This is a truly wonderful read.

The writing is full of gentle observations and smart characterisations and will often make you laugh out loud. It is memorably descriptive without getting weighed down with too much detail. The translator must be congratulated as I didn't find one occasion where the English felt odd or unusual. It is a delight to read from start to finish.

Luisa lives in picturesque, rural Germany. Her family are close, though very independent of one another, and the other characters in the community play just as much of a central role in the story.

Humour is strong throughout the narrative, just as human beings are funny without even knowing it. Tragedy makes it's mark too, running alongside the clever conceit introduced at the outset: when Selma, Luisa's grandmother, dreams of an Okapi, someone in the village will die that day. This leads to irrational behaviour in most of the inhabitants for those 24 hours.

The dialogue is entertaining and smart. Responses fly thick and fast when people know each other so well and for so long. And the descriptions are, well, here's just a few that begged to be highlighted:

'Elspeth was small and round. So round that when she drove, she put a piece of carpet on her stomach so the steering wheel wouldn't chafe her.'

'The dog lay down on my feet. I could feel it's heartbeat on my toes. The dog was tired. It had been exhausting to encounter so many old, long-lost friends he'd never met before.'

'He (the dog) smelled like an unaired truth.'

'No one had stood there for a very long time. So long that the spot on the floor didn't have any idea what was happening to it.'

Thank you Mariana Levy, for such an enchanting and uplifting reading experience. It is a story you would want to revisit many times.

I can not review this book as it did not down load correctly. I got the first few chapters then after that it was all over the place chapters missing in the wrong order and words replaced with signs.
I enjoyed the bit I was able to read so I shall give it a star rating of 3.

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.

I found this to be a quaint, touching story that doesn't move at a fast pace.
It was nice to pick up and put down, but didn't have the umph to really grip my attention.

I found what you can see from here really hard to get into and I didn't finish reading due to me losing the plot what the story is about.
Thank you netgalley for letting me read this book.

Unfortunately me the story was such a gentle meander, it just never really got going. I quite often lost track and found it difficult to get through. There are ti Ed when sometimes happens to jolt you back but in all I found it unrememberable.

I felt that translating this book has lost its charm. It was beautiful in the ways it tackled loss, grief and, the journey of self-discovery our protagonist is on. It was an easy, quick read.

I really enjoyed this book! I Incredibly quirky but really charming. The village where it is set is really close knit and all the characters quirks came across really well. Very engaging.

A quirky tonic of a read.

A lovely telling of how loss shapes us, the author tracks her community in a way that isn’t cheesy but delightful.

I’m not usually a fan of whimsy in books. The rational, logical, practical way my brain works means that it usually doesn’t hold great appeal for me. However, this offbeat German novel, translated beautifully into English, whimsically wormed its way into my heart where it will stay.

Luisa lives in a small village in West Germany. It’s the early 80s, and Luisa’s grandmother Selma, with whom she has a close relationship, has dreamt of an okapi. This doesn’t bode well for the village - when Selma dreams of an okapi, someone in the village usually dies shortly afterwards.

Set over a period of years, we meet an eclectic bunch of characters, almost all of whom are flawed in one way or another - be they addicted to alcohol or Mon Cheri chocolates, incapable of professing their love or remaining faithful - and all of whom are finding out the meaning of life, and the different ways in which love manifests itself in a world where death is inevitable for us all.

I really enjoyed the book. It’s beautifully written, with a sprinkling of magical realism and a lot of quirkiness, balanced out with humour, grace and emotional depth.

*I read a digital copy of the book thanks to the @netgalley and the publishers @bloomsbury. The translated novel was published here in July. As always, this is an honest review.*

Translated from German, I let myself get swept up in this story of Luise and all the things that happen in her life and the people she meets. What You Can See From Here is a little tricky to describe per se, both sweeping and nuanced, I'm going to say if you're looking for a read that fills you with good-vibes and hope, give this a read!

Luisa is worried that Frederik will think they’re all strange - well, I certainly found them all very strange! An odd book, charming in parts, irritating in others.
A very quirky read. Not at all my usual choice, I prefer a bit more realism!

Odd & gently beautiful - Mariana Leky has a really distinctive almost dreamy writing style, and meandering gentle storylines where you suddenly realise that loads has happened and you're utterly invested in everything!

This unique book holds so much charm. It is a story about life, relationships and death.
Set in a small village in West Germany, the story is narrated by ten year old Luisa after her grandmother Selma dreams of an okapi. Every time Selma has had such a dream, someone in the village has died. The news about the latest omen spreads like wildfire and everyone wonders who the next person to bite the dust will be.
The story then follows Luisa through her adult years; compromised into a profession and settling into a life where everyone knows each other's business. It was interesting to see how first names weren't used for several of the characters; the optician, the shopkeeper, the ice cream maker, the mayor's wife.
Mariana Leky has a similar writing style to that of Fredrik Backman. It was witty and every character was quirky and eccentric.

The book is very sweet, kind, reflective, amusing. It deals with death and with love, but after about two thirds of the way through I began to find it just a little cloying missing a bit of edge to leaven its charm

Translated from the German by Tess Lewis. I received this as a digital Arc from the publisher’s via NetGalley
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Loved this one! It's quirky and charming. The narrative voice takes a little while to get into but once you do it stays with you, ringing in your ears even after you've finished the book. The characters' world is all a little bit mad but, perhaps because of that, the story is utterly engaging.

I read this ARC for an honest review
All thoughts and opinions are mine

A new author to me
I found this quirky and charming

Very different from my usual far, I really enjoyed it!

Would recommend if you are looking for something a little differen

Quirky and charming, I really enjoyed reading it! Perfect little gem of a book and my honest recommendation.

I liked but didn't love this. It had all the ingredients of a philosophical, optimistic book about life, but something about the uninvolving style left me a little cold and unconnected to the characters. That being said, I think some people will adore it!

What a wonderfully charming and beautiful book!

What you can see from here follows the life of Luise and the wonderfully quirky friends and family surrounding her in their small village. Every time Selma (Luise’s grandmother) dreams of an okapi, someone dies. The book starts shortly after one of these dreams.

I absolutely fell in love with this wonderfully unusual tale. I loved the unusual characters that I was able to meet; by the end of the novel they felt like my own family and friends, and I am definitely going to miss them. I had a particular soft spot for the optician.

This book is repetitive at times, but it’s meant to be and it works well. It didn’t become boring like it can in some books, it was used to create a familiarity with the storyline and the characters which I’ve not experienced before. The only downside for me was I didn’t quite feel the sadness I hoped to at times, although that may be because of events in my personal life. I will definitely miss these wonderful characters, and the stories that came from their little village.

I would recommend this book to anyone who loves an easy and charming read. It almost feels like a book I’ve loved my whole life. I want to thank Netgalley, the publishers and Mariana Leky for allowing me to read this book and give my personal thoughts.