Book Review: Look at Me

Look at Me by Jennifer Egan
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

This book took me a while to read as I found it really hard going. The first 20% of the book was really promising and I thought I was on to a winner. But unfortunately I was disappointed.

The story follows two characters, both called Charlotte and their lives get more intertwined as the story goes on. The older Charlotte has been in a road traffic accident and no longer recognises herself and also has to find whether her career as a model is over. I enjoyed reading about this Charlotte at first, but as I learnt more about her, I liked her less and less and found it really hard to connect with her. I think this is what spoilt the book for me and made me less desperate to know her story. The truth was I just couldn't care about her.

The younger Charlotte was the only reason I wanted to keep reading. A teenage girl who is struggling with herself and looking for acceptance, both from inside and outside of her family. Her story interested me most and I cared about her. I would have preferred this story if it had been pitched differently and focused more about the younger Charlotte, with the older Charlotte as a sub plot.

I'm sure there are people out there who would like this type of book, but I am not a fan of this kind of characterisation. So this one was just not for me.

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