found that there were some really interesting elements to the novel, but it did not come together as well as it could have; everything seemed quite rushed toward the end.  I did like the diurnal structure here, and would be interested in reading more of Krugel's work in future, but I do not feel as though this worked quite as well as it could have done.

WOW! What a great find for a great read. I'd like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read a galley copy of Look at Me. From what I understand, this is Marieke Krugel's first book that has been translated from German to English. I hope more of her books are published in English. Look at Me is the story of Katharina, who lives outside of Berlin and has found "a something" in her left breast. While dealing with the stress of "a something," she is also juggling a marriage, a teenaged son and a pre-teen daughter with emotional issues. The story has elements of both drama and humor, real-life issues with marriage and childrearing. Katharina and her family are some of the most readable and believable characters I've read in a fiction book. Adults and older teens alike would enjoy this book. What a find!

This review will be published on 26 February at the link below and on Goodreads.

In brief ★★★½

One of my reading goals this year was to pick up more works in translation, so when I won a copy of Look at Me, translated from German by Imogen Taylor, from Text Publishing, I moved it to the top of the pile. The story follows the life of mother Katharina across the course of a very challenging day, questioning her sense of self, the role of women and the ridiculousness of life. There's a great balance between serious issues and humour, but the writing did feel stilted and a bit awkward. There are some fabulous characters though, and I read it easily in one evening.

In depth

Plot: Wife and mother Katharina gave up her career as a musicologist to raise her children Alex (17) and Helli (11), who seem to have subsumed her identity to their needs. When she finds a 'something' on her breast, she starts to reflect and question her life, while carrying out the obligations of the day. Meanwhile her husband Costas is drifting away, working from Berlin and giving rise to new possibilities when her old flatmate Kilian visits for the night. Part contemplative reflection, part farcical comedy, the story ultimately exposes the absurdities of life, honestly treating the challenges of motherhood and womanhood.

Characters: Krügel's two main female characters grow over the course of the novel - Kat slowly stops putting up the mental block about 'the something' and finds a way to express her fears, while Helli, struggling with ADHD, leaves her girlhood behind and comes to an important personal realisation. This growth gives the women of this story depth, while of the men, only Kilian, it seems, evolves as he contemplates the ways his own life is about to change dramatically. Each of the characters feels true in this story, even if some remain more sketch-like (Alex, Theo, Heinz, Sissi). Not all are likeable - it can be hard to sympathise with Helli, and at times Kat's own reflections are repetitive and frustrating - but there is a realism to these irritations that draws you into Kat's emotional world.

Themes: Motherhood and mortality are the primary themes of Look at Me, and each is interrogated on almost every page. Kat's children are constantly present, either in person or in her thoughts, and she finds herself thinking back to her own mother's life (and death) a lot too. Mortality appears in the form of 'the something', but also in a number of family tragedies, and even by the reminder of human fragility illustrated by her neighbour Theo's severed thumb. There are some great passages of feminist thought, and the possibility of infidelity hovers on the edges of the tale.

Writing: This is a tricky thing to comment on in a translated work, and I won't ever know how much of the style is directly picked up by the translator, or dervies from the process of translation itself. For me, while the writing was easy to read, it felt stilted and awkward a lot of the time. The sentences are generally short, direct and simple, which I felt created distance between Kat and I - I felt for her, but didn't invest as much as I wanted to given the first person narration. Having said that, the dialogue was well-written, with distinct voices, and the more distant approach worked well for the comic scenes. The imagery and metaphors weren't overdone (Theo's thumb, the dryer, etc.), but added nuance to the overarching messages.

Recommended if you liked: The Mummy Bloggers