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Anybody Out There? Marian Keyes 9780061240850 Books

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Anybody Out There? Marian Keyes 9780061240850 Books

The fourth of Marian Keyes' Walsh family novels features Anna,transformed from the dippy hippie of earlier novels into a hard-charging PR woman in NYC. But as the novel opens she's back in the family home in Dublin, recovering from serious injuries from an accident that has left her face scarred and her husband absent. In Keyes' signature style for Walsh family novels, in the first part of the book she twins the then story of Anna meeting and marrying her husband, Aidan, with the now story of her recovery in Ireland and return to a demanding workplace in New York promoting a hot line of cosmetics. Those stories converge to reveal what's happened to Aidan.

SPOILER ALERT

By the time Keyes reveals that Aidan died in the accident that injured Anna, the revelation isn't much of a surprise, but plucky Anna has captured the reader's sympathy. The plaintiveness of her frequent email messages to Aidan and calls to his cell phone underscore the terrible absence she feels after returning to the apartment they shared, so it was easy for me to understand why, even after facing the fact that he's dead, she keeps wondering, "Where is he?" I sympathized with her turn to psychics in an effort to find relief and Anna's furtive planning to escape the attentions of family and friends who wanted to keep her busy in hopes of getting her back to normal as quickly as possible. I found Anna's year of magical thinking as realistic as that depicted by Joan Didion in her memoir with that title.

Another aspect of the novel that worked for me was the PR/fashionista background with the T-Rex of a demanding boss, the strategizing to land coverage in coveted magazines, the over-the-top outfits required to fit the brand image, etc. In this novel Keyes leaves behind the breeziness of pure chick-lit by giving her sympathetic character a very dark problem to work through and significant challenges in her work life, all of which works very well. I can only conclude that it was at her editor's insistence that readers would want some lighter fare in this story that Keyes added the subplot told in emails from Dublin of Anna's PI sister, Helen, and her wacky case involving the marital woes of an Irish crime boss, which was an irritating distraction to this reader.

Keyes has transformed herself into a much more serious novelist than many of her fans from her chick-lit days probably want, and in Anybody Out There, she's trying to have it both ways. In This Charming Man, The Other Side of the Story, and The Brightest Star In The Sky, Keyes tells her story from the viewpoints of multiple characters and deals with a range of serious social ills, and those novels are by far her best. In the Walsh family novels, she's hampered by the gimmick itself and the expectations of a breezy romp. To me, Anybody Out There is the best of that lot, but now that she's published a novel focusing on the fifth and final Walsh sister -- The Mystery of Mercy Close, featuring Helen -- I hope she'll retire the Walsh family and focus her energy on what she does best.


Tags : Anybody Out There? [Marian Keyes] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Bestselling author Marian Keyes has delighted readers with the lives, loves, and foibles of the irrepressible Walsh sisters and their eccentric mammy. In this Life in the Big Apple is perfect for Anna. She has the best job in the world,Marian Keyes,Anybody Out There?,William Morrow Paperbacks,0061240850,FIC044000,Contemporary Women,Amnesia,Amnesia;Fiction.,Domestic fiction,Family,Humorous fiction,Ireland,Ireland;Fiction.,New York (N.Y.);Fiction.,Traffic accident victims,FICTION General,FICTION Women,Fiction,Fiction - General,Fiction Contemporary Women,General,Modern & contemporary fiction (post c 1945),New York (N.Y.)

Anybody Out There? Marian Keyes 9780061240850 Books Reviews

I liked the mystery that built up in this book, regarding why the heroine's beloved husband was absent. Unfortunately, it took AGES before the answer was revealed, and it was disturbing, even if suspected.

Anna's attempt to make sense of her new reality was extremely painful to me, but I liked her persistence.

The could-be-hopelessly-dreary-and-depressing subject matter is offset by a hilarious ancillary cast of wacky (and endearing) family, coworkers and fellow seekers. There are laugh out loud scenarios throughout.

I found the juxtaposition of the comedy and tragedy a bit unsettling, as though the author couldn't decide which voice she really wanted to use. However, this was my first Marian Keyes read, so maybe that is her usual style. I will say that the end result was not unpleasing.

