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.