Jennifer Egan

Stripped of her image and identity after a devastating car accident and the resulting reconstructive surgery, Charlotte Swenson, a jaded model, struggles to rebuild her life in a culture obsessed with surface appearance.

A Novel

Look at Me

Undeniably prescient in its ideas of the impact of the digital age, terrorism, and social media making "ordinary people" corporate commodities. Unfortunately, it's also very stuck in the 1990s WASP perspective of "what now" privileged America. There are also some pretty disgusting things that happen that pretty much are just forgotten as the book goes on that didn't sit right with me. I can see it being a great read in early 2001 but in 2025 it's more of a well-written but overlong relic than anything. 

Also, Goodreads said this was written with "the surreal authority of a David Lynch" and that set me up for disappointment, very misleading. 

Jacob Reader

Undeniably prescient in its ideas of the impact of the digital age, terrorism, and social media making "ordinary people" corporate commodities. Unfortunately, it's also very stuck in the 1990s WASP perspective of "what now" privileged America. There are also some pretty disgusting things that happen that pretty much are just forgotten as the book goes on that didn't sit right with me. I can see it being a great read in early 2001 but in 2025 it's more of a well-written but overlong relic than anything. 

Also, Goodreads said this was written with "the surreal authority of a David Lynch" and that set me up for disappointment, very misleading. 

Tara King

Reconstructive facial surgery after a car crash so alters Manhattan model Charlotte that, within the fashion world, where one's look is oneself, she is unrecognizable. Seeking a new image, Charlotte engages in an Internet experiment that may both save and damn her. As her story eerily converges with that of a plain, unhappy teenager - another Charlotte - it raises tantalizing questions about identity and reality in contemporary Western culture. Jennifer Egan's bold, innovative novel, demonstrating her virtuosity at weaving a spellbinding, ambitious tale with language that dazzles, captures the spirit of our times and offers an unsettling glimpse of the future.

Jessica Nottingham

It's hard to truly describe my feelings about this book. It's not that Jennifer Egan isn't an excellent writer. Quite the opposite actually, she's very good at creating characters with depth and breadth. The problem, for me, was in the writing. This is a massively over-written book. Points that could have been wrapped up in a matter of sentences were drawn out and wordy. At points the writing felt so convoluted that I almost gave up. I feel like this book could have been much shorter and still been wonderfully done.

That being said, the book itself is rather compelling and the story is the major reason that I kept on reading. Egan dives into the human psyche, taking a look at how our outward appearance really affects the way we perceive ourselves and are perceived by others. She does an stellar job of creating three characters who show this in their own ways. Toeing the themes of attraction, obsession, and mental illness, Look At Me is much more intellectual than it seems on the surface.

The parallels between young Charlotte and older Charlotte were intriguing. I especially enjoyed taking a look inside the psyche of a teenage girl who feels like she is looking in from the outside. It made for a rough read at some points, and I'm sure there are people who will be offended by the choices she makes, but it was still an interesting read. My other gripe about this book was mainly Moose as a character. He is so broken, so mentally destroyed, that being in his head actually hurts. I could have done without him, honestly.

I'd recommend that if you do decide to tackle this lengthy read, you pass on the audio version. Although it did help me keep my characters separated by voice, the length of the book is actually exacerbated by the audio. About three quarters of the way through I was fairly ready to be done with Look At Me. Try this is you're a reader who enjoys contemporary reads that deal with real life issues and have deep characters.

Look at Me A Novel

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