Look at Me

A Novel

By: Jennifer Egan

Narrated by: Rachael Warren

From the Pulitzer Prize winning author! At the start of this edgy and ambitiously multilayered novel - the National Book Award Finalist - a fashion model named Charlotte Swenson emerges from a car accident in her Illinois hometown with her face so badly shattered that it takes 80 titanium screws to reassemble it. She returns to New York still beautiful but oddly unrecognizable, a virtual stranger in the world she once effortlessly occupied.

With the surreal authority of a David Lynch, Jennifer Egan threads Charlotte’s narrative with those of other casualties of our infatuation with the image. There’s a deceptively plain teenage girl embarking on a dangerous secret life, an alcoholic private eye, and an enigmatic stranger who changes names and accents as he prepares an apocalyptic blow against American society. As these narratives inexorably converge, Look at Me becomes a coolly mesmerizing intellectual thriller of identity and imposture.

©2001 Jennifer Egan. All rights reserved. (P)2012 AudioGo

Critic reviews

"Brilliantly unnerving.... A haunting, sharp, splendidly articulate novel." ( The New York Times)

On par with Goon Squad

Amazing! Didn't want it to end. Warren is an excellent narrator (don't believe otherwise). I'm not sure why others had problems with the narration. The protagonist is suppose to be a little hard to take and Warren conveyed that very well. Her shifts between Charlotte's first-person perspective and Egan's third-person voice were masterful.

Overacted but we’ll written novel

Rachel Warren’s over-annunciated and over-acted reading of this novel annoyed me to the point of near abandonment on several occasions. Her over-emphasis of each and every syllable distracted me at times from the storyline, which thankfully kept me interested enough to continue to the end.

Wow

Some of the best descriptions I have ever read and one of the best narrators I have ever heard. Incredible talent.

What is identity?

I always love the way Jennifer Egan writes. This story provided much food for thought about what creates our identity.

Similes and Metaphors Galore

The story was underwhelming. I enjoyed her other book much more. Language was tortured and overwrought. Young teenage girls aggressively sexual. One became an alcoholic high-end self-destructive model. The other had a daughter endowed with the same name as the teenaged best friend.
The reader was good, but determinedly mispronounced a couple of words often. One being the word “mischievous” which she pronounced mis-CHEE-VEE-us like a toddler might pronounce it when uncorrected on into adulthood. The word has three syllables, not four, with the primary stress on MIS-chiv-us. Another word was similarly slaughtered and obviously had never before been encountered in her vocabulary. I wondered where the listening editor was. She has a good voice & if she can pay attention to her vocabulary, she will improve.

Could not finish due to terrible narration

Would you try another book from Jennifer Egan and/or Rachael Warren?

Yes, I loved A Visit from the Goon Squad

Any additional comments?

I may finish this later, but can only stand listening to this narrator for short periods.

Meh…

I want to care more about the characters in a book of fiction even if i don’t like them. I listened all the way through but am relieved it is over.

Good story, horrible narrator.

I don't know if I will make it through this! Jennifer Egan is a great writer, but the narrator's delivery is ruining this listen. Every word is drenched in dramatic urgency. Nauseating.

Fascinating!

Egan's style of character development is such an interesting ride, and Warren's performance was absolutely superb.

Loved this book!

Would you listen to Look at Me again? Why?

I loved this book. JE has an exacting command of the English language and her descriptions are poetic and unusual, so many turns of phrase that I loved to savor... "most of his colleagues were incising Lake Michigan with powerboats "; this isn't even the best example and there are so many more. If you are a lover of vocabulary and well-used words, this is the book for you. If you are fascinated by concepts of beauty and the self and the disparity of who we are versus who we present to others, read this book.

I have to say, too, that I loved the character of Moose and believe it has to be based on a real person. I feel I know him, and people like him, with their brilliant, tragic lives.

I give it a four rather than a five for reasons that might not be fair -- I listened to the audiobook, and I think this is more a book to be read than listened to, in part because it demands your attention. I missed a few critical facts early on in the listening, and when things became clear in the end, I had to go back and rethink much of the plot. There are two Charlottes in this novel for a reason, but I blew it and found myself very confused near the end.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Look at Me?

I don't want to give anything away, and I can't point to one moment. It is strong throughout.

What three words best describe Rachael Warren’s voice?

Emotive; feminine; strong

Any additional comments?

There were a few weird pauses between paragraphs (I assume) -- about 10-15 seconds -- no chapter heading. Not that disruptive but odd.