''Look At Me'' (2001, ) is a novel by American writer
Jennifer Egan
Jennifer Egan (born September 7, 1962) is an American novelist and short-story writer. Her novel, ''A Visit from the Goon Squad,'' won the 2011 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and National Book Critics Circle Award for fiction. From 2018 to 2020, she ...
. It was a National Book Award Finalist. The novel was described in
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
as "an energetic, unorthodox, quintessentially American vision of America," and in
Kirkus Reviews
''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...
as "a surprisingly satisfying stew of philosophy, social commentary, and storytelling."
The plot concerns several characters and weaves in and out of first and third person narratives, with the main character/narrator being Charlotte Swenson, who is attempting to revive her once-great career as a fashion model in
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
after a devastating car accident outside her hometown of
Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a city in Winnebago County, Illinois, Winnebago and Ogle County, Illinois, Ogle counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Located in far northern Illinois on the banks of the Rock River (Mississippi River tributary), Rock River, Rockfor ...
that resulted in reconstructive surgery to her face. Also explored are the lives of Michael West, a mysterious new math teacher in Rockford, Moose Metcalf, eccentric college professor and older brother of Charlotte's childhood friend Ellen, and Charlotte Hauser, Ellen's black-sheep teenage daughter.
References
2001 American novels
Nan A. Talese books
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