Interesting concept: Selma dreams of an okapi and a villager dies. What ramifications will this “talent” have for the inhabitants of a secluded region of Germany’s Westerwald region? Told from the viewpoint of Luise, the granddaughter of Selma, and accompanied by a gaggle of idiosynchratic characters, the reader is guided through the interrelationships, the gossip abd taboos of a remote landscape. What started out as a quirky plot idea soon grated due to a fairly clunky translation: e.g. what’s a “county seat” when it’s at home? References to German folklore (e.g. Iron Henry) deserve at least an explanatory footnote, otherwise they are meaningless.
There are many instances where the translation completely alters the meaning/plot: Take for instance when the unnamed “optician” sabotages a “hunting blind” - an American word for a ground-level camouflaged hide-out. A German-style “Hochstand” looks nothing like an American hunting blind and is elevated several metres off the ground, so that sawing through its supports would have wholly different consequences for the hunter, very possibly endangering his life.
At 50% I had to concede defeat. I just did not care about any of the characters, their odd behaviour or where (if anywhere) the plot was heading.
Soz.

Many thanks for Netgallery and Bloomsbury for sending me an ARC for this book. As much as I enjoyed the absurdity of the premise - seeing an okapi in your dreams meaning someone will die - unfortunately I couldn’t really get into the story, felt like halfway I forgot who is who in the village and their stories and actions didn’t pull me in.
There were however some very heartbreaking little stories and amazing dream-like surreal sequences which explained how the narrator falls asleep - she imagines everybody in the village doing their thing to a rhythm. I especially liked those bits and found them clever and enjoyable, I wish the whole story was written in the same fashion.

'What You Can See From Here' is a wonderful and charming novel by Mariana Leky, translated by Tess Lewis. The story revolves around Luisa and focuses on three stages of her life — childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. The story commences on the morning after her grandmother's dream - Selma has had a dreamed about an okapi. And, everytime that this happens, someone dies. The sense of fear pervades the village and we see their hopes and loves and they attempt to stave off their fears of death.
In the second stage, Luise is portrayed from 22 through 32, with a romantic attraction propels the narrative along and then for the final stage, Luise meets three Buddist monks in the village, one of whom will join her on her search for their missing dog.
The joy of this story is in reading about the relationships and bonds between the characters in this village, about their hopes and loves - a love that appears throughout the novel in many forms.
This is a heart warming and charming novel.

This book begins on a beautiful Spring day in a small village in Western Germany, that wakes up to an omen. Selma has dreamt of an opaki, when this happens, death is imminent.

The main narrator of this book is Luisa, Selma’s granddaughter. When Selma dreams of the opaki, Luisa is ten and she watches as her friends and neighbours in her small village react when they learn of the omen and suddenly begin to question decisions and remember secrets as they wonder is death coming for them. We meet all the characters of the village , they are well- drawn, quirky and realistic. When the death occurs, it’s shocking and sobering and will have long lasting effects on Luisa and every one in the village.

And so life continues on for years ahead and we follow the lives of the people who live there in this small village. Their relationships. Their losses. Affairs and friendships.

It’s impossible to describe this book, it touches on so many themes and questions about life but ultimately it’s a story of love, all the different types of love. This book grew slowly and gently on me, it meanders along for the first half or so and then it completely enamoured me , I found myself towards the end of this book, caring as much about these people as if I’d spent the last twenty years growing up among them. The slower paced start was so worth it.

It reads almost like a fable at times, there’s a touch of magic and a sliver of philosophy and psychology . A beautiful story of community, superstition, loss, place and love, all the love.

I’m so glad I read this one, it was a lovely joyous distraction from real life for a few hours,It made me smile and think and cry. A beautiful wise memorable read.

4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

This is a delightful, whimsical story of Luisa who lives in a village in Germany on the edge of a forest. When it is set is unclear but seems somewhat timeless. Thinhabitanys of the village, including Louisa's family are superstitious and quirky. Luisa experiences tragedy when she is youg, transient love with a monk as she matures and the love of her grandmother throughout her life. This is a difficult book to describe but definitely worth a read.

Thank you Net galley for the opportunity to read this book. It's not the sort of subject that I would usually read/ But after seeing the feedback decided to give it a go. Have to admit that I thoroughly enjoyed it & highly recommend it

Set in a small village in the Westerwald in West Germany What You Can See From Here is a coming-of-age tale about a girl named Luise. I thoroughly enjoyed it for its uniqueness.

The plot was good, it was comfortably paced and I rather liked Luise and her grandmother, Selma. Selma can foresee death and she has dreamed of an okapi (a forest giraffe that looks a little like a zebra). To Selma, this is a sign that someone will die. This creates panic in the village resulting in fear and tension as they look to resolve their issues with one another. Luise's mum has an important decision to make as does a longstanding friend of Selma's.

The reader follows Luise, aged 22, through some milestones after the tragic death has occurred and I found it to be funny, charming and moving. Although it wasn't a 'just one more chapter' read for me, I enjoyed its insightfulness, its wide cross-section of people and the way they interacted, whether they had family connections are some other link. This was a compelling and bittersweet tale of life, love, family, relationships, challenges, loss, grief and belonging. Even though What You Can See From Here wasn't really what I had been expecting, it did not disappoint and I'm glad I opted to read it.

Disclosure: Thank you to Bloomsbury Publishing for providing a digital ARC of What You Can See From Here by Mariana Leky via Netgalley for review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

A heartwarming international bestseller set in a small village in Western Germany. Selma has dreamed of an okapi and for the villagers, despite their claims not to be superstitious, this is an omen - someone is about to die. Selma's granddaughter, Luise, looks on as the villagers grapple with their thoughts on who might die, and secrets that have long been kept come to the surface. A beautifully written novel.