This was an assignment for my book club, and our average rating was a B+.
I don't read "chick-lit" all that much anymore (well, at least not the single-in-the-city, whining-over-being-unmarried-at-twenty-nine kind), but there are authors of the aforementioned genre that will forever remain on my must-buy list, and Marian Keyes is one of them. She and a few others take this tried and true genre and add special twists that make the novels substantial, emotionally moving and dark around the edges. Also, Keyes always deals with some serious subject matter in her books and she combines it with lighthearted humor. Anybody Out There? is, in my opinion, Keyes's best work since Last Chance Saloon. This is another installment in the Walsh family saga and it deals with Anna, the second youngest of the sisters. The book opens with Anna recuperating at her parents' home in Ireland after suffering from a serious accident in which she has little recollection. While she puts up with her overbearing mother and her eccentric younger sister Helen, Anna wonders about her husband Aidan. She wants to return to New York and regain her perfect job and her old life, but more important she wants to know what had caused the accident and where Aidan is. I won't go into details because I don't want to ruin things for the reader (like a thoughtless reviewer below had done), but there are many twists in this novel and Anna goes through a rough journey toward self-discovery.

This novel floored me. I was almost in tears in some parts and some of the twists took me completely by surprise. The prologue foreshadows the aforementioned surprise, something the author has done in her other novels, but this time she creates something truly unique and riveting. But amid all of the serious stuff and the unexpected turns this novel takes, we get a big dose of humor that comes in part by the Walsh family, especially Helen. There is a lot of emphasis on Helen and her personal life in this installment and I could only assume that Helen's story will be next. That should be interesting! I was also reacquainted with other characters from previous books and I loved knowing that they've turned out well. Anna is a great heroine. This is funny to me because Anna was the most underdeveloped character in all of the books and her portrayal here is somewhat different than in the other books. Then again, it has been years since I've read a Walsh book (Angels) and my memory is a little fuzzy. There are the signature Keyes style of writing that are less savory to me. She likes to stereotype nationalities and I've always found that annoying and at times offensive. Thank goodness it doesn't happen so much here. I wish I could bring up the main storyline and its twists and make this review longer by pointing the things I loved about those scenes and why I loved them, but that would be giving things away. You'll just have to read the novel for yourself. Anybody Out There? is a roller coaster ride of emotions that will move you and surprise you to the core. You will love this gem from beginning to end. Keyes has outdone herself this time with this novel. She has created something that stands out among the rest and I cannot recommend this gem enough. This is one so-called "chick-lit" author that I won't give up on any time soon!
The fourth of Marian Keyes' Walsh family novels features Anna,transformed from the dippy hippie of earlier novels into a hard-charging PR woman in NYC. But as the novel opens she's back in the family home in Dublin, recovering from serious injuries from an accident that has left her face scarred and her husband absent. In Keyes' signature style for Walsh family novels, in the first part of the book she twins the then story of Anna meeting and marrying her husband, Aidan, with the now story of her recovery in Ireland and return to a demanding workplace in New York promoting a hot line of cosmetics. Those stories converge to reveal what's happened to Aidan.

SPOILER ALERT

By the time Keyes reveals that Aidan died in the accident that injured Anna, the revelation isn't much of a surprise, but plucky Anna has captured the reader's sympathy. The plaintiveness of her frequent email messages to Aidan and calls to his cell phone underscore the terrible absence she feels after returning to the apartment they shared, so it was easy for me to understand why, even after facing the fact that he's dead, she keeps wondering, "Where is he?" I sympathized with her turn to psychics in an effort to find relief and Anna's furtive planning to escape the attentions of family and friends who wanted to keep her busy in hopes of getting her back to normal as quickly as possible. I found Anna's year of magical thinking as realistic as that depicted by Joan Didion in her memoir with that title.

Another aspect of the novel that worked for me was the PR/fashionista background with the T-Rex of a demanding boss, the strategizing to land coverage in coveted magazines, the over-the-top outfits required to fit the brand image, etc. In this novel Keyes leaves behind the breeziness of pure chick-lit by giving her sympathetic character a very dark problem to work through and significant challenges in her work life, all of which works very well. I can only conclude that it was at her editor's insistence that readers would want some lighter fare in this story that Keyes added the subplot told in emails from Dublin of Anna's PI sister, Helen, and her wacky case involving the marital woes of an Irish crime boss, which was an irritating distraction to this reader.

Keyes has transformed herself into a much more serious novelist than many of her fans from her chick-lit days probably want, and in Anybody Out There, she's trying to have it both ways. In This Charming Man, The Other Side of the Story, and The Brightest Star In The Sky, Keyes tells her story from the viewpoints of multiple characters and deals with a range of serious social ills, and those novels are by far her best. In the Walsh family novels, she's hampered by the gimmick itself and the expectations of a breezy romp. To me, Anybody Out There is the best of that lot, but now that she's published a novel focusing on the fifth and final Walsh sister -- The Mystery of Mercy Close, featuring Helen -- I hope she'll retire the Walsh family and focus her energy on what she does best.