Anybody Out There?: A Novel

Marian Keyes is back as my favorite author, right up there with Nick Hornby. I have read everything she's ever written. Her last few books left me feeling less than than elated but I'm loyal. And she's back. Making my life easier to handle because I have the worlds she creates to immerse myself in. Her characters become my best friends. I find myself talking about them during dinner with my husband. The minute I open her books I am swept away to another world, where I'm a fly on the wall, where I identify with the depth of feeling and vulnerability of her characters, and where I don't feel like such an odd ball in the world. We're all odd balls. It's what keeps life interesting. But her books do so much more for me than entertain. They enlighten me, they make me think about the circumstances of people, and they make me feel a plethora of emotions. In the words of e.e. cummings, she opens me, pedal by pedal. When I closed this book I just sat there staring at it, carressing the cover, thanking it for giving to me without asking for anything in return (except the cover price, which was worth every penny. I have a Marian Keyes library.) Don't miss out on this gem!

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.

Marian Keyes writes chic lit, a genre I typically hate. However, I've been a Keyes fan for many years. She has a wicked humor and makes me laugh out loud. This is her best novel, by far. It's got so much more to it. It's also my daughter's favorite. We can agree on this book although we don't like the same books ever. We've each read it more than once. It's touching and funny, and it's certainly not your typical light beach read. It's the best in the Walsh sisters series. Rachel's Holiday is good too, but this one with Anna is superior. I laughed and cried at the same time. Unusual for a novel to do that for me. Loved it and will read again one day soon!

I read the Mystery of Mercy Close and enjoyed it so gave this book a read. I know, I am reading the series backwards. Didn't realize that when I started the other book. I found the pacing quite slow, with a lot of backstory and a rambling plot, and time spent on characters that turn out to be irrelevant to the story. But I really like the author's voice and that kept me reading. If you want a book that is solely character driven you might like this. It has some humorous, quirky characters.

Marian Keyes is brilliant. Her books are funny, sad, poignant, but always, ultimately uplifting. I find myself reading her books more slowly because I don’t want them to end. Anybody Out There? was no exception. Loved the characters and the plot line. Don’t know what I’ll do when I have read them all. Have only 2 left!! 😩

This is my first Marian Keyes book, and I liked it just fine. I found the story to be funny and humorous in turns. The structure was also interesting. A key plot point, while you'd have to be in a coma to not figure out, wasn't actually stated until about the midpoint of the story. That was okay -- there was something about not having the obvious be said that allowed the back story to develop and not be weighted done with absolute knowledge. There was a subplot with one of the heroine's sisters back in Ireland that didn't interest me, but I've never been a big fan of secondary stories taking up to much space when I'm eager to discover what happens next in the story that dragged me in. The middle also lagged and seemed to lose momentum for a while. Anna was in denial for the first half of the story, and in the middle she's in limbo but it still seemed to key points could be condensed instead of repeated I believe that part would have been all the more poignant.I also think this could have been remedied by another key discovery happening earlier. I came away with this knowing that, although it wasn't a perfect read, I now have a new author to read and enjoy.

I am a fan of Marian Keyes, and this latest book about the Walsh family was definitely different from the rest. Different, but I really enjoyed it. Anna has moved back to the Walsh family home, and I enjoyed the use of flashbacks in discovering why she had moved home. The flashbacks built on what was happening at the Walsh home, until you reached the conclusion you thought you had seen, but still hoped wasn't true. Very moving. Helen provided the humor that is usually present in a Keyes book, particularly a book about the Walsh sisters. I felt Anna came across very differently to the character portrayed in early Walsh stories, and I liked who she had become. It was much easier to feel for her and she had become a real person, rather than the shadowy presence she is in the other books. This was a very satisfying read, and I think it may have pushed Watermelon to #2 on my Marian Keyes favorites list.

I must admit that when I want a relaxing, fun and easy read I love Marian Keyes. Virtually all her books are good but this one stands out as her best for me. It still has her usual humour but there are also lots of times when the heart-strings are pulled so tight I found myself sobbing and having to take a break whilst reading this.....both times I've read it to be honest. It may seem like a strange thing to recommend a book that makes you bawl your eyes out but oh it's a good book!!

I love Marian Keyes! Pleasant reading as always.

Marion Keyes is an excellent writer. This story about Anna and Aidan was fascinating! I laughed (she is very funny) and I cried. Her prose is very touching! You will be thinking about this story long after you have finished it.

Another Marian Keyes I loved so much I didn't want it to end....

Loved this book. You can always guarantee a good read with this author

Actually this was my first book from Marian Keyes and I really loved it from the very beginning until the end. I hardly could put it aside. This story brought me from laughter to tears in the space of a minute. Yeah, maybe the Helen plot was a bit to much, but Anna's story an the development of her feelings was really affecting. Buy the book and build your own opinion but I think it's really recommendable.