In a small village in Western Germany, Selma has dreamed of an Okapi. This means someone is about to die, but who?

What You Can See From Here is a very gentle, slow-paced novel about family, loss and self-discovery. It is translated from German, and I think incredibly well-written. Despite the slow pacing, it is very immersive and I was completely drawn into Luisa’s life and those of her quirky family members. The plot also contains some quite shocking events that are written so calmly that they’re attention-grabbing in an incredibly effective way and not at all jarring to the softness of the plot progression.

It’s a beautiful offbeat story, steeped in superstition that brings it close to magical realism, but never quite tips over the edge. The characters are fantastic, and it was an interesting feature that some of them – even ones who featured very heavily throughout – were known only by their occupations, rather than their names. I loved the attention paid to the okapi, one of the world’s most underrated animals in my opinion (if you’re not familiar, Google it).

Overall, this is a thoughtful, emotional and entertaining read. I loved it.

This book is so difficult to review, I’m not sure how I feel about it!
When you reflect on the story very little actually happens but then at the same time there are huge life changes so big things happen? And if I look back at the plot it seems a bit everyday and bland but equally it’s deep, magical and moving? It’s such a strange little book that’s mundane but also whimsical, it’s very difficult to describe. I think the best compliment I could pay it is that I could see it making an excellent Wes Anderson film, so that might give you a bit more of an idea about whether it’s for you or not! Overall I’m glad to have read it as it was different to the sort of things I usually pick up.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for providing me with a copy in exchange for an honest review.

Really marvellous feelgood novel. Funny and touching. Wonderful characters, no evildoers. Will definitely be recommending it to customers in the future.

Luisa lives with her grandmother, Selma, and parents in Germany. One night, Selma dreams of an okapi which means someone is about to die. People start acting strangely as long-held secrets rise to the surface. Death comes, but not where expected, and Luisa's life changes.

Years pass and Luisa, now grown up, falls in love; however, the love of her life is unexpected. Should she take a risk and allow love in or stay just where she is, safe in her village with its quirky characters and superstitions?

I loved this book with its gentle yet probing narrative, touching on subjects such as love, death, family, and facing your fears. Luisa has never faced her fears and that is why she stays where she is, why she changes her mind about posting the most truthful letter she has ever written, and why it takes her eight years to put up a set of bookshelves.

All the characters were engaging, even Marlies who is nearly always grumpy, superstitious Elsbeth, Palm with his Bible quotations, and the optician who is secretly in love with Selma and can't tell her because of the voices in his head. Without realising it, you find yourself caring what happens to each and every one of them.

This includes Frederik, the man who enters Luisa's life when she least expects it but takes years to realise what Luisa knows from the beginning. Finally, there is Alaska, who could be the subject of another book altogether.

Mariana Leky has a lovely way of unfolding the story. There is also gentle humour and, despite the sad moments, a smile is always just around the corner.

I was sent an advance review copy of this book by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, in return for an honest appraisal.

Quirky and odd - this is a gentle book with lots of interesting characters but I never really connected to it. I can see how it would appeal and it is completely different from anything I have read before but not for me, I’m afraid.

“On a beautiful spring day, a small village wakes up to an omen: Selma has dreamed of an okapi. Someone is about to die.”

My thanks to Bloomsbury Publishing U.K. for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘What You Can See From Here’ by Mariana Leky in exchange for an honest review. It was originally published in Germany in 2017 and translated from the German by Tess Lewis.

I found this a melancholy, character-led novel that focuses upon the lives of the inhabitants of this Westerwald village. Initially the narrative explores their responses to the prophesied death. Who is going to die?

It is also a coming-of-age novel. Its central character is Luisa, Selma’s granddaughter, who is ten years old at the start. Among Luisa’s extended circle is her mother, who is struggling with whether to end her marriage. Her best friend is Martin, who has aspirations to be a weightlifter, and a family friend known only as the Optician, who is trying to find the courage to confess his love to Selma. Add to the mix her absentee father, a gorgeous wolfhound named Alaska, and various other eccentric members of the community.

When the prophesied death occurs, it shocks everyone and Luisa is changed forever. As the years pass, Luisa grows to womanhood and faces questions of love and loss, life and death, and to discover her path in life.

This is a quiet, slow burn of a novel. Twelve years after the death a chance encounter with three Buddhist monks again changes Luisa’s life and leads to a friendship between her and the youngest, Frederik. His monastery is in Japan though they write to each other and on occasion he visits Germany. Frederik’s presence allows the author to explore themes linked to philosophy and spirituality alongside the local superstitions and folklore of the region.

Overall, I found Mariana Leky’s writing very evocative. The village setting with its forest and animals such as the deer had a timelessness about it.

I always welcome reading international literature of this quality. I was quite fascinated by the okapi and agree with the author’s description of it seeming almost an implausible animal “with its zebra shanks, its tapir haunches, its giraffe-like rust-red torso, its doe eyes and mouse ears.”. An okapi appears on the novel’s playful cover.

Such a wonderful read I absolutely loved this book.

What You Can See From Here is a beautiful tale of family, friendship, love and loss.

Luisa and her best friend Martin live in a small town, filled with some unusual, but absolutely loveable characters.

Luisa’s grandmother Selma occasionally sees an Okapi in her dreams, and when that happens the town know it’s an omen for change and they all know things will never be the same.

This book looks at relationships from many different aspects, reminds us how important true friendship is and makes us all think about what our purpose in the universe really is.

I didn’t want to finish this book as I didn’t want to say goodbye to all the amazing characters. I laughed, I cried, I questioned. This book will remain with me for some time and will definitely be reread.

Read it, it will warm your heart!

A beautiful book but I just found it difficult to connect to. It was a bit quirky for my simple mind. It is good, however, to find books that do not fall into the regular categories.

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.